Testing LifeCycle in the Telecom Industry

The Test Lifecycle in the telecom industry is similar to that of any other industry but with a stress on details. Here is how the test lifecycle looks like along with the test artifacts.

Telecom Testing Stage	Test artifacts
Business View	Requirement based test artifacts Feasibility based artifacts Standard and policy identification based test artifacts Operation and maintenance considerations related test artifacts
System/ Architecture	System test artifacts (Security, Installation) Test artifacts for virtual prototype Special system testing artifacts ( interoperability, disaster recovery)
Implementation	Unit test artifacts Integration test artifacts Quality and performance artifacts Regression, load testing, sanity, etc.
Deployment	Acceptance test artifacts Integration test artifacts Quality and performance artifacts Functional test artifacts Alpha/Beta test artifacts

Types of Testing Performed on Telecom Software

• Interconnection Testing
• Conformance Testing
• IVR Testing
• Performance Testing
• Security Testing
• Interoperability Testing
• Protocol Testing
• Functional Testing
• Automation Testing

Sample TestCases for Telecom Testing

In Telecom Testing, one must consider testing following

Various Telecom Testing	Testing activities in Telecom
Billing System	Verify, the telephone number of the customer, is registered under telecom operator Verify whether number is still working Verify the number entered is valid, and it is 10 digit number Verify the number is not blocked due to some reasons Verify if the number has any outstanding bills, if exist, display it on screen Verify the number has all previous accounts or bills cleared Verify the system enables statement generation as per customer requirement Verify the system has recorded number of calls accurately Verify the plan chosen by the customer displays on the billing system Verify the total amount billed is accurate and mapped to the service offered
Application Testing	Protocols, signaling, field testing for IOT Usage and functional testing for core mobile handset applications like call, SMS, transfer/hold, etc. Testing of various applications like finance, sports and location based services, etc. OSS-BSS testing
OSS-BSS Testing	Billing, customer case, interconnect billing, order and fraud management, revenue assurance Network management, mediation, provisioning, etc. EAI, CRM & ERP, data warehousing, etc.
Conformance Testing	Electrical interface compatibility Conformance of protocol Conformance of transport layers
IVR Testing	Interactive test scenarios Detection of voice energy Broadband audio tones Extensive conditional branching sequences DTMF Entries

Summary
The telecom service is a very broad field consists of various component including cables, networks, signals, protocols, etc. and their testing requires broad range of testing techniques, so the choice of testing techniques and strategy highly depends on what component of telecom is tested.
The test requirement, scope, test scenarios, testing techniques, testing tools, etc. varies with the type of testing involves, it can be protocol testing for VoIP or wireless device testing for CDMA. The tutorial gives basic but complete overview of how telecom testing can be performed and discuss various prospects that are crucial for telecom testing.