Radwin Case Study
When Kfir became head of the Verification Unit he realized he needed to amp the test management tool. At the time, Radwin was using what is considered a leading test-management tool. "We had a few problems with this product", says Kfir. "First of all, it was extremely expensive: each user license cost more than a thousand dollars. In addition, there was no flexibility to add licenses for temporary users during times of heavy workloads." With headcount growing quickly from two to eight testers, and with frequent loans from other testing departments, Kfir realized he needed a product with a lower cost of ownership and license flexibility. Another problem was the fact that the product was locally installed and required extensive computing resources. "It wasn't unusual for the server to overload, in which case work would slow down or even halt", says Kfir. "In case of server malfunction, the whole department would stop working until we could get the server – and the system – up again. This became a growing problem ."
Kfir set out to methodically look for a new testing framework. His requirements were first of all a simple and cost-effective product that would be easy to learn and use and is fully reliable."Stability and availability are our top concerns and that's why at first I didn't look at SaaS-based products", says Kfir. "I was afraid of disconnection and stability problems.
However, after looking around Kfir realized a SaaS product can actually be even more reliable than a locally installed product, because it doesn't have local hardware and computing limitations ."
Kfir looked at about 15 products, including PractiTest, which he found online, and ran trials for five of them; in the end he chose PractiTest. "I liked the product, the simplicity, the ease of use. I decided to run one set of tests for a month and see how it goes. After the first trial we tested a bigger version, and only after that went smoothly – we moved all of our testing to PractiTest." In the year and a half Radwin has been using PractiTest, Kfir has been satisfied with the product: "first of all, we never had a system crash or slow down" says Kfir. "It's easy to deploy – the logic of the system and the UI are clear – and the learning learning curve is very quick ".
"This is very beneficial for us because we frequently loan testers from other departments, and they start using PractiTest in no time."
Kfir also commends the PractiTest support: "When you post an issue they get back to you promptly and their turnaround is second to none. They've even included some features we requested in their releases (such as choosing rows of issues to display on each page). You can't get better than that."
Kfir sites four main advantages in using PractiTest: the first one is simplicity in use. The second advantage is stability: no more server downtimes and interruptions in workflow.
The third advantage is that PractiTest is a light and stable product: no slowdowns, no downtime.
The fourth advantage: licensing flexibility: "It's easy for us to add users when we need extra testers."
"The results are effective and better managed testing cycles: accurate planning that is executed on schedule, with clear logging of each and every test, issue and bug. "With an average cycle exceeding a thousand tests – that's a big advantage", adds Kfir.