In the fast-evolving world of software development, reducing time-to-market while maintaining high-quality standards is crucial. A leading financial services provider faced significant challenges in achieving this balance, particularly in their quality engineering processes. To address these challenges, HCLTech partnered with them to leverage GenAI on AWS, transforming their testing and integration efforts and significantly reducing the time required for these critical activities.
The Challenge
Our client’s software development lifecycle (SDLC) was heavily burdened by the time-consuming nature of testing activities, which accounted for 50% of the cycle time. Key challenges included:
- Cycle-time dominated by testing: System integration and regression testing consumed a disproportionate amount of time in the SDLC.
- Test automation de-prioritized: Efforts to script test automation were often sidelined, lacking delivery priority, leading to inconsistent CI/CD (continuous integration/continuous deployment) processes.
- Onboarding bottlenecks: New developers and testers required an average of three months to gain the necessary domain knowledge to contribute effectively, thereby, delaying productivity.
- Inconsistent CI/CD: Fluctuations in test script quality undermined the stability of the CI/CD pipeline, eroding confidence in test automation results.
The Objective
The primary objective was to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of our client’s quality engineering processes, specifically by:
- Reducing the time and effort required for API and integration testing.
- Amplifying knowledge within the organization through an in-house Large Language Model (LLM) that could assist various teams, including Business Analysts, System Analysts, Engineers, Testers and DevOps.
- Establishing a foundation for advancing the entire SDLC with GenAI, improving overall productivity and time-to-market.
The Solution
HCLTech implemented a robust solution using GenAI on AWS to address these challenges:
- GenAI implementation: Leveraged GenAI to overcome critical bottlenecks in testing and integration, drastically reducing the effort and time required.
- API testing efficiency: Achieved a 72% reduction in API testing efforts and a 56% decrease in integration testing efforts through the use of advanced AI models.
- Knowledge amplification: Deployed an in-house LLM that continuously expands its knowledge base, becoming an indispensable resource for various teams.
- AWS integration: Utilized AWS’s robust infrastructure, including Amazon S3, Amazon SageMaker, AWS Lambda and Amazon ECS, to automate and streamline processes, ensuring scalability and reliability.
The Impact
The impact of the GenAI solution on our client’s quality engineering processes was profound:
- Improved CI/CD stability: The integration of AI-driven testing improved the stability and reliability of the CI/CD pipeline, restoring confidence in automated testing processes.
- Accelerated onboarding: New developers and testers could now ramp up more quickly, reducing the onboarding time and enabling faster contributions to projects.
- Strategic advancements in SDLC: The adoption of GenAI laid the groundwork for further innovations across the SDLC, positioning our client to meet the demands of the market with greater speed and efficiency.
