EDF Energy and Capgemini: Independent Testing on a Crucial Smart Meter Program
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Capgemini is providing independent integration testing services to help ensure a smooth rollout of EDF Energy's smart meter program. Through thorough testing, Capgemini has helped deliver software releases with minimal disruptions. As an independent partner, Capgemini has supported EDF Energy in coordinating the complex, multi-partner program. Capgemini's testing approach prioritizes risks and uses flexible offshore resources.
EDF Energy and Capgemini: Independent Testing on a Crucial Smart Meter Program
- 1. EDF Energy and Capgemini: independent testing on a crucial smart meter program Capgemini is providing independent integration testing services to EDF Energy’s high-profile smart meter program. These services have helped to create a robust implementation approach that will ensure a smooth rollout for EDF Energy and its customers. Capgemini’s thorough testing has ensured that software releases to date have gone live with minimal disruption and support requirements. As an independent testing partner, Capgemini has been able to support EDF Energy in orchestrating the program and bringing the complex project ecosystem together. Notable features of the approach include risk-based prioritization of testing, flexible use of offshore resources, and a contract where 15% of the fee is contingent on meeting EDF Energy key performance indicators. The requirement: IT testing on a multi-partner program EDF Energy’s smart meter rollout is a large, complex program, and see smart meters deployed to the entire UK population by 2020, enabling customers to take control of their energy use and costs. In collaboration with
- 2. Extract from EDF Energy’s original Request for Proposal Key principles: • Do it once, do it right: avoiding unnecessary cost and waste and with a positive customer experience. • Health and Safety: looking after the welfare of staff and customers. • Transparency: sharing information, risks and issues so that we are all the rollout. • Predictability and integration: delivering on time, especially where success is dependent upon other partners or EDF Energy activity. to proceed. • Change management: supporting the evolution of the EDF Energy smart meter rollout and the management of uncertainty that may come from the wider GB smart and governmental energy agenda. desired behaviours and reward joint working. • One team mentality and approach: thinking and operating as one team to deliver the EDF Energy smart metering rollout. • Using our best collective talent on the right activities: employing the best possible staff to deliver the rollout. We believe that success of the deployment is encapsulated in the following statement: “Doing the basics brilliantly”. Approach to testing Risk-based testing. To achieve the optimum balance of cost- effectiveness and thorough test coverage, Capgemini has been using a risk-based approach, in accordance with the Test Management Approach (TMap® ), Capgemini Group’s business-driven methodology for structured software testing. This methodology is designed to address the key issues of quality, time and cost across the whole development lifecycle of solution delivery. Risk-based testing involves collaborating with the business to identify the scenarios that should be tested according to their likelihood of occurrence and the probable impact should they occur. This approach ensures that testing effort is allocated in line with the needs of the business. There were many reasons for choosing Capgemini to help with integration testing. Their independence was clearly important, but also they’re a longstanding partner within EDF Energy. Our ways of working are very similar, based on ‘trust, transparency and teamwork’. Julie Meanwell Transformation Director, EDF Energy “ “ customers, EDF Energy needed to build a range of IT systems: for example, to manage the meters, carry out billing, and interact with the rest of the industry. The company chose a multi-partner approach for the IT development and implementation work, engaging a best-in-class supplier for each aspect. Capgemini was appointed to run integration testing. The brief was to make sure that the outputs produced by the other partners worked properly, both individually and together. The overall aim was a smooth end-to-end through to installation and beyond. In collaboration with
- 3. Addressing testing and quality from project initiation onwards. A key principle for the project was establishing test criteria and identifying tests to be performed as early as possible, in line with Capgemini’s PointZERO® approach. This avoids spending effort on rework, and helps to create Innovative commercial model. Capgemini has put 15% of its fee at risk by making it dependent on a series of key performance indicators (KPIs). The most important of these are: 1. Successfully uncovering problems that the development parties subsequently accept as genuine problems. If more than one in 10 defects found by Capgemini are rejected, a portion of the fee is forfeited, but results have consistently been well below the 10% threshold (at 7% for one release and 4% for another). 2. Minimising the number of defects found after the system has gone live. If more than 10% of these are categorized as being of a type that should have been found in testing, a portion of the fee would be lost. Once again, this has never happened. 3. How well the Capgemini team performs in terms of collaboration and adding value. This criterion has also been met throughout the program. Rightshore® staffing. Initially all work was done onshore, but gradually the balance has shifted to a mixture of onshore and offshore working – an of the Indian staff involved have spent a period working in the UK, which helps to ensure everyone works as one team wherever they are located. “Capgemini have worked with us on this assignment in a true partnership. They have rolled people onto the program who have real experience of both the industry and the pieces of work that we’re deploying them on. I would definitely recommend them in the future. Julie Meanwell Transformation Director, EDF Energy “ In collaboration with
- 4. ©2016 Capgemini. No part of this document may be modified, deleted or expanded by any process or means without prior written permission from Capgemini. Rightshore® is a trademark belonging to Capgemini. About Capgemini With 180,000 people in over 40 countries, Capgemini is one of the world’s foremost providers of consulting, technology and reported 2014 global revenues of EUR 10.573 billion. Together with its clients, Capgemini creates and delivers business and technology solutions that fit their needs and drive the results they want. A deeply multicultural organisation, Capgemini has developed its own way of working, the Collaborative Business Experience™, and draws on Rightshore® , its worldwide delivery model. Learn more about us at www.uk.capgemini.com In collaboration with EDF Energy is one of the UK’s largest energy companies and its largest producer of low-carbon electricity. A wholly-owned subsidiary of the EDF Group, one of Europe’s largest energy groups, we generate around employ around 15,000 people. We supply electricity and gas to around 5.5 million residential and business customers, making us the biggest supplier of electricity by volume. The company is organised into the following business units: Generation encompasses all of our generation activities – Nuclear, Coal, Gas and Renewables. Nuclear New Build is tasked with the delivery of the new generation of nuclear plants in line with EDF’s global program of producing safe, affordable, reliable, low-carbon electricity in the UK. Customers is responsible for supplying energy to our business and residential customers in the UK For more details contact: Jon Brooke Account Executive for EDF Energy Email: [email protected] Benefits of collaboration with Capgemini Capgemini has been working on the program since 2013. It has contributed to three completed releases so far. EDF Energy has already rolled out meters to selected customers, ensuring that the meters, and all the associated technology including IT systems, work as they should. This means that when mass deployment starts there should be few surprises for customers. As independent test partner, Capgemini has been able to help EDF Energy orchestrate a complex ecosystem and implement an intricate operational model for IT. Independence from design and build positions Capgemini to give EDF Energy an objective view of overall progress on the project. Capgemini’s work is acknowledged to have been extremely successful, can affect staff or customers, which makes for smooth and uneventful releases. “Our smart meter program has been built around a number of small releases. Following each release, we have what’s called a ‘storm period’, where our partners give us extra support to solve any issues rapidly. Our first three storms have been very light, thanks to our systems integrators, and importantly to our integration test partner, Capgemini. Julie Meanwell Transformation Director, EDF Energy “