Why Automated Testing is Critical for Oracle Implementation

Every mission-critical product and process has a cost associated with it. From development to deployment and maintenance, there are expenses to be paid, time to be managed, and resources to be invested. The same is true for Oracle implementations. And they could be anything from a feature implementation to a planned migration to the Oracle Cloud and everything in between.

Regrettably, as with most ERP implementations, this is easier said than done. Not that there’s anything wrong with the process, but that it’s simply complex. So, it’s challenging to stay on top, especially when the budget and deadline are pressing.

And the use of manual testing certainly doesn’t help, to say the least. It’s too time-consuming, costly, and prone to errors. Not to mention the fact that it’s limited in scope and doesn’t offer any real-time visibility into product quality. So, it’s natural that cost overruns and delays are standard.

However, there are ways to address these challenges and come out on top. The first step is to realize that manual testing, although necessary, is not a cure-all. Automated testing is, by all means, indispensable for any ERP implementation. In fact, it’s critical for Oracle implementations in particular.

This article builds on the premise that automated testing for Oracle Cloud and implementations, in general, is an indisputable necessity.

Let us explore –

Before we get into the whys of automated testing, let’s look at the real-life obstacles IT professionals face when it comes to manual testing for new features, migration projects, post-M&A consolidation tasks, etc.

High Costs

Manual testing entails having immense resources at disposal. For instance, specialists with appropriate technical, functional, and business knowledge and experience must be available around the clock, rendering in-house costs uncomfortably high.

As such, the cost of testing is proportional to the number of testers involved. Since maintenance testing, reporting, and documentation add to the total time spent, manual testing efforts can quickly become a financial burden.

Anthony Shorter, Senior Principal Product Manager at Oracle, says that manual testing incurred “cost is obvious as it is the labor cost of the resource and the opportunity cost of removing them from the business.”

High Risk

As for risks, there’s the possibility of failure at every stage, from ideation to execution. Human errors could creep in at any time due to the need for a more comprehensive QA scope, not to mention the necessary adjustments and fine-tuning.

Of course, there’s the time element to account for as well. Each sprint takes time when you’re taking an iterative approach to manual testing. The duration of each sprint depends on the number and complexity of testing activities and their depth and priority.

Thus, it’s easy to go beyond the time-boxed schedule and hit the deadline with a less-than-desirable product.

Disintegrated Processes

The lack of visibility of manual testing has negative implications on team efficiency and leads to common problems such as duplicated effort and missing or incorrect data.

For example, different teams could test different functions without knowing about each other’s progress. Or, team members may be focusing on the same tasks but performing them in an isolated environment, resulting in cross-contamination.

This is not to say that the process should always be adhered to stringently by all the teams. However, being in sync and having a common understanding of the overall goal and scope is necessary to avoid any discrepancies.

The automated testing market, which stood at $15 billion in 2020, is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16% to be valued at more than $40 billion by 2027. This soaring market can be attributed to the need for more agility, consistency, and efficiency across the board.

For instance, the growing demand for mobile and cloud systems, quicker time-to-market, and more frequent upgrades have necessitated continuous testing to ensure the security and integrity of a system at all times. 

For these reasons and to counter the challenges with manual testing, automated testing has been heralded as the fast-track solution to Oracle implementations.

Low Costs

Testing costs, as elucidated above, are directly associated with testing time and resources. More profoundly, the time a developer/tester takes to write tests, the environment maintenance resource requirements, the time a developer/test takes to maintain the environment, etc., all contribute to the cost of testing.

However, these costs can be drastically reduced when you automate the testing process. All the subsequent tests can automatically run after being written once. Since this process is fast, it’s easier to make changes without hindering the time-bound deployment cycles.

Additionally, whenever the changes are made, it’s cost-efficient to automatically test the APIs with regard to the complex third-party integrations that Oracle implementations usually involve.

High Quality

The quality of a product is a direct result of the quality of its testing. And when there’s a significant test coverage, it’s easier to identify bugs quickly and fix them. But there’s more to this than meets the eye.

With automated tests, the risk of regression bugs and other vulnerabilities is minimal. Plus, the new developers get the necessary support from the established test suite as they continue to write and execute tests in the future.

Obviously, there’s the advantage of rapid feedback before one deploys a system live. This way, developers and testers can identify, detect, and fix any possible issues in no time. Simply put, there’s tight control over the quality of the final product.

Excellent Coordination

The codeless test automation platform for all Oracle suites like ACCELQ fosters collaboration amongst business users thanks to real-time alignment with Oracle releases and updates, test planning traceability, etc.

The result is the synchronization of the entire testing process, ensuring that there’s a clear view of what’s happening. There are no duplicates, and everyone is on the same page regarding their roles and responsibilities.

ACCELQ’s AI-powered Cloud platform allows teams to easily implement no-code test automation for all their Oracle Cloud implementations. The platform expedites real-time vendor alignment with Oracle releases and updates, alignment with Oracle E-Business Suite, integration with the CI pipeline, self-healing capabilities, and more.

From speeding up the application deployment cycle to reducing maintenance costs to boosting the productivity of developers, testers, and project managers alike, ACCELQ is the enterprise-grade solution that your organization needs for the continuous delivery of your Oracle-powered apps. 

Get in touch with us today to learn how we can help you accelerate Oracle Cloud implementations.