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Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, Skyguide is a company with a longstanding history of contribution to the development of Swiss aviation.
Skyguide plays a vital role in delivering air navigation services for Switzerland and neighboring nations, safeguarding the well-being of both civil and military air traffic by overseeing and controlling Swiss airspace.
Renowned for ensuring secure, dependable, and efficient air navigation, Skyguide has successfully guided more than 1.2 million flights annually through Europe's intricate airspace.
Exploring Skyguide’s test automation journey with Squish
We had the opportunity to speak to Skuguide's Test Automation Engineers, Duncan Fletcher and Geoffroy Carlotti, to learn more about the company's extensive use of Squish to test a diverse range of applications.
Notably, Skyguide's engineers adhere to a Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) paradigm in their automation endeavors. This methodology revolves around creating stories in a common language to articulate an application's expected behavior.
This unique approach allows both technical and non-technical users to contribute to the creation of feature descriptions and tests. The engineers we spoke to play a crucial role in establishing the foundational aspects of this BDD framework for other teams within Skyguide, enabling both technical and business professionals to actively participate in the realm of test automation.
A deep dive into advanced automation techniques at Skyguide
Engineers at Skyguide are no strangers to leveraging advanced automation techniques, particularly with Squish. In a specific application, as described by Duncan and Geoffroy, a sophisticated multi-pronged approach is employed.
This approach combines localized Optical Character Recognition (OCR) with localized image search and Windows object recognition. The application under scrutiny, crafted in C++ and operating on Windows, constitutes the flight radar system crucially positioned in front of air traffic controllers.
An essential aspect of this radar system is the intricate algorithm determining how a flight appears on the screen. According to Geoffroy, there are numerous rules governing the proper display of a flight on the radar screen, including the adherence to specific color rules to ensure the air traffic controller's focus is not diverted.
Squish has proven instrumental in streamlining the testing process for this application through automation. Geoffroy emphasized the enormity of the task, stating, "It's impossible to test all these cases manually, so this is huge."
The engineers highlighted the general diversity of applications tested within the company, making Squish stand out for its remarkable ability to test such a varied set of applications within a unified framework.
Harmony in testing Skyguide's inclusive BDD approach and automation aspirations
Technical and non-technical project stakeholders alike reap the benefits of the Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) approach implemented by Skyguide's engineers.
At its core, Duncan and Geoffroy are shaping the BDD framework to be accessible to both testers and requirements authors. This approach ensures that every team member can easily access, comprehend, and respond to test results.
The engineers aspire to broaden this involvement by actively engaging more end-users and business professionals in BDD scenarios. The ultimate goal is to approach GUI testing in a holistic and comprehensive manner that encompasses all facets of the business.
While Duncan acknowledged that the team still conducts a substantial portion of manual tests, Skyguide is progressively shifting its focus towards automation.
