On-Site Consulting Engagement to Fix RF Testing Equipment for Drive Test Engineers

1. Context

As a Technology Consultant, I provided technical support to mobile operators across multiple regions, helping them troubleshoot and optimise their use of RF testing tools for network performance assessments. These tools were essential for engineers conducting drive tests to evaluate network quality.

For this engagement, our customer, a mobile operator in a Western European country, faced an issue with RF testing phones that were unexpectedly rebooting during drive tests, preventing engineers from completing essential network evaluations. I was assigned to resolve the issue through on-site collaboration with the operator’s technical team, the vendor’s Account Manager, and the R&D team based in a different country.

2. Challenge

Key challenges included:

• Operational disruption: For the customer, this issue caused significant delays and disrupted the network optimisation team’s testing activities. Engineers were unable to complete essential testing, making it difficult to collect reliable performance data and delaying critical assessments needed for network optimisation.
• Urgent cross-functional coordination: For me, resolving the issue required immediate international travel and close collaboration between the operator’s engineers, the vendor’s Account Manager, and the R&D team in another country. Before departure, I aligned with the R&D team on a new troubleshooting tool to ensure a structured and effective troubleshooting process.

3. Approach

To address the issue efficiently, I implemented a structured resolution strategy:

• Stakeholder engagement: Upon arrival on-site, I aligned with the vendor’s Account Manager to coordinate the next steps before engaging with the operator’s engineers. This ensured a structured approach to understanding the full scope of the issue and developing a resolution plan.
• Collaborative troubleshooting: Worked directly with engineers to replicate the problem, collect diagnostic logs, and escalate findings to the R&D team for root cause analysis. The troubleshooting process involved using a new tool that I had aligned on with the R&D team before departure.
• On-site resolution: After the R&D team developed a software patch, I manually installed and tested it on affected devices to validate its effectiveness, successfully resolving the issue during this engagement. However, a few weeks later, an interrelated issue emerged, requiring a second on-site visit to apply an updated firmware fix. Following this update, the problem was fully resolved.

4. Role and Achievements

As the primary technical liaison, I:

• Led urgent coordination between the operator’s network optimisation team, the vendor’s Account Manager, and R&D teams to ensure a structured resolution process.
• Managed rapid international travel and logistics, balancing on-site engagement with remote collaboration to expedite troubleshooting efforts.
• Diagnosed and resolved the root cause, restoring the operator’s ability to conduct uninterrupted drive testing and ensuring minimal disruption to network optimisation activities.
• Provided hands-on technical implementation, personally applying and verifying software patches during two separate site visits, ensuring long-term issue resolution.

5. Results

• The issue was fully resolved across two on-site visits, restoring the operator’s ability to conduct uninterrupted network performance assessments.
• The structured troubleshooting approach was well received by the operator, strengthening trust and collaboration between teams.
• The resolution ensured minimal disruption to the operator’s network optimisation activities, keeping critical testing on schedule.
• My contributions were acknowledged internally for effectively managing a high-priority technical escalation, demonstrating strong problem-solving and customer engagement skills.