SITUATION
Assessing the performance of IR’s newly-introduced and upgraded services presented a technical testing challenge which sought to understand performance impacts and customer experience expectations of its new hardware and software solutions.
Chris Hourigan, Business Transformation – Testing Lead at IR, says “There are multiple touchpoints to IR systems from individual taxpayers, business partners and the tax agents who interact with IR. Combined, there can be hundreds of thousands of accounts interactions with our systems on a daily basis, generally at key calendar dates.” This is why performance testing is an essential component of quality assurance. “By simulating the full loads expected at those overlapping events, IR has a clear view on how
its systems will cope before they go live,” he adds.
The purpose of the business transformation, notes Patrick O’ Doherty, Enterprise Architecture & Business Design Lead – Business Transformation, is the delivery of a digital real-time interaction replacing traditionally paper-based activities. The scale of performance testing these interactions is amplified through the range of IR products available to specific customers, while the underlying structure of the systems presents a further complication.