Software has become an essential part of modern railway operations. From customer-facing digital services to internal operational systems, technology supports an increasingly important part of delivering reliable transportation.

As digital capabilities expand, so does the complexity of managing software quality.

For many organizations, testing practices develop alongside individual projects. Teams adopt different ways of working, documentation grows organically, and quality processes become more difficult to coordinate across a growing technology organization.

PT Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero) saw an opportunity to approach software quality differently.

Rather than treating quality as an activity performed shortly before a release, the organization set out to strengthen it through clearer governance, common standards, and a long-term operating model that could evolve alongside its digital transformation.

KAI partnered with SQUADAP on a software quality transformation engagement focused on establishing the foundations required for sustainable improvement.

Looking beyond today’s projects

Many software improvement initiatives begin by addressing immediate project needs. KAI chose to take a broader view.

Instead of introducing isolated process changes, the engagement focused on creating an operating model capable of supporting software quality across multiple teams, delivery approaches, and future digital initiatives.

The work began with a collaborative assessment involving stakeholders from Quality Assurance, Software Development, Product Management, and IT Leadership.

Internationally recognized frameworks, including TMMi, ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119, and ISTQB, were used as reference points to assess current practices and identify opportunities to strengthen consistency, governance, and long-term capability.

The objective was not to apply a generic textbook framework. It was to design an approach that reflected KAI’s operational environment and could realistically be adopted by its teams.

Turning strategy into an operating model

A quality strategy creates value only when it can be translated into the everyday decisions and activities of software delivery teams.

The engagement therefore focused on connecting strategic direction with practical operational guidance.

The resulting quality framework brought together governance, standardized testing practices, planning guidance, organizational responsibilities, and implementation assets within a single operating model.

Rather than functioning as independent documents, these elements were designed as connected parts of one quality management system.

Together, they provide teams with a common language for planning, governing, executing, and continuously improving software quality.

Quality as an organizational capability

Organizations often invest in better testing tools and automation. Fewer invest first in the organizational systems that enable those technologies to create sustained value.

Governance, clearly defined responsibilities, shared standards, measurable objectives, and continuous learning may be less visible than a new automation platform, but they create the conditions that allow quality initiatives to scale.

By strengthening these foundations, KAI has established a platform that can support future initiatives in quality engineering, test automation, quality measurement, and software delivery improvement.

More importantly, the operating model enables quality practices to mature progressively as the organization’s business and technology landscape continue to evolve.