THE CLIENT
Autodesk was founded 25 years ago as a pioneer in the world of computer-aided design (CAD). Their flagship product, AutoCAD software, has become synonymous with CAD and they stand as a world leader in 2D and 3D design, engineering, and entertainment software.
With industry-leading 3D solutions for industrial design and manufacturing; architecture, engineering, and construction; as well as media and entertainment, Autodesk software creates digital models and workflows to enable customers to not only see their designs but also see how they work in the real world. More than 9 million architects, designers, engineers, manufacturers, and digital artists use Autodesk products in a diverse collection of industries throughout the design and engineering world.
BUSINESS CHALLENGE
Autodesk products result from years of experience in supporting design professionals in virtually every industry. Whether the design workflow involves Building Information Modeling in architecture and construction, Digital Prototyping in automotive and manufacturing, or Digital Entertainment Creation in film and video games, Autodesk has a suitable product. Autodesk maintains a yearly release schedule for its entire product line and therefore requires a well-rounded testing partner that is:
- Proficient with all of their products’ features and functionality.
- Knowledgeable in the engineering design domain.
- flexible enough to handle the peaks and valleys associated with Autodesk’s cyclic development cycle.
- Able to communicate and coordinate with their developer teams across the world.
- Capable of strictly adhering to their well-developed engineering processes which have been proven to provide a quality product year in and year out.
SOLUTION: WHAT IT MEANS TO PARTNER WITH XBOSOFT
Partnering with XBOSoft enabled Autodesk to benefit from a wide range of XBOSoft’s software testing solutions and expertise, such as:
Software Engineering Services
With developers from multiple products around the world and multi-platform support, Autodesk needed a full-service software engineering shop that could take a software build, run utilities to convert it to over 10 languages, test the build for both functional and localization defects, then go back and fix the localization defects, while tracking and verifying defects and working closely with Autodesk engineering staff for upcoming builds. This process cycled for several rounds depending on the product while adhering to strict communication and engineering procedures.
Functional and Localization Testing
With multiple products delivered to customers around the globe in various languages, the test cases can multiply very quickly. Autodesk’s product is also very complex and requires domain expertise to be able to find deep process-oriented defects. XBO’s testing team, stable from year to year, and release to release, has been able to accumulate the domain expertise required to find defects before Autodesk’s customers do.
Technical Publishing
Autodesk’s thousands of users in different parts of the globe also need up-to-date and accurate product information in their own language. XBOSoft worked with Autodesk engineering, and their numerous localization vendors to coordinate and produce final product documentation for both online and print form. This required project management and communication skills to keep the project on track with multiple parties involved.
XBOSOFT’S ADVANTAGE
Flexibility
Autodesk utilizes XBO software engineering, testing, and technical publication services on a cyclic basis, year by year with a major software release for 4 of its major products. What started out as a small testing team for only black-box functional testing on one product has expanded to multiple products and services. The on/off project model neatly fits Autodesk’s yearly development cycle.
Communication
All test results are reported through Autodesk’s approved communication procedures in combination with our online communications CommOn™ for backup, 24×7. With Autodesk engineering located in San Rafael, CA, USA, Singapore, and Neuchatel, Switzerland, XBO collaborates with appropriate product specialists, ensuring bugs get fixed and trouble spots identified before their become problems.
Stable Team
Working with Autodesk’s product line requires a deep understanding of the engineering design domain. XBOSoft has developed and maintained the knowledge through a dedicated team assigned to Autodesk.
Process Adherence
Autodesk needs a quick testing turn-around requiring frequent regression tests across the entire functionality matrix, multiple platforms, and in multiple languages on a build-by-build basis. Employing Autodesk’s engineering processes and specialized testing tools, XBO successfully produces each build leading to the timely release of multiple products.
CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
“We needed a vendor that could adhere strictly to our outsourcing processes while helping us to maintain our quality standards at optimal cost. Flexibility is key for us, and XBOSoft provides Autodesk with the on/off switch it needs for top-notch quality assurance and testing services.”
