Test Management and Test Governance for NIF
CLIENT: NSW TrainLink
PROJECT:New Intercity Fleet (NIF) - Technology
The Project Background
NSW TrainLink bought 55 New Intercity Fleet (NIF) trains to replace the old trains carrying customers from Sydney to the Central Coast,
Newcastle, the Blue Mountains and the South Coast. To run these trains smoothly, many applications from NSW TrainLink, Sydney Trains, Transport and System Integrator (SI) needed to be integrated and tested. NSW TrainLink selected Tritusa as their testing partner for this project based on our track record of successfully delivering large
scale quality assurance services. We were responsible for overall test management and test governance for NIF technologies.
Key Challenges
- New trains software had to be integrated and tested with approximately 13 existing applications and 5 new applications.
- More than 100+ integration points.
- Stakeholder management due to the large number of stakeholders, their differing processes, security, platforms and priorities.
- Multiple vendors, different priorities and different release schedules.

Our Approach
Tritusa deployed a Program Test Manager to define the testing strategy for NIF which covered the key testing phases, entry and exit criteria, approach for planning and executing the tests for the different test phases, test deliverables and roles and responsibilities. The test strategy was presented at multiple stakeholder meetings and was approved by NSW TrainLink and the other key stakeholders. RACI matrix defined and agreed with application vendors for multiple testing deliverables and testing deliverables were closely reviewed and tracked. Tritusa worked with multiple application / vendor testing teams on defining the functional and integration testing scope. Test Readiness Review (TRR) process was established to ensure an appropriate level of quality is adhered to during the testing. As the project progressed, it became apparent that the UAT was going to be a large scale task. Tritusa were able to support this realisation and react quickly to reshape the plan to fit in with the agreed objectives. We focused our effort on the high risk areas, assessing the core business processes and prioritising the testing. Utilising our delivery methodology ,we ensured quality at all stages of testing from scoping and execution to reporting. We built up a deep knowledge of the Transport system landscape, history and business objectives, and became a critical partner for the NIF program. This enabled us to deliver number of other testing engagements within the transport cluster.Bentleys offer a full range of integrated business advisory, accounting and audit services, including, but not limited to:
What We Achieved
- Successfully led the program through various testing phases, Unit, System integration Testing (SIT) and User Acceptance Testing (UAT), Regression testing, Operational Readiness Testing (ORT) and Production Verification Testing (PVT).
- Successfully managed the multiple stakeholders and completed the testing activities within the agreed timeframe.
- Tritusa developed the BAU testing process for future use by NSW TrainLink people.
- NIF Trains are running on the network