Christian M. Mzyk

Support of quality assurance and testing for a new Oracle-DB project

Tasks in this project included supporting quality management in the development of a new database project (relational and object-oriented) for the Federal Criminal Police Office in Wiesbaden. This was the product "INPOL-neu". In a team of eight, various tests were initiated independently: these included black box, white box, and regression tests, load tests, and performance tests. Test case catalogs were created and test case scenarios were implemented beforehand. Test data was generated, and the tests were then carried out using commercial tools and in-house developed tools in C++ and Java, as well as VBA. Test documentation was done using MS Office products (automation of reporting) as well as the product "continuus PT". The project work was regularly verified by external auditors, and the test results were discussed with the developers in reviews. This process was part of the complete framework for the project's ISO 9001 certification. The database itself was an Oracle 8 Server, hosted on an HP-UX server, and accessed via GUI clients, which were also still in the development phase, in a WAN. Many of the tests related to database consistency, so direct access was via PL/SQL and SQL+.

ETL automation in the sales area including software development and QM/QS

Creation and adaptation of various metrics (statistics) to support and improve existing processes in the automotive industry. The activity in the area of "Process Re-engineering" included conceptualization, implementation, and quality assurance of an application for the automatic creation of supporting statistics. The realization was done in MS Access 2000 with the help of Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). Furthermore, various OO components were implemented under MS Excel 2000, and ActiveX (COM) techniques were used. Data extractions were performed using SQL from a DB/2 UDB database in a QMF (Query Management Facility) environment. Data was provided via FTP and imported into the interim tool using proprietary utilities. Documentation and testing of the tools - as well as the metrics - were carried out independently using various testing techniques (regression testing, black-box testing, and white-box testing). Reviews and audits were conducted by the customer in English. In the next step, the most relevant metrics were conceptualized and ported to a Data Warehouse system (BusinessObjects). The underlying RDBMS was TeraData from NCR.

Analysis of various host-based mainframe databases for the purpose of creating statistics. The tasks involved both extractions of various data with defined patterns via SQL statements from a QMF environment, as well as the further processing and visualization of these values with MS Office solutions. For these automation purposes, MS Access was used as the frontend. Windows design, conceptualization, as well as realization of a user interface with corresponding background logic for the automation of graphical representation were included in this project. Implementations including ADO (Active X DataObjects) were realized as well as support for ODBC. Project conducted in an English-speaking environment.

Quality assurance for a new SCADA system

As part of the new development of a SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) project for a wind energy generation system, the complete QA was conceptualized in an English-speaking environment. Test case catalogs and scenarios were created independently, and test cases were generated after English-language reviews. Execution and documentation of test cases in English. "IBM Rational Robot" was used as the automation tool. The work was mainly carried out in a SCADA lab specially set up for the project, which established an autonomous LAN (heterogeneous Ethernet with 10Mbit, 100Mbit, and Gigabit bridges in the form of Level 1 and Level 2 switches) with Bachmann PLCs and dedicated turbine control systems (PCs) and MetMast emulators (meteorological measuring stations). Creation of own test-supporting tools with Delphi 7, Java, and C++, as well as other high-level languages. Prior to the test series, a 1-2 month analysis of the existing specification documents of the planned system took place. Among other things, a plausibility and feasibility study was written in English as part of the QA document.