Managing ERP System Maintenance Release Testing

1. Managing ERP System Maintenance Release Testing Test Management Forum January 2008

2. Graham Marcus • Report to Global Technology • “Senior Applications Consultant” • Business Analyst • System Analyst • Functional Design • Test Management • Functional Testing • Test Automation • Project Manager • Certified Accountant • ISEB Foundation Certificate

3. System • PeopleSoft Finance • FAP • P2P • R2C • C2R • CM • Inbound Interfaces • Outbound to Essbase for Reporting • Vanilla and Customised • Single Global Instance • Housed Atlanta • Users in ASIA, EMEA, AMER

4. Team • Project Manager - Atlanta • Test Lead - UK • Developers – Atlanta • Technical - Atlanta • Analysts / Testers • Atlanta • UK • Sydney • QA Testers • Delhi • System Support • Global and regional • SME • Global and regional

5. Test Environments • Development • Developers and Unit Testing • Stage • System Testing • QA • Regression Testing • User Acceptance

6. Test Management Tools • Mercury Test Director for Quality Center • Releases • Test Library • Test Plan • Test Recording • Defect Management • Mercury Quick Test Pro • Functional Automation • Win Runner • Conference Calls • Test Strategy document

7. What Constitutes a ‘Release’? • Project Portfolio • Vendor delivered patches and bundles of fixes • Retrofitting of existing customisations over patches • Underlying Technology Changes • Further customisation enhancements • Internal infrastructure changes • Internal process changes

8. Project Defined Objectives Business requirements Design documentation Control interactions Emphasis on System and UAT Maintenance Release Starting with a system that the business is using Multiple varied objectives Poor documentation vendor fixes, better for enhancements Cross issue impacts Primary requirement – don’t break anything Emphasis on Regression and UAT Different from a Project

9. Modified Testing V-Model – IHG SDLC

10. Challenges • Geography and time zones • Portfolio on different time tracks • Environment Status compared with Production • Snowballing – find an issue and search out other occurrences • Cross module ‘end to end’ testing • Defect fix and retesting • Defects requiring vendor intervention • Upstream data acquisition (stubs) • Downstream data validation (e.g. banks) • Interpretation of effect and impact of a patch

11. Test Approach • Vendor delivered patches and bundles of fixes • Where able to identify impact – system and regression test • Where address logged business issue – system, regression and UA test • Where replace customisation - system, regression and UA test • Where unable to identify – group by process and regression test in both test environments • Retrofitting of existing customisations over patches • Regression test in both test environments, consider UAT • Underlying Technology Changes • Identifiable issues – search out occurrences, system and regression test • Regression test again • Further customisation • Treat as mini project, system test and regression test around if required, UA test • Internal infrastructure changes • As technology changes • Internal process changes • As technology changes

12. Discussion • Maintenance Testing • The Release ‘Portfolio’ • Mapping Test Theory to Real World • Our ‘hybrid’ role