Fast Technical Support Helps Automation Company Return to Testing in an Hour

Keeping a project on track can be challenging in the best of times. Crafting automated test sequences from a home office while shifting to a new companyissued laptop is just a day in the life in today’s business environment. When things don’t go as expected, it’s good to know that help is just a few clicks away.

A test engineer at a leading automation and information science company faced this challenge as he started his automation development work. To stay on schedule, the engineer needed to get past the technical issues and start making measurements immediately.

Organization:

• Leading automation and information science company

Challenges:

• getting software to run on a new PC

• installing updated software with new license string

• staying on schedule

Solutions:

• PathWave BenchVue software trial license

• KeysightCare Software Support

Results:

• made required measurements within an hour

• kept project on track

• accessed ongoing technical support

Challenges: Getting Software to Run on a New PC

Test automation software is constantly evolving. Software releases bring new features, expanded platform support, and new licensing requirements. When shifting from a lab PC to a laptop, most engineers would simply download the latest software compatible with their test equipment. But what happens when the test software has significantly evolved, but the purchasing department hasn’t bought licenses to support the latest features?

That was the challenge one engineer faced as he set up his at-home lab. The engineer relied on Keysight PathWave BenchVue software to script a wide range of instrument setups and measurements. He was creating automated test sequences to move past the test development phase so his team could iterate on its design. His work was in the critical path for his project. The box with his new PC had just arrived from the IT department. He installed the latest BenchVue releases from the web and attempted to install the license file created for his old PC. But when a series of error messages appeared, all worked stopped. He was an expert with BenchVue and coding, but he was stuck. As he watched the clock on the wall tick, pressure mounted and deadlines loomed.

Solution: KeysightCare Support Expertise

The customer called the KeysightCare technical support team and spoke with an application expert. After a series of quick triage questions, the KeysightCare application engineer diagnosed that the customer had downloaded a version of PathWave BenchVue not covered by his license. In addition, the KeysightCare engineer noted that the customer was migrating to Windows 10 and identified important configuration modifications needed to migrate to that environment.

The support engineer knew that resolving the customer’s problem would require an updated license. He also knew that processing a purchase during the time-critical window would compromise the customer’s timeline and jeopardize the project. The KeysightCare application engineer chose the most expedient solution, using Keysight’s free software trial mechanism to get the customer back online immediately. Because every software trial includes KeysightCare Software Support, the support engineer was able to get the customer back to work in hours while ensuring that he had time to process the paperwork and get the right license to support the latest test software.

The KeysightCare application engineer provided the user with exactly the help he needed by doing the following:

• identifying and determining the root cause of the license mismatch

• utilizing the PathWave BenchVue free trial to solve the customer’s immediate problem

• explaining the steps to install the license file over the phone and in a follow-up email

• ensuring that PathWave BenchVue would work on the customer’s Windows 7 OS and would continue to work after an upcoming Windows 10 migration

The KeysightCare application engineer returned the customer to making measurements right away.