Testing

Note: This is part three of a four-part implementation plan that will be combined to form the finalized plan in Week Four. It is expected that adjustments will be made in the final version based on the feedback provided in Weeks One through Three.

Using the paper developed in Weeks One and Two, add an additional 3 to 4 pages (1,050 to 1,400 words) describing your user acceptance testing plans for ensuring the Business Enterprise Software performs at an acceptable level. Include the following:

• Develop a data conversion plan that describes the process of migrating existing data to the testing platform.
• Describe the test environment, including hardware requirements and the personnel who will participate in user acceptance testing.
• Explain the methods and procedures that will be used to conduct the testing, such as performance testing, load testing, and/or regression testing.

System Implementation 7

System Implementation

(Brewton Business Scenario)

Introduction:

Brewton business is a clothing retail company that is operating their business in different cities. This firm has headquartered in Eugene. From headquarter, they are running offices in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, and Huston. They have a workforce of 240 employees that are distributed in different cities. The company is already working on various software packages that comprise of accounting, purchase system, personnel tracking, and payroll applications. But the software’s are not enough to meet the growing needs of the company. They need to develop an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) application that facilities all offices across the cities and centralized data of all departments at one place.

Key stakeholders that help in implementation plan:

When a new system is going to be implemented in a company, then many people are in favor of it who directly support it or appreciate that change. But many people resist this change by complaining about it, and they want to continue with old ones.

· Mark Brewton who is the CEO of the company is willing to implement this software that brings a good change in business practices by soothing the inventory and accounting operation. For implementing a new system, full support from the side of CEO is with us.

· Barbara Scharer who is the CFO of the company also supports this change because she wants such a system that helps in managing reports. That help in analyzing expenses so that maximum profits can be gain. Hence, when this system is implemented than the support of CFO helps us in analyzing whether this system is developed according to requirements or not (Motiwalla, 2008).

· William Hunter worked as a COO (Chief Operations Officer). As per William, there is not for implementation of such system because he is satisfied with the performance of the previous system. Hence, to gain the full support of William, it is necessary to demonstrate the countless benefits of this system that helps in overall functioning of the company.

· Jennifer Morales worked as Sales and Advertising Director. This software helps him in strong binding between operation and makes their work accessible by directly taking orders over this and send directly to operations.

· Roger Tomlinson, Human Resources Director, states that this system will help him in smoothing their function of HR. Hence, his support is in favor of quick implementation of this software.

· Mike Benson (Information Technology Director) and Gary Holmes (Systems Administrator) finds the implementation of this software a challenging job. These are two persons who are responsible for smoothing implementation and working of this software. As they have no expertise in doing it. Then it is better to hire a consultant who will implement this system and set it on all desktop of employees for proper functioning.

· Nancy Davis (Web Developer) and Jim Travis (Network Administrator) are the satisfied current system but implementing a new system is a challenging task for them. All these problems can be solved by hiring a third party who help in implementation and training of this system.

 Human resources that will be required to implement the application

Sr. No

Name of person

Designation

Role

1.

Miss. Barbara Scharer,

Chief Financial Officer

She is one who plays a role of project head and responsible for completing all documentation of this ERP system.

2.

Mr. Jones

ERP Developer

He is the person who developed the ERP system. He is the third party that is hired for this ERP.

3.

Mr. Mike Benson,

IT Director

He is one who involved in ERP deployment because he is only who operates the whole system.

4.

Mr. Jim Travis

Network Administrator

He is responsible for connecting this ERP system with all system of the company in all cities. He is also responsible for data conversation.

5.

Mr. Gary Holmes,

Systems Administrator

He is responsible for providing all equipment related to the implementation of this new system.

6.

Mr. Nancy Davis,

Web Developer

He is responsible for connecting it with online sites of a company.

7.

Mr. William Hunter
Miss. Jennifer Morales
Mr. Roger Tomlinson

Chief Operations Officer,
Sales and Advertising Director Human Resources Director

The all are responsible for testing of the system of whether it is properly working or not.

8.

Mr. Jones and his team

User training and system start

These persons are responsible for training because these are the one who develops these systems.

List of computer and network resources used for implementation of ERP:

· Xeon server computer

· NIC (Network interface card)

· Switches

· Hub

· Connectors and cables

· Modem

· Router

· Server.

· Coaxial cable

· Fiber optic cable

· Sun Solaris,

· IBM AIX,

· Windows Vista/2003/2000/XP,

· Apple Mac OS X,

· OS/400 and z/OS (Sandeep Singhal, 2011 )

Implementation plan:

For the successful implementation of ERP system. It took almost 37 days from deployment of the system to a new startup. The maximum number of days are required for system deployment preparation and user training. Because the employees are spread in different cities (Andreas Jenzer, 2008).

Task

Start Date

End Date

Duration

System Deployment Preparation

25-Jan-18

5-Feb-18

10

System Documentation

6-Feb-18

10-Feb-18

4

Data Conversion

11-Feb-18

13-Feb-18

2

System Testing

14-Feb-18

20-Feb-18

7

User Training

21-Feb-18

1-Mar-18

11

System Startup

2-Mar-18

5-Mar-18

3

Table: System implementation plan

Figure: Timeline for implementation of ERP.

In the end, it is pertinent to mention that implementing an ERP system is a complicated task that required the attention of all department heads and CEO so that security of the system cannot be ignored. It is also essential that all employees should get significant training so that the can maximum benefit out of it.
Communication plan:
The ERP that is going to implement in a company. Making a proper communication plan is essential. This will help in communicating with the stakeholders regarding the progress of the company. In time communication is important because it helps in catering the challenges and issues that might come with the project. Hence, all the stakeholders must bind to each other in a strong relation of communication that helps them in the success of the project.
Modes of communication:
The modes of communication that can be used in this project are email, calls, fax, messaging, project reports, meetings and presentation. These are the preferred modes of communication. When communicating with the same department emails is the best sources that can be used. But when communication across department and communication regarding the project than project reposts and presentation is the preferable mode.
Communication matrix:
In this matrix, the frequency, distribution, and description of communication have been presented that help the stakeholder in efficient and timely communication. This communication matrix can be used by all stakeholders.

Project reporting:
The project reports are scheduled according to the stage of the project when it is initial stage then there is thrice a week meeting in which plan of project initiation is discussed. But when the project starts them meetings on project progress us schedules with senior management. These meetings are held once in the week. (Ralph L. Kliem, 2007)

Project meetings:
Project meeting is scheduled according to the stage of the project it can be twice in a week or once in a week.

Another vehicle of communication:
The different vehicle of communication that are used in this project are presented in the below-mentioned table:

Documentation:
Documentation is an integral part of the project especially when we are dealing with such a vast system of ERP implementation. It is necessary that its documentation must be completed along with the progress of the project that will help in future if any discrepancy comes.
There are different kinds of projects that are essential to maintaining:
Project documentation:
It describes the purpose of a project along with the stakeholders who are involved in this project. These documents help the managers, project heads and other stakeholders regarding the objective of the project. If includes, the purpose, objective, budget, specifications of technical material used along with the description of hardware and software with details of technician and designers. Hence this document presents the project as a whole.
Test documentation:
Test documentation is used by the quality assurance department who oversee the activities of the project. Before the final implementation, this unit checks whether it is completed in all aspects of not. It also includes a list of logs, list of bugs and reports from testers.
Team documentation:
This documentation includes all the ideas of the project that are exchanged between the team members. It also demonstrates which tasks are assigned to which stakeholder and to what extent they complete these tasks. Schedules, test plans, and status updates are the major components of this project (Bjørner, 2006).
User documentation:
This includes all the material that is used in training of employees when this system is implemented. It includes videos, manuals that help the end user.
Technical documentation:
Technical documentation includes the details of products and services that are used in this project. For example, in this ERP system, it includes details of software, hardware, and servers that are used in the development of this whole system. (Palo Alto Networks, 2014) It includes technical specification, software codes, and API documentation.
Change Management/Control Process

In Brewton Enterprises Incorporation a systematic approach is needed to manage the changes. Through adaptation of better change control process the resources could be utilized efficiently, and a better decision could be taken which would eventually boost up the profitability level of the entity. In this instance, the change would be controlled by a process through which the project would be properly managed, and any disruptions in the success of the project could be removed in time. The change process for Brewton Enterprises Incorporation would be as follows:

Process

Step (1-8)

Details

Initiate

· Create Urgency
· Change request

· Data analysis and data acquisition related to ERP system
· As-is analysis
· The analysis related to the stakeholder’s details

Initiate

· Form a powerful coalition

· The sponsorship coalition
· The project team will be affiliated

Plan

· Create a Vision for change

· Change management plan
· Development of the implementation plan
· Creating a concept to modify the things

Manage

· Communicate the vision

· Coaching of the project
· Identifying any flaws in the current system and resolving the complications.

Manage

· Empower Employees

· Taking interviews
· Presentation through the workshop
· Representing the employees the expertise model
· Development of team
· Collaborating the team members
· Authorizing them

Manage

· Create Short-Term win

· Counseling services

Manage

· Hold gain and build on gain

· Organization of the project
· Expanding the project

Reinforce

· Implementation

· Customer Relationship Management (CRM),
· Purchasing, Human Resources, Accounting
· Supply Chain Management (SCM) components of inventory control

Consulting services versus performing them in-house, the costs, benefits, and challenges associated with each option

For the implementation tasks, there are two options in hand of the Brewton Enterprises Incorporation. One of the options is to use the services of the outside consultants. The second option is to perform entire functions in-house without taking any help from outsiders. Both options would require different budgets; both would have different sort of challenges and have a different kind of benefits.

For Outsourcing implementation, the selected plan is as follows:

1. Contract would be done regarding the skills and project

2. Measurable and specific goals would be set up.

3. Communicate expectations regarding the performance.

4. End product, performance expectations along with the deadline and resources would be settled

5. Expert/consultant/extra hand would be hired

6. Detailed plan would be provided

7. Clear map would be created to measure the performance

8. In the end, Evaluation would be done regarding the risks and prepare alternatives

Consulting services versus performing them in-house

Subjects

Consulting services

In-house services

Cost($)

· 8000($)

· 4500($)

Benefits

· The (ERP) experts services could be attained

· Less cost is required for in-house services

· More specific work could be done.

· The internal employee could better understand the organizational working scenario.

· Project success rate increases

· Workforce would be trained regarding their work so it would help them grow further

Challenges

· Consultants might take time to understand the company’s work and project requirement

· Internal employees might not be experts, so it is hard to train them in ERP

· Hiring outside consultant will charge almost double comparing to the internal workforce

· The internal functions might get disturbed if all the things would be done by the company’s workforce.
· ERP should be done by experts

References
Andreas Jenzer, G. W. (2008). Infrastructure Technology Basics for SAP Deployment. Pearson .
Motiwalla. (2008). Enterprise Systems for Management. Pearson Education India.
Sandeep Singhal, D. P. (2011 ). Hardware and Software Requirements for Implementation of ERP in Technical Education Institutes in India . International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research , 1-5.
Andreas Jenzer, G. W. (2008). Infrastructure Technology Basics for SAP Deployment. Pearson .
Bjørner, D. (2006). Software Engineering 3: Domains, Requirements, and Software Design. Springer Science & Business Media.
Motiwalla. (2008). Enterprise Systems for Management. Pearson Education India.
Palo Alto Networks, I. (2014, 01 01). Technical Documentation. Retrieved from paloaltonetworks.com: https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/documentation
Ralph L. Kliem, P. (2007). Effective Communications for Project Management. CRC Press.
Sandeep Singhal, D. P. (2011 ). Hardware and Software Requirements for Implementation of ERP in Technical Education Institutes in India . International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research , 1-5.

Business Case Scenario CMGT/ 4 45 Version 9

4

CMGT/445 Assignments: Business Case Scenario

The Brewton Business Scenario will be utilized throughout the course for both individual and learning team assignments.

Brewton Business Scenario

Brewton Enterprises, Inc. is a clothing retail company located in the city of Eugene, Oregon. The company offers an array of products with a mix of clothing styles, appealing primarily to teens and young adults. Brewton has four satellite offices in Los Angeles, New York, Houston, and Atlanta. These offices, including headquarters in Eugene, serve as distribution centers for products sold by Brewton. The company employs 240 employees as follows:

Eugene 130

Los Angeles 27

New York 30

Houston 25

Atlanta 28

Each of these locations has a warehouse manager, an administrative assistant, a human resources representative, sales and customer service coordinators, shipping and receiving personnel, and facilities maintenance personnel. All locations stock a full complement of Brewton products for delivery to purchasing customers. In addition to these functions, headquarters, located in Eugene, also provides human resources, purchasing analysts, sales and marketing personnel, accountants, systems personnel, and operations personnel.

Mark Brewton, the company’s founder, wants to implement a comprehensive Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application to support the business now and in the future. He believes the business has grown to the point that such a system will streamline business processes, help to control business expenditures, and will better manage inventory levels, which presently do not seem to reflect accurate numbers for each distribution center. The new system will replace almost all of the computer applications currently in use in the company.

The Current System Environment

Users in the business functions of the organization utilize standalone software packages such as a purchasing system, accounting and payroll applications, and a personnel tracking system used by Human Resources. Because these applications do not share files, there are frequently situations in which employee and customer data do not match, then research must be conducted in order to make the data consistent in all systems. The IT organization runs special programs developed to cross-compare the information and report mismatches among data files, which are then updated to reflect the correct information. The new ERP System will help to mitigate these data integrity issues.

The current applications reside mostly on individual desktop computers, with the exception of the HR System and the Inventory Tracking System, which reside on the company network. Human Resource staff from all locations have access to the HR System and its files. Inventory files are maintained centrally and can be accessed by operations personnel at corporate headquarters, as well as the remote distribution centers. As merchandise is received in the central warehouse, quantities are updated in the Inventory Tracking System. When products are sent out to the other distribution centers and to customers, the inventory levels are adjusted accordingly. All employee workstations are connected to the network and have access to the Internet for sending and receiving emails. The IT organization maintains the software and data files for all employees and their computers, performing routine backups and applying needed updates. The company does not have a disaster recovery plan or a business continuity plan to be followed in the event of a contingency situation, such as flooding or earthquake, and it is generally felt by management that this situation should be addressed. The online web application for processing orders is maintained separately, with orders sent to operations on a daily basis for fulfillment and shipping.

The Software Application

The application acquired for implementation is the Business Enterprise Software solution which incorporates modules supporting multiple areas of the company, including Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Purchasing, Human Resources, Accounting, and the Supply Chain Management (SCM) components of inventory control, receiving, and shipping. The application includes a high-speed analytics module designed with predeveloped reports and with the capability to enable user-defined ad hoc reporting. Each module of the system performs independently of the others, but they all utilize the same database management structure as an integrated data store. The vendor delivers the software in a bundled package that can be downloaded from the vendor’s web site or can be obtained on CD, if necessary. It is anticipated that the software can be installed, the necessary business processes developed, and the migration to the new system environment accomplished within a one-year time frame.

Stakeholders
Mark Brewton, Chief Executive Officer

Mark is an energetic entrepreneur who built Brewton Enterprises from its beginnings as a small retail store in Eugene to a well-managed corporation serving several business markets via an online website store. Mark relies on his direct reports to manage the day-to-day operation of the company. With input from his staff, Mark directed Mike Benson, the IT Director of Brewton Enterprises to acquire the Business Enterprise Software and to prepare for its implementation. He feels that the new system will streamline the accounting and purchasing functions and will help to achieve better inventory control.

Barbara Scharer, Chief Financial Officer

The finance and accounting functions are managed by Barbara Scharer and her staff. She maintains appropriate levels of investments, retains adequate operating capital, and arranges for lines of credit as needed. She oversees the accounting function of the organization where her employees use desktop software products to perform their work. Barbara is looking forward to making use of the new Business Enterprise System, leveraging its integrated reporting capability to better track the business. She would like to determine why the company is not as profitable as it might be and feels the software will help to identify areas in which improvements might be made.

William Hunter, Chief Operations Officer

William Hunter is responsible for the purchasing organization, which places orders for products to be sold, office supplies, equipment, computers, etc. Bill and his staff are also responsible for physical plant security and making sure the strategically located warehouses are properly stocked with products to be will be delivered to their customers. Products are centrally received and accounted for before they are distributed to the warehouses. Warehouse personnel work on orders as they are received, pulling products together, packaging them, and shipping them to their customers. Bill has a group of associates in the shipping industry with whom he has close relationships, and he uses their companies to ship the products. Bill is proud of his organization and believes that the supply chain is working smoothly and effectively. He sees no need to use the new application to support his part of the business and believes it will require his staff to do unnecessary reorganizing and to bring in unneeded additional resources to perform their work using the new system.

Jennifer Morales, Sales and Advertising Director

Jennifer oversees the selection of products to be offered for sale on the company’s web site and works with purchasing to acquire those products. She works with the IT organization to make sure that products are effectively and accurately presented on the web pages. She also maintains a relationship with an internet advertising firm that provides links on other sites to direct potential buyers to the Brewton web site. Her staff of sales associates and customer service representatives take orders over the phone and assist customers with their selections. Orders are sent daily to Operations for picking, packaging, and shipping.

Roger Tomlinson, Human Resources Director

The employment needs of the company are addressed by Roger Tomlinson, who handles the recruiting and hiring of qualified personnel for the company. He also oversees running of biweekly payroll, government reporting, and processing of insurance payments, as well as other payroll deductions. Roger’s staff conducts compensation surveys to make sure employee pay remains competitive in the industry, and in line with corporate financial guidelines. Roger plans to use the Human Resources module of the new system to streamline job applicant data, from the receipt of resumes through the interviewing process and hiring of candidates.

Mike Benson, Information Technology Director

Mike Benson’s staff is responsible for maintaining the company’s technical infrastructure, such as the network, employee workstations, the web site, and associated hardware. His staff negotiates software agreements with vendors, performs routine maintenance, and monitors network usage. Mike meets regularly with his staff to receive status updates on projects underway. Mike has some concerns about the implementation process, because his staff members do not have the bandwidth to take on a new project the size of the ERP system implementation. He is considering hiring additional staff to take on this responsibility, but also wants to evaluate the possibility of bringing in consultants to do the work.

He knows that preparing for testing of the new system and scheduling training for all users will be a challenge in order to keep the business functioning normally and getting everyone familiar with the new system. The development of training materials and user documentation will also be a consideration. Mike feels that there must be some good alternatives for accomplishing these tasks.

Gary Holmes, Systems Administrator

Reporting to Mike, Gary Holmes sets up user IDs for all employees, and installs desktop software on PC workstations as needed. Gary is sensitive to the need to maintain state-of-the-art equipment and software to support the technical operation and seeks to keep all systems up-to-date and running at peak efficiency. Gary is somewhat apprehensive about the new system that has been acquired. He wonders who will be asked to support it and who will fix it when technical problems occur following implementation.

Nancy Davis, Web Developer

Nancy Davis is a web developer, reporting to Mike. She is responsible for maintaining the company’s web site, working with Jennifer Morales, to keep the content of the site attractive and user-friendly. She does not think that the new system will affect her work in any way.

Jim Travis, Network Administrator

Jim Travis, the network administrator also reports to Mike Benson, maintaining all network hardware and connections, including web access. He is responsible for maintaining security of the Brewton data assets and providing threat detection of unauthorized access to the corporate network. Like Gary, Jim is wondering how the new Enterprise Business System will fit into the existing configuration of the technical infrastructure. He fears it will require the purchase or lease of a new server and will likely increase his workload significantly. He knows that the implementation will require, not only a production environment in which the new system will run, but will also necessitate creating a test environment for user acceptance testing, and a training environment in which users will be trained to use the new system. He wonders if the training could be conducted in the test environment so as to save some resources.

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