Test Automation in an Agile Environment

Agile Testing tools vary from project management to automated testing. Automated Testing  is a critical  for maintaining agility and establishing continuous improvement. Continuous Integration, execution of unit tests, functional tests, integration tests and continuous deployment are common ways of deploying automation. 

Literally any testing that is performed consistently formore than 2 to 3 times in a short span of time needs to be automated. This automation should be carried out with well known tools, open source tools or homegrown scripts. 

For managing test automation in an Agile environment, with a systematic and productive test automation effort, the following principles can be considered.

-      Test Automation is more than test execution.

-      Test Automation may become instantly obsolete.

-      Test Automation depends on product testability.

-      Test Automation may not be equal to good testing.

The element of Agile development is centered around practitioner centered methodology, close contact with customers, numerous small milestones and a welcoming attitude to change. Agile Test automation is mainly the application of these development principles onto the test automation solution. 

The Agile Test Automation involves accomplishing the following tasks:

-      Respond rapidly to requests for assistance from testers.

-      Identify test productivity problems.

-      Investigate possible solutions with testers.

-      Implement technology to improve the test process.

-      Research for available tools and how to use them.

-      Gather tools that developers and testers produce.

-      Asses automation possibilities on upcoming products.

Test automation in an Agile Environment can be managed via the following five lists along with some background tasks. The lists are as follows:

-      Request List: New request list from customers

-      Assignments List: Currently assigned tasks.

-      Delivered List: List of solutions currently used by the test team. Each item on the list needs to include a brief description and statement on their positive effect on testing productivity.

-      Maintenance Request List: Solutions that need improvement. This list needs to be divided into two parts – critical maintenance and enhancements.

-      Obstacles List: This is a list of unsolved problems as they require new tools and substantial testability improvements.

Background tasks

-      Pair with testers in order to understand how testing is done.

-      Review the upcoming product specifications and technologies in order to understand the technical testing issues.

-      Work in collaboration with testers and managers to find reasonable ways to assess and report productivity.

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How to Get the Most Out of Your Salesforce Applications?

 
 

Building a business on cloud power is more than just accessing new systems. In order to derive the maximum out of Salesforce, it is important to understand how the workforce and the business can benefit together. According to experts, deploying CRM strategies results in 25% higher ROI. In order to harness the full potential of Salesforce, there are some best practices that can be followed as per experts.

-      Making the Homepage a one stop shop: It is better to keep the Homepage simple and easy to use. Important links, commonly used information and dashboard links can be put on the initial screen in order to help the user.

-      Use the Salesforce.com social tools to foster collaboration: Use Chatter to crowdsource ideas and solutions. Its feeds are searchable, which provides valuable knowledge. Make sure C-level executives are on Chatter, where everyone likes to listen to everyone. Chatter also helps to eliminate the endless email chains, which are generally very hard to follow.

-      Support a multi-device mobile strategy: Productivity can be improved by making the required information available to the client when they need it. Mobile is the most critical device in this aspect. It ensures that people are getting the key information in their hands. Salesforce Mobile gives users the access to the SFDC information, irrespective of the availability of the wireless coverage. Here, opportunities can be updated, activities can be checked and calls via mobile can be made.

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Why do we need to test ERP Implementation?

Any ERP implementation project, big or small, can lead to major problems due to inadequate testing. A software needs to be tested when it is installed. However, many companies do not employ their best practices when testing their new ERP system. This results in problems for the ERP implementation team later on.

The importance of ERP Quality Assurance stems from the following facts:

-      ERP systems always need to be customized. Off-the-shelf implementation of ERP systems are very rare.

-      ERP systems are always linked to legacy systems and integrated with other applications.

-      An ERP implementation is done through multiple locations and hence need customizations in order to accommodate local requirements.

-      ERP Systems require data migrations between systems.

-      ERP Systems need to be regularly modified to meet the changing regulatory frameworks. This calls for frequent upgrades and improvements with changes in the technology landscape.

The following misconceptions need to be taken care of during the process of ERP Quality Assurance:

1. Considering Implementation Quality same as the Product Quality: The performance of a software depends on the way it is implemented. The software may be a great one, but mistakes in its implementation may render it unusable. Hence, despite the high quality of the software, testing its implementation thoroughly needs to be a mandatory process.

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