RTL is much more than television alone. With the streaming service Videoland, the online platform RTL.nl, and the weather app Buienradar, it is one of the biggest players in the digital market. Entertainment, news, and sports: RTL delivers it where and when you want it. For the testing activities, RTL called upon the professionals from Squerist (part of Sofius). During a challenging implementation, Squerist completely relieved RTL of its concerns.
The Challenge
Millions of Dutch people watch RTL every day. Commercial breaks may seem straightforward, but behind the scenes, that is far from simple. RTL’s success largely revolves around advertisement sales. Therefore, it was crucial that a new order management system – Mydas – not only functioned well but was also robust enough to process thousands of orders simultaneously.
The development of Mydas lasted 3.5 years and brought with it major challenges and risks. RTL engaged Squerist to ensure this complex project was completed successfully.
Squerist as an extension of the team
Squerist provided not only a Test Manager but also testers and a Scrum Master. At its peak, seven Squerist professionals worked at RTL. Although officially consultants, they felt like a permanent part of the team.
“Squerist was not an external party, but a partner that relieved us of our concerns, sensed what was needed, and helped the project succeed.”
The consultants contributed ideas, worked outside of their own role when necessary, and kept the team sharp. For example, our colleague Martin van der Ploeg was known for his tenacity: he ensured that deadlines were met and that agreements were honored.
Test Approach and Team Dynamics
An important point of attention was managing expectations and maintaining the “we” feeling. Teams were strict with themselves, so it was necessary to regularly zoom out, celebrate successes together, and have fun.
In addition, Squerist brought new insights. Working in Scrum was still relatively new for many teams, as were technical testing forms such as load testing. Where previously the focus was mainly functional, the realization grew about how important a robust system and structured testing are. With the right guidance, teams were able to make rapid progress.
The Result
The go-live of Mydas went smoothly, an enormous achievement considering the complexity and importance of the system. RTL looks back with pride and satisfaction. As Chris van Wijnen himself says:
“During the few times we didn’t listen to Squerist’s advice, that’s actually when the biggest problems we had arose.”
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