Admit it: you have no idea what your SMEs do when they test your software systems. It’s okay—no one does. That’s why they’re so vital to your testing effort. But what happens when they leave? If you’re not using test automation, you could be in trouble.
| Due to their intimate knowledge of various parts of your system, SMEs are really the only people that can test your systems. And while relying upon their knowledge is totally okay, it’s a risky proposition in the long run. So long as your SMEs’ test cases exist solely within their own minds, your quality control is on thin ice. |
As long as I can remember, I’ve always admired the work of meteorologists. Yet, even though I rely on them for my daily forecast—especially during Ohio’s schizophrenic winters (much like the one we’re currently enjoying this year)—I’m still completely mystified by what they actually do.
But knowing how they do their job isn’t really the point, is it? The service they provide is worth way more to me than the effort it would take to understand it.
If you work in the IT industry, you know this feeling well. Odds are it’s exactly how you view your company’s subject matter experts (SMEs) when they test your new releases for your software systems.
Whether you’re running a COTS system (ERP systems like Oracle and SAP) or a completely custom business application, your SMEs are a vital—and somewhat mysterious—part of the testing process. Since they’re the actual people who use your systems, it’s essential to make sure their ability to work isn’t compromised by the latest patch, release, or update.
But therein lies the problem. Due to their intimate knowledge of various parts of your system, they’re really the only people that can execute said tests. And while relying upon their knowledge is totally okay, it’s an incredibly risky proposition in the long run. So long as your SMEs’ test cases exist solely within their own minds, your quality control is on thin ice. The loss of just one of them could drastically handicap your testing effort.
Imagine how crippling that loss of decades-worth of knowledge would be. It would be like if every meteorologist went on strike, and we all had to determine the weather forecasts ourselves. In other words, we’d be in big trouble.
But there’s an easy way to avoid this kind of fate—and save a good chunk of change in the process.
Provided your need is large enough (and, frankly, if your business app requires multiple SMEs to test it, it probably is), then test automation isn’t just a savvy solution to increase your testing coverage, speed, and accuracy; it also enables you to preserve all of that priceless, ultra-specific know-how that’s locked away inside your SMEs’ brains.
Whether you’re planning on doing the work in house or hiring a third-party automation expert to do the job for you, the first tests you should look to automate are the ones your SMEs are stuck doing. The value here is twofold: first off, it frees up expensive personnel to do more profit-bearing tasks; and secondly, it preserves their knowledge for posterity. Long after your SMEs have left the company, their testing knowledge will live on in your automated test script library—where it will remain viable throughout the life cycle of your software systems.
Think of it as the best insurance you’ll ever buy—safeguarding the long-term quality of your software systems while increasing the accuracy, speed, and value of the effort itself. What’s not to like there?
Now, if only they could find a way to forecast the weather this well…
Interested in automation? Sign up now for our webinar, “Keep Calm and Automate Testing”!
Cheers,
Mike Hodge
Lighthouse Technologies, Inc.
Software Testing | Quality Assurance Consulting | Oracle EBS Consulting
