Testing, Organization and Management Database (TOM)

Automated test procedures reduce time-to-market

A critical factor of a successful mobile communications product is its time-to-market Testing performed on the product beforehand has a significant impact on its market entry. Thus the automation of test procedures is a vital instrument for considerably reducing time-to-market. CETECOM’s internet-based database solution TOM (Testing, Organization and Management Database) enables the automation of test project administration, optimizes the test procedures and contributes to a quick market launch.

Database-supported management of test projects

TOM is a modular instrument for database-supported project and test system administration. The development of the TOM database in 2000 was based on CETECOM’s vast experience in mobile communications testing. Today, the different TOM modules cover not only GSM and 3G technologies but also AE, GAN, DVB-H, Bluetooth® and LTE (Long Term Evolution).
Currently, TOM has a market share of more than 60 percent. After proving its optimization potential at CETECOM’s own test laboratories, the TOM database has been successfully implemented at the R&D departments and test labs of different manufacturers. Today, TOM has supported and managed the testing process of over 60 percent of mobile phones approved for market entry.

The benefits of TOM

The TOM database has several features and functionalities:

• An internal knowledge base for technical and legal information (test platforms, test system software, test case categories and validation status, test specifications, RAT files, operator notes, PICS mappings)
• A platform for the exchange of project-related data
• Automatic saving of all project data on local servers, independent of location, and transfer of the data to a global database
• Uniform networking of test systems – even from different manufacturers or laboratory locations
• Optimum utilization of available testing capacities and planning of necessary maintenance measures thus reducing turnaround time

TOM allows for the interplay of specifications, test cases and test systems to be networked in such a way that the entire project procedure can be standardized and thus optimized. This includes:

• Creation of test plans based on PICS/PIXIT and/or specification updates
• Resource planning with view of test systems
• Conducting of tests
• Automated preparation of the test reports
• Archiving of all project-relevant data

CETECOM customers can quickly access their test results on the internet at any time. Test results can even be automatically transferred from CETECOM’s TOM database to the customer’s version of TOM in certain instances.

TOM can be used at any location, with any test system and for any technology:

• LTE module commercially available at a very early stage of the LTE rollout
• Integration of different test platform types and technologies
• Time-saving, automatic archiving and analysis of test results
• Generation of optimized test reports
• Always up to date by means of database-linked information storage
• Data synchronization via HTTP polling between TOM at CETECOM and the TOM at the customer
• Secure access to data from anywhere via the internet
• Data secured by VPN encryption and HTTPS
• Suitable for mobile handset manufacturers, testing companies and test system manufacturers

TOM standardizes and optimizes all elements of a project:

• New project setup with all organizational, technical, legal and project-related details
• Automatic generation of MS Excel reports and statistics
• Automatic creation of an optimized test plan on the basis of the relevant test specifications in online and printout form
• Optimization of test plans with the help of PICS/PIXIT
• Optimization of test plans with the help of modification sets and deltas from test specifications and test platform preferences
• Conducting tests and archiving results
• Creation of test reports in online and printout form
• Access to project information, overview and status in all project phases and direct comparison of different test projects via the internet
• Planning of test system resources