Starting point
A premium OEM integrates charging processes from the vehicle’s perspective: vehicle data (CarData), charging states and the interplay of vehicle, charge point and backend. In the field, the vehicle meets a wide variety of charge points and backends – and they do not all behave the same way.
Field issues were hard to reproduce: what happens at one particular charging station with one particular backend can hardly be recreated at a desk. At the same time, releases had to be validated against several backends without manually testing every scenario.
Approach
From our test lab, which we have been running since 2014, we built a test case catalogue with more than 250 real-world test cases – from authentication and charging profiles to error and edge cases as they actually occur in the field.
Charge points and backends that are not physically present in the lab are covered by simulators. This makes it possible to create even rare constellations on demand: connection drops in the middle of a charging session, unexpected status changes, vendors interpreting the protocol differently.
The test case catalogue was connected to the OEM’s CI pipeline. Since then, releases run automatically against the relevant scenarios and multiple backends – before they ever reach a vehicle in the field.
Outcome
Field issues can now be reproduced in the lab instead of being chased in the field. Releases ship validated – tested against real-world cases instead of assumptions.
The first project grew into a long-term collaboration: since 2011, we have been supporting the OEM on vehicle data and charging integration – from early pilot fleets to systems in a series production environment.
Building blocks used
Test lab with real charge points (running since 2014), a catalogue of 250+ real-world test cases, charge point and backend simulators, and CI integration into the OEM’s toolchain.