As a decision-maker for your business, you are faced with challenging questions every day. Whatever industry you work in, there are business technologies that you rely on to create an efficient operation and keep your employees on the same page. One of those technologies may be an enterprise resource planning program or ERP.
An ERP helps you run your business effectively, improving operational processes like human resources, manufacturing, supply chain management, client services, finances, and more. Businesses with larger operations are more reliant on the features of an ERP because there are so many processes to manage.
Upgrading to a newer version of your current ERP, or switching to an ERP for the first time, can be a challenging process. Often, the transition is confusing as your team must learn how to replicate older processes or adapt to a different platform. This is why software testing during the upgrade process is so important to reduce the level of disruption to your operation. Let’s talk about the role that software testing should play when upgrading your ERP tool.
Functional Testing
First and foremost, you need to verify that the software is going to perform as expected. That means testing to see if the new features work as they are advertised. For example, if you are adopting an ERP for the first time, perhaps one of the primary features you are excited about is automated business processes. Testing the software to see if you can translate some of your current manual tasks in the company to automated processes will demonstrate that the feature is working properly. In 2024, you can even harness AI and machine learning for your software testing methods. This functional testing is crucial to ensure the features you are excited about will actually have an impact on how you do business.
Regression Testing
New features are exciting, but you cannot change everything about the way your company has done things in the past. Too many changes could leave your employees behind with far more questions than answers, and the result is a workforce that struggles to adapt. Regression testing is the process of testing current processes with the new system to ensure they still function. Whether you are using an older version of an ERP or an entirely different platform that you plan to migrate from, some functionalities will need to remain consistent even after the upgrade to simplify the transition. If you are migrating to JD Edwards ERP or upgrading within this framework, GSI services can help you plan a regression testing strategy before the upgrade goes live.
Performance Testing
When you feel good about testing the new features, and current functionalities will translate smoothly to the upgraded ERP, then it is time to think about performance testing. The primary purpose of this method is to determine how the upgraded platform will handle various workloads. This is an important test because as your company grows, you need to feel confident that your ERP can support the increasing needs of the brand. Testing the software before it goes live is the best way to determine its performance, giving you a clearer picture of how the tool will manage after the upgrade is completed.
Usability Testing
A new ERP is useless if your people don’t know how to use it. Usability testing is meant to consider the user interface for the upgraded software to see if it is simple to learn and operate. The more user-friendly the platform is, the easier it will be for your team to transition from the old model to the new tool. This process should involve team members from various departments. If you plan to adopt an upgraded ERP company-wide, then you need to test how it will impact each department.
API Testing
API stands for application programming interfaces. An ERP is heavily reliant on API structures to perform. When you conduct API testing for your software upgrade, you can uncover potential bugs, interfacing failures, and even security vulnerabilities in the program. No matter what industry your business is in, security is crucial to protect company and customer data, so uncovering these issues with API testing before going live can protect the future of your company.
Find a Platform With Significant Testing Capabilities
Part of choosing the right ERP for your company is being able to test it out. Some ERP providers may not have the capability to test out all the features of the platform before going live. To ensure you can partake in functional, regression, performance, usability, and API testing, choose an ERP provider who can walk you through these testing strategies with their software. The more you can learn through testing, the easier it will be to decide to upgrade and transition your team to the new platform.
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