Bupa’s Workday transformation journey with Smart Test automation
“Choosing Smart Test was an easy decision – it’s a market leader. The partnership with Kainos felt seamless, fostering collaboration in building tailored test packs.”
About Bupa
Established in 1947, Bupa's purpose is helping people live longer, healthier, happier lives and making a better world. Bupa is an an international healthcare company serving over 50 million customers worldwide and 87,000 employees, specialising in health insurance, health provision and aged care. With no shareholders, the company reinvest profits into providing more and better healthcare for the benefit of current and future customers.
Bupa transforms HR operations with Workday
In 2017, Bupa made a strategic decision to implement Workday, marking a significant milestone in its journey towards modernising HR operations. As a large global organisation with a complex HR landscape, Bupa faced challenges in achieving a consolidated view of its workforce. With disparate systems and business units operating independently, obtaining a single, unified view of all employees seemed like a daunting task. Recognising the need for a solution that offered simplicity, agility, and scalability, Bupa embarked on a rigorous evaluation process.
After thorough consideration, Workday emerged as the preferred choice, promising to address Bupa’s diverse needs and facilitate seamless integration across it global operations. With approximately 87,000 employees worldwide, including 34,000 currently on Workday, Bupa’s decision to embrace Workday was driven by the platform’s ability to streamline operations and empower business units to respond effectively to evolving demands. Embracing a phased deployment approach, Bupa successfully rolled out Workday across various regions, laying the foundation for future expansion and innovation.
Challenges with manual testing
Challenges with manual testing arose during Bupa's 2017 implementation of Workday, slowing down global integration efforts and continuous improvement initiatives. Lorraine Sasikumar, Global Product Owner at Bupa, elaborates on the struggle stating, “A significant amount of time was spent manually regression testing changes, limiting the capacity for true-value added continuous improvement.”
This manual approach not only impeded the efficiency of testing but also constrained the time available for enhancing processes and addressing emerging needs. Bupa’s dynamic structure and fast-paced environment demanded a responsive approach. Implementing a continuous improvement release framework helped manage workload and prioritise tasks. Working in five/six week release cycles facilitated agility in responding to business demands while maintaining a focus on value-add enhancements.
Smart Test revolutionises Bupa’s testing framework
Facing the necessity of automated testing within release cycles, Bupa sought to streamline its processes and enhance efficiency. After careful evaluation, Smart Test emerged as the preferred solution. Lorraine Sasikumar, emphasising its leadership position, noted “Choosing Smart Test was an easy decision – it’s a market leader. The partnership with Kainos felt seamless, fostering collaboration in building tailored test packs.”
This pivotal decision transformed Bupa’s testing framework, automating repetitive tasks and enabling a sharper focus on innovation and improvement. As Lorraine highlights, “Smart Test allowed us to automate tasks and concentrate on innovation.”
The transformative impact of Smart Test
Smart Test has brought about transformative benefits for Bupa with Lorraine highlighting two significant advantages, “The biggest benefits of Smart Test for us are reduced manual testing effort and risk mitigation.” The foremost advantage lies in the significant reduction of manual testing effort, which has streamlined operations and enhanced efficiency. Moreover, Smart Test plays a crucial role in risk mitigation, ensuring the stability and integrity of Bupa’s Workday platform. “Smart Test provides reassurance and confidence in the stability of our tenants which translates to a better perception of Workday within the organisation.”
By automating testing processes, Smart Test has liberated resources equivalent to ten full-time employees, a testament to its remarkable impact. Bupa has seamlessly integrated Smart Test into its continuous improvement frameworks leveraging its capabilities across release cycles security models, and deployment projects. This strategic utilisation has not only bolstered confidence in migration processes but also facilitated the testing of key integrations, such as payroll systems.
Empowering innovation with Smart Test
With Smart Test handling the heavy lifting of testing tasks, Bupa’s Workday teams are now better equipped to focus on continuous innovation, staying ahead of the curve and ensuring Workday remains a dynamic and evolving platform. Through close collaboration with Kainos support, Bupa maintains a proactive approach, ensuring testing scope aligns with evolving business needs. Lorraine emphasises, “This partnership extends beyond implementation, we work closely with Kainos support, fostering a true partnership for success.”