SAS 006 – Testing 123

Today’s Show: Testing 123

  • Developing good testing practices is important
  • Computer hardware/software testing
  • Backup restore testing
  • Documentation & process testing
  • Patch testing
    • OS
    • Application
  • The basics
    • Pre-test, validate current state
      • What works, what doesn’t
      • Partner with business community if needed
    • Build test environment
      • Useful for more complicated or critical systems
      • Virtualization has made this easy
      • Pre-test the development environment, does it match production?
      • Take notes on the steps you take, so you know what to expect during the production upgrade
    • Verify backups
    • Have a fail back plan
      • Outline situations when it would be needed
    • Post-testing
      • Does system functionality match the pre-test?
      • Use acceptance test required?
  • Testing process
    • Be as thorough as time allows based on upgrade scope and system importance
      • How much time & money will an outage cost you?
    • Don’t assume anything
      • Even the smallest detail can have a significant effect on the outcome
    • How many people are required?
    • What equipment is required?
      • Phones
      • Printers
      • Computers/Servers
    • Time required?

Final Thoughts

  • Good testing habits will save you time, money and embarrassment
  • Resist the urge to just get it done
    • It’s better to do it right then to get home 10 minutes earlier.  Otherwise you might be driving back into work to fix it.
    •  Testing decreases this temptation because you can use your notes as a checklist