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Whenever I begin a testing project and know that all the data is based on various spreadsheets that need to be cross-referenced by multiple business users, that’s usually when my headache begins. Most of us have felt this pain when all hell breaks loose if multiple people update the sheet separately. Does this process sound familiar to you? You start your search to find the data, validate it, analyze and sort it, double-check the report, save the file to your desktop, attach it to an email, and send it. At the same time, other business users are doing exactly the same thing.
How do I move on from spreadsheets in Oracle EBS?
At every step of your Oracle EBS upgrade journey, there are various technical steps that, without an automated test strategy and execution plan, exceed in costs, timelines, and resource utilization. Companies need a robust test automation solution to ensure that the Oracle e-business suite continues to perform as expected. Oracle releases regular updates, potentially breaking the scripts and complicating test script maintenance. The slightest oversights and manual errors can snowball into costly mistakes that can force downtime across the entire enterprise. After every update, the testing team needs to conduct end-to-end integration testing to check whether any business-critical processes have been affected. This lengthy process can significantly add time to your release cycle.
When MLGW (Memphis Light, Gas, and Water) decided to upgrade from the 12.13 to 12.29 environment, we knew we needed a tool to manage our testing cycles and could no longer rely on manual testing and spreadsheets. We did not have a dedicated testing team, so whenever there was a testing project, we would pull key users from the geographical area and have them test with an informal manual methodology in addition to their day-to-day responsibilities.
That’s precisely the point where my headache would begin. So I searched for a better tool to ease the testing process.
So, how could we Test Smarter?
I decided to start exploring test platforms to help me optimize our testing processes, and luckily in an OTAUG Collaborate Oracle event about 3 years ago, I came across Panaya and had a long meeting and demo with the on-ground team. To my utter surprise – They had just the right testing platform I needed.
Panaya’s “pass the baton” testing allowed for collaborative business process testing, meaning QA’s don’t have to know all the different job roles during the entire business process. You can assign different steps to various owners, and they get notified when it’s their time to test. Our system also has a master tester repository with over 17,000 steps. When we started the upgrade, we were pulling testing scripts from different areas and needed to create a central repository to create order. Through that effort, we could copy the repository into a testing event and assign those processes to end users, whether UAT, CRP1, or CRP2. This organizes the key users’ work for them and notifies them when it is their time to test. It’s a tremendous advantage to the testing cycle.
Panaya’s patch analysis helped us identify the systems being modified and ensure they worked properly. Knowing what is actually being used and how much is critical to any testing project. Every time a patch is implemented, it changes the standard code, so it might break. Panaya analyzes your code, maps the interconnections, and checks the impacted entry points and which tests are best to run. Even when doing quarterly patch upgrades, we can pull out the necessary steps for test cycles, do them quickly, and be confident we have done all the right steps.
Let’s not forget Defect Management
For utility companies such as MLGW (Memphis Light, Gas, and Water), Defect management is critical to ensure the system is up and running for the everyday process. Oracle applications are utilized in every business aspect, such as finance, inventory, and EAN users. The defect management process is the core of software testing. Once the defects have been identified, the most significant activity for any organization is to manage the flaws, not only for the testing team but also for everyone involved in the software development or project management process.
In order to handle the projects appropriately, you need to know how to deal with the development and release, but you also need to know how to handle defects. Panaya’s test recorder runs in the background and automatically documents everything. It helps the developers step by step to de-bug any break in the code, shows the status of the testing cycle, and automatically documents all the different data. Just imagine what would happen if the testing team reports the defects verbally and the development team also verbally updates the defect’s status. The process will be more complicated and undocumented.
Conclusion
You can keep your pre, post, and in-migration surprises at a minimum by evaluating your testing strategy. At every step of your Oracle EBS to Oracle Cloud migration journey, various technical aspects must be considered to implement an effective continuous testing strategy. Panaya’s Smart Test Management Platform ensured us the most efficient, effective, insightful testing cycles.
Now not only I have fewer headaches, but also my team feels more confident when managing our testing cycles.