Raising the bar on quality: how roq helped a healthcare provider build a strong testing foundation

OUR CLIENT 

Our client is a major healthcare provider supporting 15 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), over 500 GP practices, and a population of 3.9 million. After NHS structural reforms, the organisation emerged from the dissolution of Primary Care Trusts and needed to build new infrastructure and capability to support its critical data-driven services. 

THE CLIENT CHALLENGE 

The client was embarking on a major transformation programme but lacked the internal testing capability needed to assure delivery. Key challenges included: 

• A fragmented technical landscape with multiple BI tools and disparate data repositories requiring consolidation into a single MS SQL Server data warehouse. 

• No internal test team or established testing approach, with a need for strategic QA and independent assurance across the programme. 

• Testing had to support both Agile and Waterfall methodologies while meeting regulatory requirements around data anonymity and information governance. 

• Limited test environments, tight delivery deadlines, and constrained budgets increased delivery risk. 

• A long-term need to upskill internal staff and embed sustainable testing practices. 

WHAT WE DELIVERED 

Roq deployed an experienced team of consultants through our Delivery Augmentation solution, integrating into the programme and delivering a robust testing approach: 

• Defined and implemented a tailored quality strategy that supported Agile and Waterfall delivery, setting a foundation for scalable, long-term test capability. 

• Provided expert consultants with specialist skills across BI, data migration, performance, and automation testing, flexing to meet demand. 

• Supported full test lifecycle phases, including SIT, UAT, OAT, PAT, and data migration validation, using tools such as SpiraTest, eggPlant Performance, and Red Gate SQL data generator. 

• Introduced structured test environments and virtualisation strategies, while ensuring test data was de-personalised in line with NHS compliance. 

• Delivered knowledge transfer to in-house staff, embedding new skills and increasing client self-sufficiency. 

CLIENT IMPACT 

Our support helped the client reduce delivery risk, embed quality assurance, and raise standards across the programme: 

• Critical risks were identified early, with high-severity defects caught in early test cycles, improving quality and reducing the cost of rework. 

• Regulatory compliance was achieved through secure, anonymised data handling, protecting patient data while ensuring test accuracy. 

• Roq’s independent test governance enabled confident go/no-go decisions, resulting in a key release being delayed — a decision backed by senior sponsors that saved money and raised future delivery standards. 

• Testing processes were embedded sustainably, with Roq consultants delivering knowledge transfer and process improvements that will benefit future programmes. 

To find out how Roq’s Delivery Augmentation solution can support your business, contact our experts at ask@roq.co.uk.