Today’s enterprises are subjected to a
lot of pulls and pressures - from the markets, competitors, customers, and
stakeholders, among others. They need to be up with the times in terms of
technology, processes, and general market trends to meet their productivity and
sales targets. However, given their footprints, in many cases, lying across
territories, they need to remain connected with their branches, employees, and
stakeholders, in real time. This is where an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
software can help matters by tying the organization in a single unit.
The ERP software enables an
organization to run smoothly by collating all data generated from various
units. It helps stakeholders to analyze such data and get insights into the
processes and requirements in real time. The insights can further help in
formulating and implementing strategies on the ground to remain competitive. An
ERP software can have interfaces with various departments within an
organization viz., finance, human resources, administration, supply-chain
management, and customer relationship management, among others. By streamlining
business processes and eliminating manual work, an ERP software suite can help
improve productivity and efficiency, enhance the quality and speed of delivery,
and achieve ROI.
Since the ERP software can be the
virtual lifeline of an organization, its effectiveness needs to be top-notch at
any given point in time. This is of utmost importance as any software glitch
can bring processes to a standstill by giving erroneous inputs to the
respective departments. To ensure smooth functioning of the software system
under severe test conditions, ERP
testing should be made a routine exercise. Nowadays, enterprises deploy
third-party resources to manage various tasks owing to the latter’s core
competencies. These resources are accessed (both ways) through the cloud or
mobile services. To ensure a smooth progression of such services, businesses
should brace themselves for testing ERP
solutions. This is in alignment with the objectives of Agile or Lean
methodologies. Let us understand in detail as to what an ERP testing exercise can deliver -
Why ERP quality
assurance and testing?
For beginners, ERP testing
is a QA process to ensure the comprehensive software suite is made fully
operational before deployment. It checks various units, features, and
functionalities of the software against a set of parameters or metrics. The
various tests that are part of the ERP
QA include functionality testing, performance testing, integration
testing, user acceptance testing, and unit testing, among others. So, why do we
go for ERP validation in the
first place?
Time saving: During ERP implementation, any glitch can derail the functioning of the
software or generate erroneous results. To identify such glitches, the testing
team needs to unscramble each of the integrated units. This can be hugely
time-consuming leading to delays. However, should testing ERP solutions be a part of the SLDC in the Agile format,
considerable time can be saved in mitigating glitches.
Early mitigation
of glitches: By following a
shift-left automated ERP
testing process,
glitches can be identified quickly. Since both testing and development
processes take place in a sprint, identification and mitigation of glitches can
be quick.
Data security: One of the biggest issues plaguing the
digital ecosystem is data security or the lack of it. Moreover, since an ERP
system pools data from disparate sources to a centralized repository, hackers
can exploit the data pool. An ERP
centre of excellence can leverage the right tools to verify the
centralized database. This way, it can secure the database by removing any
inherent vulnerabilities.
Improved
productivity: An operational
ERP software can identify the operational needs and verify the presence of
inventories. It can ensure the proper deployment of resources, thereby saving
time and cost. Also, automated testing can get around the slow response times
of manual testing and improve productivity.
Achieves ROI: An efficient ERP system can deliver
suitable outcomes within tight turnarounds thereby saving time and cost for the
organization. Moreover, by streamlining processes, breaking silos, and
attending to customer feedback promptly, the organization can deliver better
user experiences. A happy end-customer will generate better sales and enhance
brand equity through word-of-mouth. This leads to better ROI for the
organization.
Conclusion
Testing of ERP
applications entails the validation of their performance, functionality, user
acceptability, and security. Its absence can have serious implications for the
business processes, configuration, interfaces, or security of an organization.
A robust ERP testing exercise
can help an organization to meet its business objectives by optimizing costs.
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