NEWS
Know your friends and foes during Agresso testing
Fuaad Buras – Senior ERP Programme Manager – July 2009
Too many projects start falling apart before the business even touches the keyboard! There are many phases and places where projects start showing the strains. Typically the implementation phases of a project draw out bugs and issues, but their visibility to the business is limited or even hidden. However, when a project moves into the testing phase, visibility of the project increases and business confidence and project credibility start taking big hits if bugs, issues and communications start getting out of control.
So, managing the business expectations and involvement during the testing phase is important if the project creditability and business confidence is to stay high and realistic to the end.
Totalamber are actively involved in a number of Agresso-based implementations and work at all levels within the project lifecycle. Over the last few months, we have been actively engaged on a number of Agresso upgrade projects which incorporate significant phases of testing. This work has enabled us to develop a methodology which ensures effective testing is undertaken and results in a successful outcome to projects.
We have incorporated “Change Management” principles and techniques to maintain business confidence and improve project profile by understanding the business user community and identifying the right business representatives (testers) for the right test cycle during the testing phase.
We identified four types of business representatives (testers) within the Agresso 5.5 upgrade/implementation:
1. Helpers - These are “neutral” business representatives who are willing to take part in testing. They are usually supportive with no political or personal agendas. They will be allocated to the project by the business to assist across areas of testing – writing test scenarios, preparing test data and testing core functionality.
2. Challengers – These are experienced business managers or super users with deep knowledge of the business processes and the business exceptions. They usually ask the tough questions and challenge project assumptions about how the business works. These representatives are like gold dust and usually involved across several business initiatives / IT projects. So their time and availability will usually be limited. Hence use their time with care.
3. Opponents – People against the proposed changes and would work to slow or block such change. Their opposition might be justified – but their behaviours and communications can come over as negative and unsupportive. They usually fit in the middle management layer and will have the most to lose from the proposed changes.
4. Blessers – These are the Directors / Senior Managers for the business. Their knowledge of the details is limited and their main goal is to make sure all (helpers, challengers and preferably opponents) sign off the final solution acceptance. They have a limited role in testing but have a big responsibility if the business gets disrupted as a result of the implemented changes.
Business involvement in testing needs to be managed with the above business user types in mind. The characteristics of the test cycle will determine the type of business representatives you should be involving:
Cycle 1 – Agresso Pre Integration Testing
The project team completed the configuration and most of the development and reports. The software would usually be unstable with many bugs and issues.
Helpers will be most suited to assist you during this cycle.
Cycle 2 – Agresso Integration Testing
The majority of issues have been resolved and the software more stable for end to end integration. The project team feels reasonably confident of the solution put together.
Challengers would be most suited in this cycle to take the testing to further levels of due diligence – “destructive testing!” (Helpers will still be involved - facilitating the testing with the challengers and explaining set up and assumptions)
Cycle 3 – Agresso Pre User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
Once the Challengers questions and issues have been dealt with successfully, the team feels more confident with the overall solution. So further tests should be done with the opponents! (It is important to get these business representatives to play part in testing and have an opportunity to raise any system related issues. Their involvement in this cycle will minimise “I told you so” syndrome. Get them to sign off the solution too.
Cycle 4 – Agresso UAT
The project should now feel very confident in show-casing the full solution to the senior management and getting the overall sign off. The show-case should be done by the helpers, challengers and where possible opponents.
For further information on the Totalamber Agresso testing strategy and test cycles, please contact Lee Hughes on 01565 622 037 or l.hughes@totalamber.com
Author - Fuaad has over 15 years project management experience working with public and private blue chip organisations. He spent over 8 years with PwC and Deloitte where he led several global ERP assignments and Test Management roles. He is currently assisting Totalamber within the European Agresso Market.
Too many projects start falling apart before the business even touches the keyboard! There are many phases and places where projects start showing the strains. Typically the implementation phases of a project draw out bugs and issues, but their visibility to the business is limited or even hidden. However, when a project moves into the testing phase, visibility of the project increases and business confidence and project credibility start taking big hits if bugs, issues and communications start getting out of control.
So, managing the business expectations and involvement during the testing phase is important if the project creditability and business confidence is to stay high and realistic to the end.
Totalamber are actively involved in a number of Agresso-based implementations and work at all levels within the project lifecycle. Over the last few months, we have been actively engaged on a number of Agresso upgrade projects which incorporate significant phases of testing. This work has enabled us to develop a methodology which ensures effective testing is undertaken and results in a successful outcome to projects.
We have incorporated “Change Management” principles and techniques to maintain business confidence and improve project profile by understanding the business user community and identifying the right business representatives (testers) for the right test cycle during the testing phase.
We identified four types of business representatives (testers) within the Agresso 5.5 upgrade/implementation:
1. Helpers - These are “neutral” business representatives who are willing to take part in testing. They are usually supportive with no political or personal agendas. They will be allocated to the project by the business to assist across areas of testing – writing test scenarios, preparing test data and testing core functionality.
2. Challengers – These are experienced business managers or super users with deep knowledge of the business processes and the business exceptions. They usually ask the tough questions and challenge project assumptions about how the business works. These representatives are like gold dust and usually involved across several business initiatives / IT projects. So their time and availability will usually be limited. Hence use their time with care.
3. Opponents – People against the proposed changes and would work to slow or block such change. Their opposition might be justified – but their behaviours and communications can come over as negative and unsupportive. They usually fit in the middle management layer and will have the most to lose from the proposed changes.
4. Blessers – These are the Directors / Senior Managers for the business. Their knowledge of the details is limited and their main goal is to make sure all (helpers, challengers and preferably opponents) sign off the final solution acceptance. They have a limited role in testing but have a big responsibility if the business gets disrupted as a result of the implemented changes.
Business involvement in testing needs to be managed with the above business user types in mind. The characteristics of the test cycle will determine the type of business representatives you should be involving:
Cycle 1 – Agresso Pre Integration Testing
The project team completed the configuration and most of the development and reports. The software would usually be unstable with many bugs and issues.
Helpers will be most suited to assist you during this cycle.
Cycle 2 – Agresso Integration Testing
The majority of issues have been resolved and the software more stable for end to end integration. The project team feels reasonably confident of the solution put together.
Challengers would be most suited in this cycle to take the testing to further levels of due diligence – “destructive testing!” (Helpers will still be involved - facilitating the testing with the challengers and explaining set up and assumptions)
Cycle 3 – Agresso Pre User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
Once the Challengers questions and issues have been dealt with successfully, the team feels more confident with the overall solution. So further tests should be done with the opponents! (It is important to get these business representatives to play part in testing and have an opportunity to raise any system related issues. Their involvement in this cycle will minimise “I told you so” syndrome. Get them to sign off the solution too.
Cycle 4 – Agresso UAT
The project should now feel very confident in show-casing the full solution to the senior management and getting the overall sign off. The show-case should be done by the helpers, challengers and where possible opponents.
For further information on the Totalamber Agresso testing strategy and test cycles, please contact Lee Hughes on 01565 622 037 or l.hughes@totalamber.com
Author - Fuaad has over 15 years project management experience working with public and private blue chip organisations. He spent over 8 years with PwC and Deloitte where he led several global ERP assignments and Test Management roles. He is currently assisting Totalamber within the European Agresso Market.
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