2005 Spring Newsletter - Contact Center Load Testing

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A Project Management Perspective

A key objective of every project plan is risk management. As a project manager, it is critical to know your entire system works as designed when you implement business solutions that include complex integration of the latest communication and customer service technologies. You must be confident that all elements of the system are set up correctly and all of the options for customer interaction work as designed when the system experiences required traffic levels. Demonstrating system performance before you go live with real customers is vital to managing your risk relative to your customer satisfaction and ROI objectives. Properly planned and implemented load testing provides you the best assurance for going live without problems that frustrate your customers and erode your ROI.

The key steps in developing and implementing your testing activity are:
· A specific description of system performance objectives
· A detailed test plan that results in demonstration of the performance objectives.

The following testing activity should be included in the plan:
      -Unit level testing (i.e. code and feature/function testing) at key points in the
       development process. (While this is not the subject of this article it does need
      to be noted.)
      -Load testing of key subsystems during the development process
      -End-to-end load testing with the production database before cutover to
      production

The amount of detail needed in the plan depends on the complexity of the business solution and system being implemented. In any case, a well thought out plan and successful implementation of that plan is key to managing risk on the project.

I mention unit testing above because it is important to emphasize that without thorough unit level and feature/function testing, your load test may become nothing more than very expensive unit level testing. Even worse, the results in these cases may not be conclusive relative to overall system performance.

In many systems (especially large, complex systems), load testing during the development process can identify problems that would greatly impact cost and schedule if not found until the end of the development activity. Load testing during development can include call activity through subsystems or IVR platforms to verify system setup and find defective components, emulation of host and CTI traffic without going through the telecommunications or actual online channels, and call activity that is connected directly to an IVR or ACD without going through the PSTN. By load testing during development, you can catch issues before they become expensive, time consuming problems down the road.

One of the best risk management activities a project manager can do is to plan load testing far enough ahead of the cutover date to allow for corrective action in the system. Many of the project managers we work with schedule a load test 1-2 weeks before the cutover to production. Load testing at this phase of a project exercises the system from end to end. Test scenarios start with a real call through the PSTN and are complete when call interactions have been successfully executed. Test scenarios may include lookups into background systems and performance of key functions like call routing and screen pops. It is important to use test scenarios that cover all risk areas and real traffic levels that demonstrate system performance. If your system also involves online activity through the Internet or intranet, you may find it effective to have this activity run concurrently with call activity.

The objective of load testing is to represent real activity from all sources that affect system performance. If the test objectives are met during this testing, you should be confident the system will perform as required when you go live with real customers. If the test illuminates issues within the system, the data from load testing should help facilitate quick problem identification and resolution. This fast resolution results in successful, on time system implementations that leave both customers and project managers satisfied.

As a project manager, you want to keep your projects on schedule and within cost. You are well aware of the problems when you go over on either. One of the best ways to avoid these problems and ensure satisfied customers is to manage risks with a well thought out test plan and implementation.

-Jim Jenkins
President & CEO