Towards efficient legacy test evaluations at Ericsson AB, Linköping

Abstract: 3Gsim is a load generator for traffic simulation in a WCDMA (WidebandCode Division Multiple Access) network. It is developed at Ericsson AB inLinköping. Tests are run daily and the results are evaluated by testers. Whenerrors or abnormalities are found, the testers write trouble reports and thedescribed problems are handed over to designers whose task is to fix them.In order to save time, Ericsson wished to improve the efficiency.This study has focused on a specific part of the process of the developmentof 3Gsim, namely the process of evaluating test results. The goal has beento investigate if and how the process of evaluating 3Gsim test results can bemade more efficient.The daily work of the testers has been studied at close hand by the author.The testers answered a questionnaire with questions about their work andtheir opinions about the tools being used. The answers were evaluated andfocus was laid on the main problems.It was found that a lot of time is wasted on searching for trouble reports.A big part of the test result evaluation process consists of going throughsummary logs with error print-outs. Unfortunately no mapping betweenerror print-outs and trouble reports is performed. When going through thesummary logs the testers have to determine which errors have already beenreported and which ones that haven’t. Another major problem is the factthat most tests fail. On the webpage where the test results are displayed,this is indicated by a coloured field showing red. This is believed to have anegative effect on the work attitude.A lot of time can be saved by mapping error print-outs to trouble reportsand automatically comparing new error print-outs with old ones. The mappingwill also help preventing the creation of duplicated trouble reports. Thissolution will have the greatest impact on the improvement of the efficiency.Another way to enhance the efficiency is to develop a more advanced colourcoding scheme than the one used today. This coding scheme will help thetesters making the right priorities when processing the test results. Furthermore,these two solutions will have a positive effect on the work attitude. Aprototype implementing the first solution has been created. This prototypegives Ericsson AB the possibility to test the solution idea in practice.