Why User Acceptance Testing is a crucial phase in an ERP implementation project?

Background

When implementing an ERP, it is crucial to make sure that the users are familiar with the processes and the tool they will be using daily after go-live. Not only that, but the processes have to meet their business needs.To address these matters, every implementation project goes through a phase of user testing, called User Acceptance Testing. During this phase, users will test different processes of interest according to their job and validate them.In this article, we will review how User Acceptance Testing works at Novutech and why it is an important part of every NetSuite implementation project.

How it works

During the Enable part of a project, future NetSuite users are asked to test the processes that have been designed, implemented and tested by our team in NetSuite to meet their requirements. It can go from the creation of a vendor to the closing of accounting periods, and each user will be asked to test the processes corresponding to his/her daily tasks. This phase takes place in a Sandbox environment, which is intended for testing purposes only. Actions undertaken in this environment have no effect on the company’s business, which allows users to test as much as they want.

Concretely, a list of scenarios to realize in NetSuite is sent to the appropriate users depending on their future NetSuite. A detailed list of instructions is provided with each scenario in order to make sure that all the steps are clearly understood. At the end of a step, a check is realized to confirm that the user is on the correct path and can therefore go on with the scenario(s).

Users can validate a scenario if it meets their expectations, but they can also come back to us if they feel that it should work differently. In that case, we work with them to redefine and rebuild the process in NetSuite if needed.

What are the benefits of User Acceptance Testing?

The User Acceptance Testing phase is important because it provides two main benefits:

• Users start using NetSuite and can therefore get acclimated to the ERP system before go-live.
• Users can provide feedback on NetSuite processes. This avoids unpleasant surprises after going live, as all major processes are validated during the User Acceptance Testing phase.

These two points show why this phase is really centered around the user. It can be time consuming to test all the scenarios but it is beneficial in the long term for future NetSuite users. Indeed, by performing the scenarios in a serious manner, they have the chance to be well-prepared for go-live.From the integrator's point of view, User Acceptance Testing is also the phase which allows to know whether the ERP system is ready to be deployed or not. As stated earlier, during this critical phase, the integrator makes sure that the customer validates the work that has been done.

Conclusion

To summarize, during the User Acceptance Testing phase, future NetSuite users are asked to perform and validate scenarios in a testing environment. It allows them to get familiar with NetSuite and provide feedback on the scenarios they are testing.This phase is therefore a key moment in a project, when users can validate processes and when the integrator can make sure the ERP system is ready to be implemented.

In short

• Testing Processes in NetSuite
• Validate scenarios based on testing
• User Acceptance Testing is beneficial to future NetSuite users