Sagem Orga is a technology leader in the extremely fast-moving and highly competitive market for smart cards. Correspondingly high is the pressure for innovation placed on software developers and software testers. The organisation relies on the world-wide standardised training and qualification scheme for the ISTQB® Certified Tester so that both of these groups are able to deliver custom-made solutions. This contributes significantly to the communication between software developers and software testers and ensures that both use the same terminology and methods.

Time, cost and quality are decisive criteria in any product development. However, they must always also be in line with the prevailing market requirements, which for smart card manufacturers can differ substantially depending on geographical region. In Africa, the demand with regard to SIM cards is for inexpensive low-end products, which primarily provide telephone functions. In contrast to this, European customers expect smart cards (or „chip cards“) of increasing complexity and performance. In this context, it is essential that a number of different algorithms and new technologies are implemented and that the cards have Java capability. In the saturated European mobile phone market, it is virtually impossible to achieve a differentiation from competitors’ products in any other way. This results in an almost permanent pressure for innovation coming from the network operators, for whom companies such as Sagem Orga develop SIM cards.

Demand for highly flexible developers
From the card developers, these various requirements from the most diverse of sources demand a high degree of flexibility: „On one hand, we meet the low-end requirements with low-price products, whilst on the other hand we develop high-end applications which will satisfy the highest of expectations. This presupposes a capability to switch quickly between different development platforms“, explains Christian Winter, System Development Engineer at Sagem Orga. He continues to explain: „Naturally, we must also align our procurement to these requirements. For instance, we cannot use expensive semiconductors in cards for low-end solutions.“ So, the balance between cost, quality and time must be constantly weighed up time and time again.

The central development headquarters of Sagem Orga is still based at the company headquarters in Paderborn. In the course of establishing a world-wide presence of the organisation, the software development activities are now also shared with subsidiaries in India, Russia, France, Singapore and Brazil. The workforce is networked across locations; the employees cooperate in the development projects for applications and are in permanent contact with one another. In all projects, professional testers are used in addition to the developers.

Since 2007, Sagem Orga has trained and qualified their employees in accordance with the conditions of the ISTQB® (International Software Testing Qualifications Board). The first Certified Testers passed their Foundation Level (CTFL) exams in spring 2008. The Foundation Level teaches the fundamentals of software testing and covers subjects such as testing in the software life cycle, static tests, test case design techniques, test management as well as test tools.

Preventing tunnel vision
The development teams also go through the CTFL training scheme. The idea is that the certification is performed according to the same criteria at all company sites world-wide. „The point is to first and foremost improve the communication between developers and testers. It is imperative that both groups speak the same language and that they mean the same thing when they use technical terms such as ‚regression testing’ or ‚validation’“, states Christian Winter about the precise objectives of Sagem Orga. „It can happen that testers and developers lack common understanding when they sit together at the computer in order to debug code. It therefore makes sense to also give developers a chance to see issues through the eyes of testers“, adds Marco Weissenborn, who works at Sagem Orga as developer and who was the 10,000th candidate to have passed the Certified-Tester exam based on the ISTQB® standard.

In a telecommunications development project, the roles are reversed. In this project, developers test the code of other developers, using precisely those test methods which full-time testers use every day. „The so-called „view from outside the subject area“ always helps to prevent tunnel vision. This way, defects can be found very early on during the software specification“, explains Christian Winter about the benefits of this approach. Therefore it may well happen in the future that a developer with the CTFL qualification may conclude one project and then be employed exclusively as tester in another project with short project duration. Another benefit of testing compliant to the ISTQB® stipulations is that the common code review has become virtually standardised, which takes the edge off any possible rivalries between developers and testers.„Both pursue the common objective of achieving the highest possible level of software quality. The developers no longer perceive testers as those that come along with a red pen, but as partners in the application development process“, formulates the system developer.

Virtual standard for tester training
The responsible parties at Sagem Orga came across the ISTQB® standard during an internet research. „We quickly realised that the ISTQB®, which is represented all over the world, is quite unrivalled. Additionally, the course material is in its entirety available in English, and the exams can also be taken in English language. This is, of course, very advantageous for an internationally positioned organisation like Sagem Orga, that wants to introduce the standard at all its sites around the globe“, Winter gives as reasons for selecting the training scheme.

In order to become familiar with the exam subjects, the first eleven participants used the available ISTQB® materials for the Foundation Level. Each of the tester candidates prepared one subject, which he/she then introduced to the other colleagues in the form of a presentation. Sample exams with exemplary tasks and questions rounded off the preparations of the autodidactive learning method. The exams were finally taken at the Sagem Orga premises through an organisation certified by the German Testing Board e.V. (GTB), which represents the ISTQB® in Germany.

The training scheme, which Marco Weissenborn and Christian Winter consider to be of particular importance, places focus, amongst other subjects, on integration and acceptance testing. „It is also advisable to always perform acceptance testing together with the customer. Since the complexity of the systems under test continues to increase, it makes sense to involve the customers. We have in fact already experienced on several occasions during acceptance testing, that certain mobile end-devices were found to have a software defect and that their behaviour did not comply with the standard. As a result the faultless smart card software then had to be adapted to the faulty software of a mobile phone supplier. “ Moreover, the Foundation Level tester training scheme has, in the opinion of Winter und Weissenborn, fulfilled the expectations: „The main benefit for us is already becoming clear: it is the significantly improved communication between developers and testers. Developers now have an understanding of why testers pay so much attention to detail and always scrutinise any exceptional or special cases.“

Tester training for advanced testers
Tester training at Sagem Orga does not stop at the Foundation Level. The smart card specialist has already started to gear up for the next stage of the training scheme, which is the Advanced Level. This stage is divided into the modules „Test Manager“, „Test Analyst“ and „Technical Test Analyst“ and will place more emphasis on different use cases and best practices. „We will then certainly also consider attending training seminars and exchanging with participants from other organisations“, Christian Winter states as he looks ahead.

 

The organisation: Sagem Orga
Sagem Orga is one of the global leaders in the smart card industry. Sagem Orga’s portfolio includes hardware, software, consulting and services, all focused on smart cards for applications in the telecommunications, health, identification and banking areas. As a subsidiary of Sagem Sécurité (SAFRAN Group), the international No. 1 high-tech group when it comes to identification, Sagem Orga offers comprehensive and integrated solutions for the protection of the digital and mobile society. The organisation has a workforce of more than 2,100 employees worldwide and has production facilities incorporating the latest state-of-the-art technology in Germany, Brazil, Russia, Mexico and India.
www.sagem-orga.com

The ISTQB® Certified Tester training scheme
The Certified-Tester programme of the „International Software Testing Qualifications Board" (ISTQB®) is recognised worldwide as a standard training and qualification scheme for software testers. It consists of three levels: the Foundation Level, the Advanced Level and the Expert Level, which is currently in preparation.
The syllabus contents and examination questions are developed and published in Germany by the German Testing Board (GTB) e.V. GTB-approved certification authorities offer and handle the examination of participants. Universities now also offer lecture courses based on the Certified-Tester syllabi. In Germany, there are currently already more than 10,000 certified testers; and worldwide, the total figure is above 100,000.

German Testing Board e.V.
The German Testing Board (GTB) e.V.  is a working group of software and system testing specialists. Its members include recognised experts from industry, consultants, trainers, scientists and specialists from other organisations.
The German Testing Board is an independent, neutral commission, which is responsible for the quality of the Certified-Tester scheme of the „International Software Testing Qualifications Board" (ISTQB®)  and the associated examination procedures in Germany. It also supervises the Certified-Tester training courses, monitoring defined criteria and awarding accreditations to training providers.
At an international level, the German Testing Board is a founder member of the umbrella organisation "International Software Testing Qualifications Board" (ISTQB®)". This group is responsible for the consistency and comparability of the teaching and examination content in all participating countries.

Further information is available at: www.german-testing-board.info

 

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