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WHAT IS A SCHEDULING TEST?

Testing Route Optimisation Software as part of a selection process means checking functions, usability, response, and stability within its intended environments. These all add up to answer the requirements set by stakeholders. Does the software achieve or exceed the desired results?

A Scheduling Test is a set of calculations determined with project sponsors, plus many additional tests that encompass the provider’s experience of the wider field service management profession.

Examples include:

• Jobs removed from schedules, including last minute cancellations (e.g. customer not present, missing stock parts)
• Jobs added with excessive durations
• Field employees becoming unavailable with little to no notice
• Standby options and hours removed
• SLAs created
• Task/inspection times increased and decreased
• Driving speeds calculated with real-time averages for each road segment
• In-day reallocations, including longer lunch breaks

All calculations are presented back to make it easy for service teams to see and understand why the resulting routes have been created, with settings easily tweaked to promote confidence in the software.

WHAT DATA SHOULD WE TEST WITH?

To give you the closest representation of a successful outcome, your provider should listen to your project requirements and suggest a configuration that mirrors your current working practices. An example might be to provide engineer/technician ‘works completed’ data for a period of 6 months. This creates a sensible baseline to compare against.

However, GDPR is everyone’s responsibility. You may have signed an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) when entering discussions, but as a Data Controller you hold the key to personally identifiable information. Good information management means working with your suppliers to provide lookalike or obfuscated data for the protection of your employees and customers.

This could begin with addresses replaced with landmarks on the same street, like shops and schools. You could then include the exact numbers for planned and reactive appointment requests, working hours, material and labour costs—any rules that mirror route optimisation pain points.