Morgan Stanley Test Execution & Analysis Service Flashcards
What did you do for Morgan Stanley in this project?
I helped set up a Regression Testing Service organization called TEA service
What does TEA stand for?
Test Execution & Analysis Service
How did you go about setting up this Service?
a) I have first defined what type of testing services that the team is going to offer b) What is the scope of that service c) What’s the testing organization structure d) What are the controls that will be put in place e) Skills and location mix strategy f) Milestones & timelines g) Cost Saving & Benefit for the team h) Engagement Model i) Metrics to be produced j) Reports to be generated for the stakeholders k) ongoing training plan for the team members
What was the organization like?
I was the onsite delivery manager reporting into Morgan Stanley Manager. My counterpart was the offshore delivery manager and we had a team of about 40 people. The team was a mix of Junior, Intermediate and Senior resources (to form the pyramid). Within this pyramid, we had skills and location mix in order to effectively deliver the service
What are the different controls put in place?
a) Processes and Standards control b) Test Execution Management c) People Management d) Technical/Automation Expertise e) Client Priorities & Expectations
What was the location strategy?
8% onsite and the rest is offshore at Pune and Chennai
What was the milestones and timelines like?
Defined the milestones and service deliverables in phases for each quarter. For example, metrics, report standardization, time zone coverage, performance and automation across various phases as deliverables
How did you provide the Cost Savings for Morgan Stanley?
Provided cost savings in the form of actual capacity utilization versus budgeted capacity
What was the engagement model like?
Basically there are three phases in Engagement Model. First phase (2-6 weeks), we interface with the clients and understand the business and system overview, review their test cases and we will come up with a test plan and estimates. In phase 2 (3 months), we work closely with the vertical teams and participate in test execution during the release cycles. In phase 3 (and on going), we become a stablized client engagement and we took complete ownership of the test execution and the deliverables
What was the questionnaire like?
Overview of the application that they testing support. Total no. of regression test cases. Scope of testing. Time zone coverage for testing. Resource requirement.
RAG Status - Green
Progress - On track, Defects - No Open Defects, Risks/Issues - No open Risks/Issues
RAG Status - Amber
Progress - Behind Track but have the plan to get back on Track.
Defects - Open defects but have the capacity to re-test.
Risks/Issues - Open risk but it is not blocking progress at the moment
RAG Status - Red
Progress - Behind Track and need help to get back on track.
Defects - Open defects and too close to deadline
Risks/Issues - Open risk/issue blocking progress.
Severity Definition
Severity 1 - Critical - Blocks testing, system crash, environmental problems that affect timelines
Severity 2 - High - Major functionality issues. Workaround needs to be identified, but the testing can continue for the moment
Severity 3 - Medium - Functional issues, workaround exists and no impact to testing
Severity 4 - Low - Cosmetic issues like misspelling, alignment and font issue, etc.
What are the applications that you supported as part of the service?
Trades Completion - which is a trade enrichment system which sources the data from Sales & Trading Systems and supplies enriched data to other Systems such as Risk and Settlement system as part of STP (straight through processing)
PARI - another example which is a Post Settlement Reconciliation Tool for OTC derivative cash settlement products
Libra - Loads the balances and journals for the current record date
SAFE - Settlement Processing System which posts the journals to the downstream post settlement reconciliation tool like PARI
