Efficient test automation for the automotive industry
The way to an efficiency increase of about 10% in the entire verification and validation department of the Marquart Group as well as a significantly improved coordination of the globally distributed teams.
The automotive industry is characterized by constant innovation and the continuous pursuit of quality and efficiency. In this highly dynamic environment, companies such as the Marquardt Group are required to optimize their test processes in order to remain competitive. This article describes how Marquardt, in close cooperation with TestBench and imbus AG, has developed a groundbreaking solution for efficient test automation.
The initial situation: Marquardt and the challenges
Marquardt is a renowned mechatronics expert in the automotive sector, characterized by unique, intelligent solutions. The company produces electrical components and systems for vehicles and relies on customized hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) solutions for quality assurance. However, the company faced the challenge that its test processes were complex and not easy to maintain.
The use of project- and team-based frameworks led to a high degree of personal knowledge and project-specific test specifications. There was no central test management tool to efficiently track previously tested requirements. The management of product variants and the coordination of different teams and frameworks required a lot of maintenance and coordination.
The Solution: An innovative test management system
Marquardt decided to commission TestBench with a proof of concept. The goal was to create a low-maintenance test specification that takes into account and represents different variants. TestBench was therefore introduced as the central test management system to specify and manage test cases in a reusable and clearly structured manner.
The software quality engineers at TestBench designed a variant management system that analyzes product family and variant specific test cases and defines test specification languages based on common processes. The concept for the test automation architecture was modular and enabled easy transformation of test designs into keyword-driven test sequences.
The results: Efficiency gains and global coordination
The measures resulted in an efficiency increase of approximately 10% in the entire verification and validation area. The coordination of globally distributed teams was significantly improved by providing a central repository without media breaks and redundancies.
The solution is currently being used with impressive figures: approx. 1.5 Mio. test cases, over 30 product families, up to 150,000 requirements per product, up to 75 test engineers working simultaneously worldwide, and 45 HIL test setups directly controlled from the toolchain. The developed solution was successfully applied to all product lines.
Outlook: Continuous improvement and training
Marquardt plans to develop a blended learning training concept to teach new employees the basics of TestBench and later to train/coach them in extended functions.
The work with TestBench is to be further automated by extending the tool chain and integrating additional tools via the TestBench API.
By working together with the TestBench team, Marquardt has developed a groundbreaking solution that not only increases efficiency, but also improves global coordination. This is an impressive example for how technical innovation can shape the future of the automotive industry.
