Didn’t we test that?
Written by Ben Harding, Cloudrock Managing Consultant (5 mins)
Fast forward to the end of your implementation. It went well, you’ve been live a few weeks, you’ve run payroll, your login stats are through the roof, it’s all looking well…then you get an issue. THE issue. The one that won’t go away. The one that gets more complicated the more you look at it. The one that has the attention of your executive team.
“Didn’t we test that?!” is what everyone is asking. Everyone except your Testing Manager.
Well… did we test it? Probably not. How did we miss it?
If we return to the start of the programme how could we plan to catch THE issue? If you haven’t gone live yet here’s how to set yourself up for testing success.
Commit the right resources
It’s critical to have a detailed testing plan with dedicated resources that test throughout the duration of the programme. Yes, really.
Your implementation partner will unit test the configuration. Your resources need to make sure the configuration works for your business, and that users understand what they will need to do.
Anyone can test. But the less experienced tester needs more guidance and structure. The Testing team needs testers who have “been there, done that.”
Your HR professionals know your company, policies and processes. They can quickly spot errors or flaws in the design.
But are HR available and willing to crunch through dozens of tests to prepare the system for payroll testing? A lot of testing is generating data for downstream systems. You’re testing the same process over and over, but with slightly different data to ensure a specific outcome for the receiving system.
Plan to use your dedicated test resources to power through the high-volume tests, and separate process testing for HR specialists.
Change your ways
You have a new system that fits perfectly with your current ways of working and don’t need to change your processes? Didn’t think so. You likely refined your operating model, if not transformed it.
You need to know what your operating model looks like at your go-live date, before you start testing and ideally before you write test scripts/scenarios.
If you don’t know your future operating model you need to write tests that will cover all possible models.
You are unique, yes really
Writing test scripts… do we really have to do that? Aren’t there some standard test scripts we can use? Sure! It’s a certainty that your organisation has the same recruitment processes as Walmart. Let’s dust off the standard test scripts and give them a whirl… Every company does things differently. Even companies that sell similar things. You need a tailored test pack. An experienced tester should be able to write a tailored pack in a few weeks. You also need your test pack after go-live for any changes or updates. So please – use a purpose-built test pack! Then have the pack reviewed by as many people as you can.
The devil is in the details
You have dedicated testers and HR ready to test, you have a test pack tailored to your organisation. Have you reviewed it?
Answer honestly… you didn’t, did you?
Yes, there were 1200+ tests to look at. Who honestly has time to review all of them? The same person who will be asking “didn’t we test that?!”
And this is the problem, and why you have THE issue.
There will always be something that slips through testing that needs to be corrected or changed. But having dedicated testers using a custom, detailed test pack reduces your risk significantly.
Let’s talk about how CloudRock can guide your digital transformation.