1

Managing ERP System Maintenance Release TestingTest 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

Different from a Project

• 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

9

Modified Testing V-Model – IHG SDLCModified Testing V-Model - IHG SDLC

Integration5.0

Integration Test

Implementation6.0

Analysis2.0

Design3.0

Construction4.0

Initiation1.0

Test Plan3.7

BusinessRequirements

2.8

Test Case Design,Test Script Design

3.7

Functional Design3.5

Unit Test4.8

TechnicalDesign

4.3

Test Script ConstructionTest Automation BuildTest Data Selection

Impact Assessment onCurrent Test Scripts

and CurrentRegression Test Plan

AcceptanceTest5.10

RegressionTest5.9

System Test5.9

Future RegressionTest Plan

Coding

Integration Test5.6

Verify

Verify

Validation

Verify

Detailed ImpactAnalysis, ExistingScripts and new

Scripts

Validation

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

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Discussion

• Maintenance Testing

• The Release ‘Portfolio’

• Mapping Test Theory to Real

World

• Our ‘hybrid’ role