ERPs are often called the “central nervous system” of an enterprise. And rightfully so. Because with a single, tiny issue within this network, you can lose vital functions and whole modules. Given that keeping your ERP healthy is just as hard as keeping your body healthy, having professional guidance and info on the subject can be the difference between life and death for your business.
That’s why, in this article, we’ve answered the most frequently asked questions about:
- How ERP QA works.
- How software testing services help your software thrive.
- What ERP testing should include to bring you the most profit, and more.
What Is ERP Testing?
We’re sure you know that ERP application testing isn’t just “finding issues.” But let’s recap the true value of QA to be on the same page. ERP software testing supports your project even before development and long into its maintenance stage. It aims to:
- Plan and organize your quality strategy.
- Carry out timely and detailed analyses of QA-related processes.
- Build productive collaboration between all teams and stakeholders.
- Advance and upkeep your system.
- Embed quality into every procedure that affects the outcome.
So, while the most common answer to “what is ERP software testing” is “making sure the software functions as expected”, you can see that this explanation doesn’t do justice to the true impact of QA.
How Important Is ERP Testing?
Building on the above section, we’ll review the core reasons for testing your ERP.
- Ensuring system functionality.
- Validating business process integration.
- Reducing the risk of system failures.
- Enhancing data accuracy and integrity.
- Improving system performance.
- Ensuring security and compliance.
- Facilitating smooth upgrades and customizations.
- Promoting user acceptance, adoption, and trust.
- Minimizing business disruptions during implementation.
- Advancing end-user training and documentation.
- Enabling continuous improvement.
- Supporting disaster recovery and business continuity.
- Increasing ROI on ERP investment.
- Reducing time to market.
- Supporting scalability and future growth.
And after that we had to stop because we realized the full list would be too long. Given the complexity and critical nature of ERP systems, testing ensures their reliability, efficiency, and security. It makes sure that your product is an indispensable part of a business. And without ERP testing, the alternative is grim. For instance, in 2022, Mission Produce lost over $22 million because of an ERP failure.
When to Start ERP Application Testing?
The earlier you begin testing your ERP system, the better. By starting early, you can catch problems before they become major issues. This saves time, money, and headaches down the line.
Even if you’ve missed this “ideal time”, it’s never too late to begin. Testing at any stage of the project can uncover problems (most likely lots of them). It’s better to fix issues now than face thousands of complaints from users who found your bugs.
If you haven’t had the opportunity to test your ERP system throughout the implementation process, you should do it before the system goes live. Even late-stage testing can identify critical issues that could impact your business. By testing as close to the go-live date as possible, you can mitigate risks and increase your chances for success.
What Does ERP QA Entail?
QA has come a long way from being a sort of “bug-hunting” mission. Today, it’s a combination of full-scale, holistic procedures that, well, assure the quality of your product. You can choose to include QA services even before development. In that case, you can rely on user and quality-oriented expertise to build the backbone of your project. Or you can “plug-in” QA at the very end. Even here, it’d still help you refine your ERP by swiftly eliminating missed issues.
For example, QA Madness offers a range of services:
- Automated and manual testing services.
- Web, mobile, and desktop app testing.
- API testing.
- Cyber security services.
- QA audit and consulting.
- Team augmentation, etc.
It all comes down to how much you need or want to get from quality assurance. You can indeed downgrade its effectiveness to simply bug-hunting. Perhaps that’s just what you require right now. Or you can make QA, the process literally hell-bent on making your app thrive, an all-encompassing part of development.
What Is the ERP Testing Process?
There isn’t a perfect, universal formula for the ERP software testing process. Its variations and approaches can change how everything goes down. But overall, it always follows a similar structure. Here’s a more digestible overview.
Step 1: Test Planning and Preparation
- Clearly outline what the testing aims to achieve.
- Determine which system components and functionalities will be tested.
- Develop detailed test scenarios and expected results.
- Set up a testing environment that mimics the production environment.
- Identify and assign roles and responsibilities within the testing team.
Step 2: Test Execution
- Conduct tests according to the prepared test cases.
- Record any identified defects or issues.
- Create or modify data for testing purposes.
- Maintain and manage the test environment.
Step 3: Test Evaluation and Reporting
- Evaluate the test outcomes against the test objectives.
- Track and prioritize defects for resolution.
- Create a comprehensive report summarizing the testing process and results.
Step 4: Retesting and Regression Testing
- Verify that defects have been fixed.
- Ensure that new changes haven’t introduced new defects.
Step 5: Monitoring and Continuous Improvement
- Continuously monitor the system after deployment to address any issues.
- Conduct system performance reviews to identify areas for improvement.
- Gather feedback from end-users and stakeholders on how to refine the app.
- Incorporate lessons learned into future testing cycles and plan for regular updates and upgrades.
What Types of Testing to Run for an ERP?
Types of testing your ERP needs will vary based on your project and industry. For example, you might include exploratory, accessibility, or localization testing (or skip them). Yet, there are testing types that you can’t afford to miss. They’re literally vital for your app’s functioning.
- Functional testing verifies that each ERP module and feature operates as expected, meeting business requirements.
- User interface testing focuses on ensuring that the ERP system’s interface is user-friendly, visually appealing, and consistent.
- Integration testing ensures that different modules and components of the ERP system work together seamlessly.
- Performance testing evaluates the system’s response time, scalability, and ability to handle heavy workloads.
- Security testing identifies vulnerabilities in the system to protect sensitive data.
- Integration testing secures seamless interaction between different ERP modules and external systems.
- Acceptance testing verifies that the system meets end-user requirements and expectations.
- Regression testing confirms that changes to the system haven’t negatively impacted existing functionalities.
- Compatibility testing makes sure the ERP system functions correctly across different hardware, software, and network environments.
- Usability testing assesses how easy and intuitive the ERP system is for end-users.
You can consider this an ERP testing checklist of sorts.
Is Test Automation Mandatory for ERP QA?
In short, automated software testing services aren’t obligatory for ERPs. But they are often unavoidable. Based on your software, you might be just fine with only manual QA. Yet, as your product grows, so does the workload. More often than not, ERPs simply need automation to avoid delays, burnouts, and revenue dips.
Manual software testing is indispensable for exploratory, usability, user acceptance checks, and more. But automation offers many benefits, especially for large projects. Precisely, AT:
- Speeds up testing by quickly executing repetitive tasks (seconds instead of hours).
- Ensures tests are run the same way every time, improving reliability.
- Easily expands to cover new features, modules, or customizations.
- Lowers long-term testing costs by minimizing the need for extensive manual testing.
- Advances quality with thorough testing of various scenarios and use cases.
- Provides rapid feedback on code changes, helping to identify and resolve issues early.
Overall, don’t replace manual testing with automated. They best work in tandem with one another, providing distinct advantages to your product and team.
What Is ERP User Acceptance Testing?
User acceptance testing (UAT) determines whether the product works correctly from a user’s perspective. During UAT, actual consumers interact with the ERP system. Their feedback is collected through tickets that highlight any issues or areas for improvement. And you can use these insights to refine the app before it goes live.
Having users evaluate your product isn’t a requirement for UAT. Most often, it’s done by your team or a testing provider, like a QA company. In these cases, QA specialists act as alpha or beta testers, simulating user behavior. This approach is equally effective in identifying hurdles and ensuring ERP readiness.
What Are Domain-Specific Particularities of ERP Testing?
ERP testing varies significantly depending on its industry or domain. For example, in healthcare, an ERP would need to adhere to HIPAA, heavily focusing on compliance testing. And an app in manufacturing would center on integrating complex supply chain processes.
Still, there are some aspects that are universal to most ERPs. Thus, irrespective of project particularities, you ought to test your app’s:
- Integrations to secure proper data flow and functionality.
- Scalability to ensure the system can grow with the business without performance issues.
- Customization to verify that adaptations are correctly implemented and do not disrupt other system functions.
- Data migration to offer uninterrupted information exchange and continuous functionality.
- Security to prevent attacks, breaches, and social engineering accidents.
- User roles and permissions to make sure access is granted only to authorized users.
- Reporting and analytics to supply accurate, insightful data and confidence in this data.
- Regulatory compliance to secure adherence to legal requirements.
- Change management to ensure that changes don’t introduce new issues or disrupt existing functionalities.
- Backup and recovery to guarantee backups are properly created and can be restored accurately and quickly.
What Tools Are Necessary for ERP Testing?
Theoretically, no tools are “necessary” when testing ERP applications. But will you be able to handle all of the development chaos with no helpers? ERP testing tools can aid you in anything, from streamlining testing itself to providing a safe space for the team.
Here’s a brief list of QA allies our experts consider extremely beneficial.
- Automation testing tools are key to dealing with repetitive tasks and letting your team focus on what matters most.
- Manual testing tools aid in documentation, test execution, defect tracking, and more.
- Bug reporting tools allow QA engineers to log, monitor, and manage defects.
- Project management software allows you to coordinate efforts, track progress, and organize tasks.
- Communication tools ensure that team members can exchange information, discuss issues, and collaborate in real time.
What Are the Challenges of ERP Testing?
There are three main traits of ERPs that make testing exceptionally complex.
#1 ERP Diversity
ERPs are remarkably varied in their purpose, functionality, and logic. So, your project specifics can significantly impact how you carry out testing. Here are some challenges that may arise:
- Building a tailored strategy.
- Finding ERP software testing tools that fit your team and app’s needs.
- Accommodating customization options.
- Fitting testing processes to your deployment model.
- Adapting QA to the ERP’s working mode (integrated or standalone).
- Executing testing so it reflects all agents’ workflows (employees, managers, vendors, etc.).
#2 ERP Complexities and Quirks
ERP apps are insanely complicated projects. They have wide-ranging functionality, integration with various business processes, and diverse user roles. The biggest challenge here is to assemble a team or hire QA engineers who can handle all the ERP intricacies, particularly:
- Intricate logic and workflows.
- Diversified permissions and roles.
- Legacy and third-party systems.
- Compliance and legal requirements.
- High reliability and availability.
- Code integrity and version control.
- Processing, reporting, and storage.
- System monitoring and managing user insights.
#3 ERP Needs and User Needs
Every project wants to stand out among competitors and thrive in the market. That means making your ERP a miracle in terms of functionality and user satisfaction. And it can be quite difficult to achieve as you’d need to secure the following:
- Configurable processes and workflows.
- Cross-platform compatibility.
- User-friendliness and easy learning.
- Business continuity and disaster recovery.
- Distributed architecture and multi-tenancy.
Overall, these challenges can be united into one big “problem” – finding experts who can productively handle all your ERP’s needs.
What Are the Risks of Not Testing ERP Applications?
Software testing is an exact science. If you don’t test your app, you lose (a lot). If you test your app with inexperienced or unskilled QA engineers, you lose (also a lot). And if you test your ERP with industry specialists, you gain user trust and happiness, status as a leader in the market, and remarkable quality that drives profit. Given this straightforward relationship between QA and business success, it’s surprising that some still don’t pay due attention to it.
For example, a few years back, Revlon got into a partnership with an ERP. Later, that same ERP caused millions of dollars in losses due to service-level disruptions. And after such a fiasco, Revlon’s own investors sued the company.
So, here are some (!) of the things that may go wrong without QA expertise:
- System failures and downtime.
- Data integrity issues.
- Performance problems.
- Integration failures.
- Compliance and security risks.
- User experience problems.
- Customization and configuration errors.
- Reporting and analytics inaccuracies.
- User role and permission problems.
- Project delays and increased costs.
- Customer and stakeholder dissatisfaction.
- Risk of complete project failure.
What Specialists Do You Need for ERP Testing?
At a minimum, you’ll need a QA engineer to handle the basic testing tasks. But, realistically, for ERPs, you’re likely to hire multiple QA experts to cover various testing aspects.
For automation, you’ll want an Automation QA (AQA) engineer or a general QA engineer with automation expertise. As the team grows, introducing a QA Manager or Lead becomes essential to coordinate efforts and maintain quality standards.
Security is another critical aspect, so a security specialist should be brought in for at least a one-time comprehensive security audit. Additionally, involving a Business Analyst and a System Analyst at different stages can be beneficial to ensure that the testing aligns with business processes and system requirements.
What Are Some Best Practices for ERP Testing?
It’s important to understand that “best practices” are often subjective. After all, there’s no one perfect blueprint for every project. As such, best practices aim to boost the median development of most ERPs. In other words, such tips may or may not be helpful for your particular case.
But they can still be beneficial for many.
- Start with a detailed test plan that outlines the scope, objectives, resources, timelines, and testing strategies.
- Engage business users, stakeholders, and subject matter experts in the testing process, especially during UAT.
- Assemble a skilled team with diverse expertise, including functional, technical, and business knowledge.
- Start testing as early as possible in the development lifecycle to catch issues before they become too complex or costly to fix.
- Use data that closely resembles actual business data during testing.
- Prioritize end-to-end testing to ensure that all parts of the system work together seamlessly.
- Automate where possible to advance accuracy, quality, and team productivity.
- Ensure the ERP system can handle expected load levels and that it is secure from potential threats.
- Adopt an agile approach to testing, where testing is continuous and iterative. Regularly update test cases based on feedback and new developments.
- Maintain detailed documentation of test cases, results, and issues encountered.
Briefly, do pay attention to best practices and use them for your benefit. Yet, try to develop or customize them to turn them into targeted practices for your ERP.
How to Choose a Company for ERP Testing?
Choosing an ERP testing services provider isn’t as simple as we’d like it to be. So, one piece of advice we’d like to offer is not to get discouraged by the amount of research needed to pick a QA partner. We understand that this process might be overwhelming. But don’t just select a company with the most starts or reviews on a feedback platform – you might end up with glorified mediocrity.
Take your time and approach your search as the defining moment for your app’s quality.
- Before starting your search, clearly outline what you need from an ERP testing partner. Consider your business goals, the scope of the ERP system, and specific testing requirements.
- Begin by Googling potential companies or asking your network for recommendations. Create a shortlist of companies that appear to match your needs.
- Visit the websites of these companies to assess their services, expertise, and experience. Look for case studies that demonstrate their success with similar ERP projects.
- Verify the credibility of the shortlisted companies by checking reviews on independent platforms. This can give you insights into their reputation, client satisfaction, and reliability.
- Once you’ve narrowed down your options, schedule calls with the companies. This allows you to gauge their communication style, understand their approach, and see if they’re a good fit for your project.
- Finally, compare the companies based on their terms, capabilities, and reliability. Consider factors like their ability to meet deadlines, technical expertise, and overall fit with your business needs and culture.
To Sum Up
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could build your entire ERP testing based on these 15 answers alone? Alas, such software is too complex. It needs a lot more questions and answers. So, if you want more info, feel free to visit our blog. And if you’re ready to get to testing, our team of specialists is ready to help.