Questcon Technologies Announces Major Test Automation Engagement for Duke Energy, a World Leading Provider of Energy Products and Services

Business Wire, June 28, 2005

STAMFORD, Conn. -- Questcon Technologies, a division of Howard Systems International Inc., (HSI) announced today that the company has been selected to conduct a Test Automation engagement by Duke Energy. The client has made a strategic decision to migrate the automation regression test cases that support their core business application, the Customer Billing and Information System (CBIS), from a Visual Basic platform to .NET. Questcon will be responsible for assessing the current test processes, identifying process improvement opportunities, developing an automation framework and testing architecture to be used in this and future projects, training and mentoring the client's QA and Testing staff and creating all required test cases jointly with the client's team.

"This is a great opportunity for Questcon to demonstrate the value of our QuestAssured(TM) Methodology, our indepth expertise in automated testing and our ability to help our client realize the highest possible ROI on their test tool investment." said Walter Laney, Questcon's Account Manager. "The client has built a highly experienced testing team with deep knowledge of their business. Through our training and mentoring process we have been able to augment their business knowledge with our best practices in the use of tools and repeatable processes. The result is a world-class testing organization and a process that will provide benefits to this, and all future application testing projects."

Energy is among the primary drivers of today's global economy. In conducting this vital engagement the Questcon team will combine its vertical Utilities Industry expertise and best practices to create a client-specific approach to the project. The Questcon team will follow the same quality roadmap used successfully in hundreds of similar projects, training, mentoring and working closely with the client's QA and Testing organization to ensure the quality of the learning experience and a smooth knowledge transfer process. Project governance will be provided by Questcon's Director of Quality Solutions to ensure all project deliverables are completed within the client's tight timeframe and budget.

About Howard Systems International: Headquartered in Stamford, CT, Howard Systems International, Inc. (HSI) www.howardsystems.com and our affiliated companies have become leaders in providing consulting and IT solutions. For 30 years, HSI has not only provided customers with a Return on Investment, but also a Return on Relationship. Our national network of offices and affiliated companies, quality methodologies, and industry best practices, enables us to focus on the integrity of our customers' software and systems, so that our customers can focus on the core business.

About Questcon Technologies: Questcon Technologies (www.questcon.com), a division of Howard Systems International, is a premier provider of innovative Quality Assurance and Process Improvement solutions for organizations looking to improve their business and software development processes. Since 1991, we have delivered strategic, client-driven solutions focused on quality and based on years of experience with Quality Assurance and software development & testing best practices. Our mission is to help companies increase business performance through innovative quality solutions, and we have helped hundreds of organizations with everything from strategizing for quality to creating an environment of continuous improvement.