Testing considerations in smart metering infrastructure – an illustration

SMI implementations are gigantic projects with multiple programs running in parallel to achieve the overall objective. An SMI implementation results in significant new and improved business processes. SMI implementation consists of multiple components, which include smart meters, meter data management system, communication infrastructure, and their integration with existing utility systems, such as the customer profile, billing/CIS systems, Outage Management System, Geographical Information Systems, analytics, and other applications.

SMI testing involves an extent of activities to ensure that each individual components of the system meets the business requirements and to make sure that the integration of end-to-end systems are working as expected. Hence, there is scope for multiple testing activities across different technical areas in SMI implementation. Testing of the software components is a critical success...