If the programing side of the online test holds up, I can see that the main issue might be a bottleneck where the IRCC employees have to look at the images of people taking the test. Hopefully, they can burn through those quickly.
As for the interviews, some posters have said they took the test and then got an oath invite with no interview. So, if those are not mandatory, that would help speed things up quit a bit.
Once concern I do have is if everyone is asked for all those extra documents. That’s going to add time if they need to go through all of those.
So far, for me, I’ve just got the online test invite. I haven’t got the email requesting extra paperwork. I plan on taking the test in a few days. I’ll update what happens when I do.
I think most applicants now get oath invite directly after the test without interview or receive a document request.
What is interesting here is that the applicants receive their oath invites soon after (in a couple of days) they submit their documents. I think the documents are being asked for following process and I am starting to think that this is replacing the interview. The purpose of the interview, at least the main purpose, was to verify physical presence by checking stamps on passport and to verify identity. Now, the documents that are being asked after the test are the documents that verify physical presence and they verify identity as well. I believe that these documents are kept on file and might be checked at a later date to ensure compliance (random QA checks probably).
They are sending oath invites soon after they submit documents which suggests that they are just glancing at the documents that are provided and if they can't see anything out of the ordinary there, they are just passing the application to the next stage.
Once you complete the test, you might get the additional documents request. I strongly recommend that you start collecting documents and keep them ready in case you get the request to avoid further delay. Based on how things are going, you might get a test invite soon after you submit those documents.