Business software that does what you expect it to do, how nice is that? That starts with the quality of the software and ends with thorough testing of how the software supports your specific day-to-day business processes. But how do you do that, business software testing?
Make use of process flow charts
Make sure the most important processes in your organizations are documented step by step in process flow charts. This provides a foothold for everyone in the organization. A uniform way of working is agreed upon to which everyone should commit. A good process flow chart easily visualizes the process from beginning to end. For this, use good symbols, a consistent direction of flow and calm colors. It is also wise not to make the process flow charts too long or too complicated; break the charts up into sections if necessary and stick to the standard processes without exceptions. In this way, you will have carefully mapped out your most important processes which will help you in testing.
Clearly define what you want to test and what outcome you expect
Before you start testing, you need to know exactly what you want to test, why you want to test it, and what results you expect. Make sure you have the right data (objects, items, suppliers, customers, etc.) to test properly.
Example: booking a purchase receipt
Set up the initial situation of your test case yourself with a supplier, item and general ledger account. Use new data for this, to avoid being surprised by what you encounter in existing data. Set up the new general ledger account as an inventory account and then create a purchase order for the supplier and item. Next, verify that the item's inventory matches the purchase order quantity and also verify that the inventory value in the general ledger (the new account) matches the value of the purchase order. Start with a simple scenario and expand it later. When doing the checks, also consider the financial entries. When you want to test a purchasing process, it is wise to create and use a new inventory account for this purpose. Then you can test whether the value in that account matches your expectations. Also consider currencies; create a scenario with and without currency.
"Consider what anomalies occur and what side paths are taken in practice and test whether the system can deal with them."
Automatic testing using tools
There are tools available that make it possible to automatically test thousands of processes in your software system every day. This is important to monitor whether all processes in the system continue to work properly. After all, a change in one process can cause other processes to no longer run as intended without you realizing it. The automatic testing tools alert you to this so you can intervene immediately.
Also test the error messages
It's natural to test that the process goes well when you take the right steps. But perhaps just as important is testing error messages. Does the user receive a notification when a required field is not completed? Or when a step in the process is skipped? And do the notifications meet expectations? Error messages help users get back on track and complete the process correctly.
Test the exceptions
That the normal process goes off without a hitch is not saying much. That's the least you can expect. But what about the exceptions? Consider what deviations occur and what side paths are taken and test whether the system can deal with them.
Communication is crucial in testing
Perhaps the most important tip of all when testing enterprise software is to ensure good communication. With the developers, the consultants, the key users and the end users. You can't just do that via email and test scripts. Talk to each other so that it is clear what the expectations are regarding the software, how these expectations are met and how this can be tested.
