Indus Software

Challenge

Increase control, productivity, and efficiency of software development lifecycle

Solution

Serena PVCS Professional

Results

• Centralized and standardized issue and release management
• Improved quality and customer service
• Accelerated resolution times
• Reduced development costs
• Allowed implementation of best practices and standards
• Contributed to achievement of SEI CMM Level 5 and ISO certification

“We use PVCS Professional as the backbone of our software development and quality control processes. . . .This is instrumental in delivering better quality solutions to our customers, as well as in reducing development costs.”
- Ashok Jagtap, Vice President, Development, Indus Software

Stardardization Improves Overall Customer Service

Financial institutions across the globe are striving to attain competitive advantage by enhancing productivity, reducing operating costs, and improving customer service. Banking and financial solutions companies are increasingly developing in-house processes and leveraging technology to help them deliver efficient and reliable software consistently.

Indus, a major provider of products and services in the banking and financial sector, has taken multiple measures to achieve better control and increase productivity and efficiency in the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) of its projects. Founded in 1990 and headquartered in Pune, India, Indus is a business unit of R Systems International Limited (www.indussoft.com), based in El Dorado Hills, California.

R Systems International Ltd, with offices in the U.S., Singapore, Malaysia, and India, has achieved ISO 9001:2000 certification and has been assessed at SEI Capability Maturity Model® (CMM) Level 5.

Indus has provided comprehensive solutions to global customers such as ABN AMRO Bank and Standard Chartered Bank, along with many other large banking and non-banking institutions in more than 25 countries. The company offers products and services primarily in the domain of retail lending, and its flagship product, Lending Solutions from Indus (LSI), has been implemented successfully in multiple client locations worldwide.

As each client’s business processes, IT environment, and requirements are unique, Indus provides customized technological solutions on every project that is client specific. “As such, we need to manage different versions and different releases of our products for all our customers on different platforms,” explained Ashok Jagtap, Vice President, Development, at Indus.

Additionally, the company works within service-level agreements established with each client. Considering the numerous issues and releases to track, Indus needed a centralized, standardized approach to issue and release management. Until the late '90s, each team involved on a project recorded steps in its own way — with different naming, numbering, and formats. Without a uniform approach, the company could not ensure any control over the development releases, which resulted in more issues arising at client sites.

End-to-End Issue and Release Management

Today, Indus has a standardized process to ensure it meets customers’ expectations and its own goals when it comes to quality and timely delivery. The company now manages its many issues and releases for each project with Serena PVCS Professional. The product suite, which includes PVCS Version Manager, TeamTrack, and Builder, offers the industry’s most sophisticated version management, issue and workflow management, and build capabilities.

With TeamTrack, a web-architected process and issue management solution, the company keeps up with every issue for each implementation across its global client base. TeamTrack automates the complete cycle necessary to take care of issues as they move from initial submission to delivery to the customer, ensuring that no issue goes unresolved. One workflow handles issues from Development to Product Assurance, while a second one oversees the steps from Product Assurance to User Acceptance Testing.

Indus also extends TeamTrack access, via an easy-to-use online interface, to its many customers. This empowers customers to submit their issues directly and then systematically tracks them to resolution. A Configuration Controller and Product Assurance (PA) point person oversees the entire process and makes sure that, once the final testing is complete and verified, the new release goes to the customer.

Indus follows the progress of all releases with PVCS Version Manager. Based on the client’s needs, an administrator first determines the architecture and platform to be used for a specific build. Then, the build moves through Development, Integration Testing, and Product Assurance.

Anyone working on the release enters issues as they arise and regularly checks the system to ensure that all issues are addressed. Any Indus team member with system access can view the status of an issue or release at any given time. When the Product Assurance team certifies the release as closed, the Quality Controller delivers it to the customer.

Improving Quality and Timely Delivery

TeamTrack and PVCS Version Manager also provide essential workflow automation that ensures Indus addresses issues and completes projects per service-level agreements. For example, business rules set in TeamTrack might dictate that one step for a specific client needs to be completed in two hours. If that step is not closed within the timeframe, TeamTrack alerts the appropriate individuals. As a result, Indus has improved its overall SLA resolution.

Having a single, centralized repository for all issues and releases has had a significant impact on the quality and delivery of Indus solutions. The company has seen a 10-15 percent reduction in defects both in-house and at client sites, which in turn has helped Indus meet target release dates more consistently — all amounting to enhanced customer service.

“We never miss a single object in sending a release to a particular customer,” Jagtap said. “Everything that should go into a particular release gets into that release, so we reduce issues and confusion at deployment.”

A Culture of Continuous Improvement

Indus also relies considerably on reporting capabilities in TeamTrack and PVCS Version Manager. The company runs reports daily, weekly, and quarterly to look at types of defects and issues. It publishes charts and reports to make teams aware of common issues.

Such insight and analysis feeds a cycle of continuous improvement that allows Indus to analyze issues, and then pinpoint areas to introduce new standards and drive efficiency. In doing so, the company keeps its processes as streamlined as possible, thereby keeping costs down. With an eye toward ongoing improvement, the company has achieved SEI CMM Level 5 and ISO certification. By its definition, CMM Level 5 requires that organizations identify any weaknesses and proactively strengthen processes to ultimately prevent defects. PVCS Professional has been key to accomplishing such high standards.

“We use PVCS Professional as the backbone of our software development and quality control processes,” Jagtap said. “Increased visibility into issues and the ability to analyze the impact of each change has enabled us to make continuous improvement to our development practices and workflow. This is instrumental in delivering better quality solutions to our customers, as well as in reducing development costs. Furthermore, the solution also allows us to provide superior customer service by being able to track and measure our speed of response to customer requests.”