How to Identify the Stability of ERP?

It is well known that ERP software is updated quickly and is in a state of constant updating and patching, which leads to poor software stability. After the new product is released, the enterprise is often the object of trial, and the instability of the system often brings a lot of trouble to the enterprise.

The inaccuracy of accounting data affects the correctness of the report. Incoming and outgoing goods are not strict, and the workshop receives more materials, resulting in the phenomenon of multiple warehouses or less receipts, resulting in inaccurate warehouse quantity and accounts receivable and payable of the enterprise; Inconsistent accounts and failure to provide correct reference data for planning are all the direct consequences of the instability of ERP system. What is more serious is that the system performance is low or even paralyzed, resulting in no billing, business stagnation, business personnel unable to work normally, etc. Therefore, stability is the first for ERP software, and instability is its fatal defect.

?//How to Check the Stability of ERP

Method 1Key tests. Most ERP products have strong universality. Although they cannot be completely adapted to a certain industry, they can cover most businesses of most enterprises. Moreover, the implementation cycle of ERP in enterprises is generally not too long. Therefore, under the condition of tight time and heavy tasks, it is necessary to mainly verify the software performance, and to do unit tests, stress tests and comprehensive tests on the software according to the process of the enterprise.

It is difficult for an enterprise to test the stability of ERP before it uses the software, because it is usually busy in the early days of the online, and both Party A and Party B have to put in a lot of energy to support it one month before the online. Through this month’s application, enterprises often can truly understand the quality of ERP software. At this time, whether they are willing to invest in cost to do tests has become a key issue for enterprises to consider.

Method 2Full system testing. Examining the stability of software is a long-term and continuous process that runs through the whole software life cycle. The stability of software is a problem that cannot be ignored during the whole period from the system launch, trial operation to formal operation, and even completely getting rid of manual accounts. The most commonly used method to verify the stability of software is software prototype testing. Since ERP system is an information integration system, it should be a system-wide test, and personnel from all departments should participate in it at the same time, so as to understand the mutual integration relationship among various data, functions and processes.

During the test, find out the deficiencies and propose solutions to enterprise management problems so as to propose improvement measures for the software. Then simulate the operation, on the basis of mastering the software function, simulate the operation according to the business process of the enterprise, select representative businesses, input all necessary data into the system, organize the project team to conduct actual combat simulation according to the problems frequently encountered in the daily work of the enterprise, and formulate solutions according to the problems and requirements found by the project team.

The scope of the problem generally includes software BUG, imperfect process, misoperation, customer demand, etc. After a period of simulated operation, relevant working standards and specifications are formulated according to some problems raised by the enterprise and the solutions formulated by the project team. Because the application of software and the management of enterprises complement each other, misoperation and repeated data entry will cause the accuracy of data and lead to instability of software, so strict management operation procedures are formulated to prevent data problems caused by misoperation.

?//What is the root cause of software instability

Although there are some testing methods that can help enterprises to inspect the stability of ERP, it will get twice the result with half the effort if enterprises can understand the causes of its instability in advance and select the type according to local conditions.

①Analysis and design stage。The construction of the system architecture is completed at this stage, including the compilation of requirements specification, detailed specification, data structure and other documents. In the enterprise, the general analysis and design personnel are concurrently held by senior software developers. However, these people often have few opportunities to communicate with customers and lack first-line project experience. The designed software is also based on the data or implementation of many competitors, the feedback requirements of pre-sales personnel and their own experience. It may not be a big problem in the development phase, but after the customers use it, they cannot stand the test when entering the maintenance phase. After using it for a period of time, they may eventually have to be torn down and started again.

②Development StageThe most common problem in the development phase is to write the program without design documents, and to supplement the design documents after the program has been written. This often results in code redundancy, and in serious cases, it is often pushed back and started again, making no use of it. Therefore, it is very important whether the documents written in the analysis and design stage can be strictly implemented in the development stage and whether the designer’s thinking can be understood. The work in this stage will directly affect the product release and subsequent maintenance. In addition, unit testing at this stage is also very important, and it is also common for developers not to test programs they write.

③Test StagePre-release testing is generally completed by specialized testing departments. Developers assist in handling testing problems and guiding testing work. However, the level of testing personnel varies from high to low. Some testing personnel are not familiar with software functions and cannot start work. The testing problems are also low-level problems.

This article "How to Identify the Stability of ERP?" by AcloudEAR. We focus on business applications such as cloud ERP.

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