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Manage test efforts during Dynamics 365 implementation projects as part of change management

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The article Testing strategy explains solution testing in detail. For the change manager, testing is one area where the process, technology, and people angles meet up, and where setting the right expectations can make the difference between a go decision and a no-go decision.

Explain user acceptance testing

The article Testing strategy goes into detail about how to do user acceptance testing (UAT). However, it's important for participants to understand why we do it.

There can be a misconception that UAT is a way for the stakeholders and superusers to validate the partner's solution. People might think that UAT represents a sort of sales pitch that the implementing partner makes to the participants, who either approve or disapprove it. Although UAT does sometimes take that form, it isn't ideal.

Hopefully, the implementation team and the stakeholders have long since taken ownership of their processes, and the solution is no longer considered Microsoft's solution or the implementing partner's solution, but our solution.

What we are testing during UAT is really the organization users' ability to go-live responsibly and to operate the business by using the new solution.

The communication plan should include clear guidance for the following questions:

  • Why do we do what we do?
  • Why do we score UAT the way we do?
  • Why is well-prepared and well-performed UAT a necessary precursor for a successful go-live?

Finally, the change manager should ensure that there are enough iterations of testing and UAT so that the teams can give proper process feedback and make necessary adjustments.

Use familiar data and day-in-the-life processes

For the testing to be relevant and realistic to the stakeholder or user, the data and scenarios that are used should be as recognizable as possible. Ideally, they should be the result of the data migration runs with migrated data. The fewer mental leaps the user must make to connect simulated data during UAT, the more they can immerse themselves in the process. The result of the testing then becomes more accurate.

Set realistic performance expectations

The article A performing solution, beyond infrastructure dives into performance testing strategy and goal setting. From a change management perspective, it's useful to be aware of these elements when you guide the implementation team through activities that are related to performance testing.

Specifically, when you set the expectations for participants and stakeholders, it's important to be aware of the different angles from which individuals can observe performance in general and, more importantly, poor performance. There are three common ways for stakeholders to look at solution performance.

Peak load angle

The peak load angle seems to be the angle that is most often observed by technical stakeholders, such as the IT department and the members of the technical implementation team. System performance is evaluated against expectations based on whether users can perform operational processes when the system is loaded with a reasonable simulation of near-future peak activity.

Activity performance angle

Users tend to evaluate the system based on the performance of the individual activity. These stakeholders are sensitive to response time and the performance of individual activities, such as viewing the appointment history in the mobile app for Dynamics 365 Field Service or posting an invoice for customers in Dynamics 365 Finance.

Whole process performance angle

Some stakeholders tend to look at the solution's performance at a higher level that often includes out-of-system or cross-solution processes. For example, these stakeholders consider how long it takes a division to do a month-end closing procedure by using a solution that involves Dynamics 365 finance and operations apps.

These different angles set a wide variety of expectations. It's important to recognize that poor performance is among the top causes of resistance. For this reason, the change manager's mission is to ensure that the project team has a solid performance testing strategy. The goal is to make the resulting solution meet the business expectations, goals, and objectives. As we describe in the article A performing solution, beyond infrastructure, the key to an objective and accurate performance test is to set measurable goals. From a change management perspective, it's important to align the expectations of individuals, but at the same time to formulate the strategy and plan, prepare, and run performance tests.

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