What Is ERP Testing? - A Brief Guide

What Is ERP Testing?

"ERP testing" is a term used to describe verifying the functionality of your ERP software solution during implementation. ERP testing is a quality assurance (QA) process that verifies the ERP system is correctly implemented and functioning before it is fully launched.

ERP testing at different installation stages helps avoid unpleasant surprises such as the program crashing during go-live. It also minimizes the number of bugs identified after they have been implemented.

What Is ERP?

ERP stands for Enterprise Resources planning. It's a software solution that improves a company's employees' efficiency and productivity by streamlining workflow and operations. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software manages a company's main functions (for example. HR, payroll, finance, etc.).

It aids in the consolidation of all of these diverse sub-systems in one location, allowing for easy data and information flow from one system to the next. Most businesses are now using Enterprise Resource Planning Systems to eliminate mundane and manual data entry work.

ERP Testing Types

Here are some examples of ERP testing:

1) Functional Testing

After all of the company-related customization has been completed, functional testing confirms that every module of the system is performing as planned.

2) Performance Testing

It may be necessary to undertake performance testing to see how the software works under load. The strain on the system in most firms would be small because users may not log in to the program on a regular basis, but there are rare circumstances where performance testing is required, such as when hike letters are released or last-day investment announcements.

3) Security Testing

Because the ERP system contains employee-related data, it's critical to keep it secure and guarantee that only authorized users have access to sensitive data on a need-to-know basis. This will reduce the likelihood of data theft.

4) Regression Testing

A QA team must execute a check-up after each code update to guarantee that the system's already-functioning functionality is not harmed and that the system performs as planned.

5) Acceptance Testing

This testing is the final check of the system before it is released; it is performed by stakeholders or other trustworthy individuals who can inspect the initial version of an ERP system that is ready for usage.

6) Usability Testing

The primary categories are transparency, understandability, operability, attractiveness, and compliance. Usability refers to how readily a user can grasp our program, how easily they will use it, and how appealing it is to the user under specific standards set forth by stakeholders or clients.

Real-time users, not the development team, are usually the ones that initiate this form of testing. However, because the development team is exclusively responsible for the product's development, they identify fewer issues relating to the user experience.

Usability testing is divided into several types:

• Explorative
• Assessment
• Comparative

7) Smoke Testing

Smoke testing confirms that the build we received supports the application's basic functionality; thus, it's critical to ensure that the system or software application will perform the application's basic functionality.

8) Scalability Testing

The software will always require some enhancement so that we can add a new feature to the system. Sometimes businesses change their strategies, hire new employees, and implement new software solutions. In this case, scalability testing ensures that we can extend and add new features to the system in the future.

Benefits of ERP Systems

• Reusability
• Reduced testing cost and improved resource optimization
• Enhance business reporting
• Better data and cloud security
• Increased productivity

Below is an example of how we can conduct an ERP testing step by step:

• When we are ready to begin ERP testing, we must first identify goals and objectives and the success parameters, which must always be discussed with the client or stakeholders.
• Create a test plan, which includes all information about the testing process, including test cases, a requirement traceability matrix, a test tool, team and schedules, and a reporting tool, among other things.
• Set up a test environment, the platform on which we will run the ERP system and look for severe flaws.
• When we discover a defect in the ERP system, we report it, log it in a bug tracking application, write a test report, and offer relevant information to the development team.
• After the program has been fixed and the initial version of the software is ready, we conduct beta testing. The information acquired during beta testing will aid in the understanding of the user experience, allowing the program to be improved for a real user.

Conclusion

Following the adoption of an ERP system, employees' lives in an organization become significantly easier. However, the modification, execution, and testing of the Enterprise Resources planning system would necessitate a great deal of planning, and it's critical to schedule the testing of the Enterprise Resources planning system in advance, with adequate resources and budget.