A government services agency aimed to enhance the efficiency and reliability of its Salesforce system to improve service delivery and case management. The digital delivery team focused on significantly improving the system’s performance and reliability.

Without quality controls and efficient validation processes, the agency faced constant overruns associated with inefficient and time-consuming manual activities. This inefficiency threatened the system’s reliability and the organization’s ability to deliver timely and high value services.

Challenges

The main challenge was to establish robust quality controls and validation processes for Salesforce within a constrained budget and timeline. The goal was to swiftly identify and resolve bugs, ensuring stable deployments and maintaining system reliability.

High-level Business Value

For stakeholders, the enhanced efficiency and reliability of the Salesforce system translated to several key business values:

  • Increased Trust and Satisfaction: A dependable system for staff leads to higher trust and satisfaction among operators.

  • Operational Efficiency: Quality controls significantly reduced the time and effort required for validation processes, thus improving overall operational efficiency.

  • Risk Mitigation: Swift bug identification and resolution minimized risks associated with unreliable deployments.

Our Solution

The delivery team leveraged their expertise to set up effective quality controls and validation processes quickly. Key actions included:

  • Rapid Framework Establishment: Within a week, the team established a robust quality control framework using a Ruby-based automation tool.

  • Streamlined Validation: Automated validation processes were implemented, expediting the testing process.

  • Efficient Data Setup: Automation was used to set up data, even facilitating training for contact center staff.

  • Fast Feedback Loops: Regular execution of validation processes provided immediate feedback to developers, enabling quick bug fixes and improvements in code quality.

Learning & Observations

The implementation provided valuable insights:

  • Efficiency Gains: Quality controls and automated validation in Salesforce significantly reduced the time and effort required for regression testing and data setup.

  • Enhanced Reliability: A well-established quality control framework improved deployment reliability, even in a brittle process.

  • Accelerated Bug Fixing: Frequent feedback loops accelerated the bug-fixing process and improved overall code quality.

  • Long-term Benefits: Implementing automation, even when not initially scoped, offered substantial long-term benefits and cost savings.

Conclusion

The delivery team’s efforts at this agency resulted in a more efficient and reliable Salesforce system. This not only ensured higher trust and satisfaction among operators but also provided significant business value by improving operational efficiency and mitigating risks. The case study demonstrates how robust quality controls and validation processes can drive substantial improvements in system performance and reliability.