30 days prior to the availability of a major release, customers can expect to receive multiple communications on the new version capabilities, specific release scheduling, and important information on maintaining their compliance.

During this phase of the release cycle, a close examination of the new features, upgrades, and overall improvements in the new release will gauge the level of impact on the customer’s implementation.

While in the Pre-Release phase of the Pricefx implementation, this is a key time to build a more in-depth understanding of the features of the latest release and to develop the plan for maintaining N-1 compliance. In order to be prepared, customers should be discussing the following questions:

Will any features of the new release impact my implementation? How?
Have all of my acceptance test cases been identified and created?
What is the priority of these acceptance test cases?
Who within my organization is responsible for coordinating our release testing?
What is the timeline for my acceptance testing?
What tools, if any, will be used for performing the testing?

Upgrade Preparation during Pre-Release

During the Pre-Release period of the upgrade cycle, and as a best practice, Pricefx recommends that these steps be performed:

Prioritization of Test Cases

To avoid any gaps in the upgrade test plan, customers should determine the priority of the test case to identify the most critical enterprise events. This prioritization should be communicated to the testers to enable them to focus their time on your most crucial test cases.

LEARN MORE: To learn more about the process for prioritising the acceptance test cases, click here.

Upgrade Test Leader

There should be a team leader that is responsible for managing the prioritization, execution, and collection of test case results. They should be responsible for coordinating all testing tasks and ensuring everyone is following the test case execution standards. Additionally, they are responsible for communicating with all managers about the overall progress.

LEARN MORE: To learn more about managing the acceptance testing process, as a team leader, to ensure overall success, click here.

Select Test Management Tool

For large upgrade testing that can encompass a large volume of test cases, then an automated testing tool (Pricefx uses X-ray) should be used. For small amounts of test cases then Excel can be used.

LEARN MORE: To learn more about test management tools, tool recommendations and use of test automation tools, click here.