Continuing with the paper developed in Weeks One, Two, and Three, add an additional 2 to 3 pages (700 to 1,050 words) describing your plans for training employees and preparing them for system changeover

Running head: Week Three

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Data Conversion Plan

Data conversion is a process that is used to identify all of the databases that will need to be converted and migrated to the new ERP system. Additionally, a documentation of all data or databases should be implemented together with a list of all human resources required and their roles (Rintamäki, L. 2010). For this case, the project team will be required to develop a conversion strategy for the following types of data, and they include Static files which consist of master data such as customers, dynamic files which consist of transaction data such as Purchase Orders which will all be converted into the new system and finally, transactional history from the old system. The IT department will be the custodian of the company's data and will be responsible for ensuring the data is converted, cleaned and migrated into the new ERP system.

System migration can be defined as the process of moving all IT resources to a new platform with the main objective of streamlining business processes. The migration process can involve the use of a manual technique or an automated technique which relies on migration software to simplify and shorten the process (Rintamäki, L. 2010).

For the case of the ERP system to be implemented for the Brewton business, an elaborate data conversion plan will be adopted to describe the process of migrating existing data to the testing platform. The first step will entail the consideration of the availability of all required resources. Traditionally, most companies lack enough and qualified expertise that are to delegated different tasks which are to be accomplished within a stipulated time frame. For this case, the project team leaders should ensure that there will be human resources who will be involved in working on data conversion as well as other implementation tasks and this will be achieved through making adjustments to the ERP implementation schedule to ensure that conversion in synch with the other activities.

The second step in the process will involve considering the needs of all user groups. This will involve loading of subsets of data into the new ERP system at several regional branches of the company. The above will ensure that records migrated into the new system are manageable and it also reduces chances of complications as compared to a full load of data. Finally, the last step in the process will involve identifying the number of iterations required for the data conversion cycle, and this will be based on use cases (Rintamäki, L. 2010). One test environment will be built for testing, and this is because all company data will be converted for the last time before it’s migrated to production mode.

User Acceptance Testing Plans

System testing is a process undertaken to confirm whether an information system such as an ERP system meets and complies with all requirements which were outlined at the planning and requirement gathering stages (Goebel, J. 2004). Overall testing of an information system is used to test the design as well as the behavior and both the expected and unexpected outcomes that will be witnessed during the operational phase.

A test environment is a setup of both software and hardware equipment and its purposed for testing teams to execute test cases. A testing environment is configured for execution of tests using hardware, software and network resources. There are several elements of the test environment, and the first one is the Scope of testing (Goebel, J. 2004). The scope of testing should be clearly defined, and the entire plan should also define all components and features which should be tested or not. The second key element is the Bug Tracking Process. This critical element is used to outline the process of recording all the defects and bugs found during the various testing cycles. Additionally, this element is used to provide details on how to track and report all bugs and defects found during the test phase (Goebel, J. 2004). The final essential element of the test environment is the hardware and software resources. And for this case it will involve listing down all the personnel, software and hardware requirements needed for the testing phase

User acceptance testing practically viewed as the final phase of testing and it involves hands-on user participation to ensure that the system handles real world scenarios. For the case of Brewton business, hardware equipment that will be required during this testing phase will include the ERP System, database servers to store that test data, operating systems and a network which will be used to distribute the entire system to different departments in the company (Gerrard, P. 2007, September).

Individuals to be involved with this type of testing will include all select end users who work in different departments as well as all key stakeholders, and their participation will be used to confirm that all functionalities match the requirements specified.

Methods and Procedures That Will Be Used To Conduct Testing,

There are several methods of testing that will be during the system testing phase, and they include load, performance, and regression testing methods. Load testing can be defined as the process of subjecting an application or information system to simulated demand in a manner that clearly shows its behavior under different scenarios. Additionally, load testing involves invoking ordinary stress to an information system to determine whether it can execute and accomplish its functionality as intended. Load testing ensures that all given function or sub-function within the application can handle all functionalities that it was designed to handle without collapsing or affecting critical functionalities (Gerrard, P. 2007, September). This technique of testing plays an important role in determining the efficiency in which a certain component of the front end part of a system, such as portal and its associated modules will handle actual loads that they’re likely to be subjected to during their operational phase. Load testing assists the test teams to measure crucial metrics which include response times and maximum rates of processing. In conclusion, load testing helps in identifying the system’s breaking point and this is supported by the assumption that the breaking point takes place below the peak load condition.

Performance testing can be defined as the process of determining the speed and general effectiveness of an information system such as the ERP system in this case. This process involves quantitative tests done in a lab setting, and this can involve measuring the number instructions that a system can process in a second during its operational phase (Gerrard, P. 2007, September). This method of testing is normally undertaken jointly with stress testing, and it acts as a blueprint of verifying that an information system meets and complies with all specifications which were outlined by the vendor during the requirements gathering phase. Performance testing is effected to provide all stakeholders with information about the proposed system with regards to processing speed, overall stability, and scalability for future purposes. Additionally, this technique consists of other sub categories which include load testing which was discussed above and the stress testing method which involves subjecting an information system to operational capacities that are beyond the normal and the main objective is to identify the system’s breaking point and observing the results (Gerrard, P. 2007, September).

Lastly, regression technique is a type of testing that verifies that modules or functionalities which were previously developed and tested still perform as intended even after it was changed or interfaced with other systems. With regression testing, varying test cases are executed severally to verify that the previous behavior of an information system has been retained and that no new bugs have been introduced by the new changes and modifications.

References

Goebel, J. (2004). Hardware Testing and System Qualification: Procedures to Evaluate Commodity Hardware and Production Cluster.

Gerrard, P. (2007, September). Test methods and tools for ERP implementations. In Testing: Academic and Industrial Conference Practice and Research Techniques-MUTATION, 2007. TAICPART-MUTATION 2007 (pp. 40-46). IEEE.

Rintamäki, L. (2010). Data migration, a practical example from the business world.