Estimate a testing centre of excellence for a Guidewire implementation

For insurers and providers solutioning end-to-end testing for a Guidewire InsuranceSuite programme.

Engagement type: Solo Pod
Experts: 1 lead · 1 consulted
Hours: ~30
Duration: 2 weeks

What the client needed

A firm needed to understand how service providers estimate the effort to set up a testing centre of excellence covering end-to-end testing for a Guidewire InsuranceSuite implementation: the estimation basis, the team, the tooling and the ramp.

The experts engaged

Previously at Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Infosys · 20+ years

Roles heldgroup manager, presales for testing and ADM practices · principal consultant, test advisory · test architect

Two decades in testing for global enterprises: programmer to test architect to presales lead
Test maturity assessments and testing transformation programmes
Solutioning for platform implementations

Atlas Verified · Tier B

Previously at HCLTech, PwC · 7 years in Guidewire

Roles heldsenior technical manager, Guidewire implementation · manager, Guidewire implementation, insurance

Guidewire implementations at large insurers since 2020
RFP, vendor selection and contracting; plans with scope, timeline, budget and resources
Teams of 20–38 across onshore and offshore

Atlas Verified · Tier C

A exceptional · B strong · C competent — the tier is derived from the whole assessment, not a single score. The transcript and report are open to you before you engage. How verification works →

The brief

The questions on the table

As the client wrote them, lightly shortened. Client and respondents are not named.

Q1
How do providers estimate the effort for a Guidewire testing CoE — by module, by test type, by release cadence?
Q2
What team, tooling and automation level does a CoE need on day one, and how does it ramp?
Q3
What drives effort up: integrations, conversions, regulatory scope, number of lines of business?

The hours

What the work involved

01
Framed the estimation basis
PolicyCenter, BillingCenter, ClaimCenter; functional, integration, conversion, performance and regression testing; release cadence — with the parameters that move effort in each.
02
Built the effort model
Person-days by module and test type for a representative programme, with the automation percentage and the tooling assumed, and the S/M/L drivers written next to each line.
03
Team and ramp
Roles and levels for the CoE, the ramp over the programme, and what to keep onshore.
04
Cross-check with an implementation lead
A Guidewire implementation manager checked the model against programmes he had run with 20–38-person teams.
05
Working session
To walk the model with the client’s solutioning team.

Deliverables

What the client received

A testing effort modelBy module and test type, with automation and tooling assumptions.
S/M/L driversWhat moves effort and by how much.
CoE team and rampRoles, levels, onshore/offshore.
One working sessionWith notes.

The terms

What an engagement like this costs

You buy hours in blocks and can change the expert at the end of any block, at no extra cost. Longer projects run in stages: pause after a block, pick up the next stage when you are ready.

Pricing in full →

Rate band: $65–$250 /hr; Senior specialists can be up to $500
Hour blocks: 1 · 2 · 5 · 10 · 20 · 50 · custom
This engagement: Solo Pod · ~30 hours · 2 weeks

Solutioning a Guidewire programme?

Describe what you need

For example: “We need an effort estimate for a testing CoE covering PolicyCenter, BillingCenter and ClaimCenter for a mid-size insurer.”

We aim to come back with matched experts within 24 to 72 hours.