Training

Introduction:

Brewton business is a clothing retail company that is operating their business in different cities. This firm has headquartered in Eugene. From headquarter, they are running offices in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, and Huston. They have a workforce of 240 employees that are distributed in different cities. The company is already working on various software packages that comprise of accounting, purchase system, personnel tracking, and payroll applications. But the software's are not enough to meet the growing needs of the company. They need to develop an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) application that facilities all offices across the cities and centralized data of all departments at one place.

Key stakeholders that help in implementation plan:

When a new system is going to be implemented in a company, then many people are in favor of it who directly support it or appreciate that change. But many people resist this change by complaining about it, and they want to continue with old ones.

· Mark Brewton who is the CEO of the company is willing to implement this software that brings a good change in business practices by soothing the inventory and accounting operation. For implementing a new system, full support from the side of CEO is with us.

· Barbara Scharer who is the CFO of the company also supports this change because she wants such a system that helps in managing reports. That help in analyzing expenses so that maximum profits can be gain. Hence, when this system is implemented than the support of CFO helps us in analyzing whether this system is developed according to requirements or not (Motiwalla, 2008).

· William Hunter worked as a COO (Chief Operations Officer). As per William, there is not for implementation of such system because he is satisfied with the performance of the previous system. Hence, to gain the full support of William, it is necessary to demonstrate the countless benefits of this system that helps in overall functioning of the company.

· Jennifer Morales worked as Sales and Advertising Director. This software helps him in strong binding between operation and makes their work accessible by directly taking orders over this and send directly to operations.

· Roger Tomlinson, Human Resources Director, states that this system will help him in smoothing their function of HR. Hence, his support is in favor of quick implementation of this software.

· Mike Benson (Information Technology Director) and Gary Holmes (Systems Administrator) finds the implementation of this software a challenging job. These are two persons who are responsible for smoothing implementation and working of this software. As they have no expertise in doing it. Then it is better to hire a consultant who will implement this system and set it on all desktop of employees for proper functioning.

· Nancy Davis (Web Developer) and Jim Travis (Network Administrator) are the satisfied current system but implementing a new system is a challenging task for them. All these problems can be solved by hiring a third party who help in implementation and training of this system.

 Human resources that will be required to implement the application

List of computer and network resources used for implementation of ERP:

· Xeon server computer

· NIC (Network interface card)

· Switches

· Hub

· Connectors and cables

· Modem

· Router

· Server.

· Coaxial cable

· Fiber optic cable

· Sun Solaris,

· IBM AIX,

· Windows Vista/2003/2000/XP,

· Apple Mac OS X,

· OS/400 and z/OS (Sandeep Singhal, 2011 )

Implementation plan:

For the successful implementation of ERP system. It took almost 37 days from deployment of the system to a new startup. The maximum number of days are required for system deployment preparation and user training. Because the employees are spread in different cities (Andreas Jenzer, 2008).

Table: System implementation plan

Figure: Timeline for implementation of ERP.

In the end, it is pertinent to mention that implementing an ERP system is a complicated task that required the attention of all department heads and CEO so that security of the system cannot be ignored. It is also essential that all employees should get significant training so that the can maximum benefit out of it.

Communication plan:

The ERP that is going to implement in a company. Making a proper communication plan is essential. This will help in communicating with the stakeholders regarding the progress of the company. In time communication is important because it helps in catering the challenges and issues that might come with the project. Hence, all the stakeholders must bind to each other in a strong relation of communication that helps them in the success of the project.

Modes of communication:

The modes of communication that can be used in this project are email, calls, fax, messaging, project reports, meetings and presentation. These are the preferred modes of communication. When communicating with the same department emails is the best sources that can be used. But when communication across department and communication regarding the project than project reposts and presentation is the preferable mode.

Communication matrix:

In this matrix, the frequency, distribution, and description of communication have been presented that help the stakeholder in efficient and timely communication. This communication matrix can be used by all stakeholders.

Project reporting:

The project reports are scheduled according to the stage of the project when it is initial stage then there is thrice a week meeting in which plan of project initiation is discussed. But when the project starts them meetings on project progress us schedules with senior management. These meetings are held once in the week. (Ralph L. Kliem, 2007)

Project meetings:

Project meeting is scheduled according to the stage of the project it can be twice in a week or once in a week.

Another vehicle of communication:

The different vehicle of communication that are used in this project are presented in the below-mentioned table:

Documentation:

Documentation is an integral part of the project especially when we are dealing with such a vast system of ERP implementation. It is necessary that its documentation must be completed along with the progress of the project that will help in future if any discrepancy comes.

There are different kinds of projects that are essential to maintaining:

Project documentation:

It describes the purpose of a project along with the stakeholders who are involved in this project. These documents help the managers, project heads and other stakeholders regarding the objective of the project. If includes, the purpose, objective, budget, specifications of technical material used along with the description of hardware and software with details of technician and designers. Hence this document presents the project as a whole.

Test documentation:

Test documentation is used by the quality assurance department who oversee the activities of the project. Before the final implementation, this unit checks whether it is completed in all aspects of not. It also includes a list of logs, list of bugs and reports from testers.

Team documentation:

This documentation includes all the ideas of the project that are exchanged between the team members. It also demonstrates which tasks are assigned to which stakeholder and to what extent they complete these tasks. Schedules, test plans, and status updates are the major components of this project (Bjørner, 2006).

User documentation:

This includes all the material that is used in training of employees when this system is implemented. It includes videos, manuals that help the end user.

Technical documentation:

Technical documentation includes the details of products and services that are used in this project. For example, in this ERP system, it includes details of software, hardware, and servers that are used in the development of this whole system. (Palo Alto Networks, 2014) It includes technical specification, software codes, and API documentation.

Change Management/Control Process

In Brewton Enterprises Incorporation a systematic approach is needed to manage the changes. Through adaptation of better change control process the resources could be utilized efficiently, and a better decision could be taken which would eventually boost up the profitability level of the entity. In this instance, the change would be controlled by a process through which the project would be properly managed, and any disruptions in the success of the project could be removed in time. The change process for Brewton Enterprises Incorporation would be as follows:

Consulting services versus performing them in-house, the costs, benefits, and challenges associated with each option

For the implementation tasks, there are two options in hand of the Brewton Enterprises Incorporation. One of the options is to use the services of the outside consultants. The second option is to perform entire functions in-house without taking any help from outsiders. Both options would require different budgets; both would have different sort of challenges and have a different kind of benefits.

For Outsourcing implementation, the selected plan is as follows:

1. Contract would be done regarding the skills and project

2. Measurable and specific goals would be set up.

3. Communicate expectations regarding the performance.

4. End product, performance expectations along with the deadline and resources would be settled

5. Expert/consultant/extra hand would be hired

6. Detailed plan would be provided

7. Clear map would be created to measure the performance

8. In the end, Evaluation would be done regarding the risks and prepare alternatives

Consulting services versus performing them in-house

1. Data Conversion Plan to Identify Process of Migrating of Existing data to the Testing Platform

As Brewton business is going to implement the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) that would facilitate the different offices of this retail clothing company. There is a plan created regarding data conversion which would describe the migration of existing data to the resting platform. There are seven appropriate steps for successful data migration.

· Source System Exploration

The first phase of the project of data migration is to explore the system sources. After investigation of the sources, the most efficient and convenient route followed, and that is group data, addresses products, names of customers. The source system would have several fields. In this step only the identification is conducted about the requirements of data and waste data is identified not to be sent to the further system (Mohagheghi, 2011).

· Data Assessment

The second stage is to evaluate the nature of this source information. The new framework failed because of information irregularities, erroneous or inappropriate information; there is extremely restricted an incentive in moving data to the objective framework. To survey the information, profiling the information is done that is deliberately checking and examining the substance of the considerable number of sections in tables. Profiling distinguishes knowledge at the table and section level.

· Migration Design

In configuration stage, the principle things need to be done will be to characterize the specialized outline and architecture of the migration system. Moreover, characterize the testing procedures and progress to production framework (Mohagheghi, 2011).

· Migration Build

The development of data migration is conducted considering the limited code usage in this instance the migration is built towards the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning). This way the efficient movement is made possible.

· Execution

After thorough testing, the migration is secured in the system. In the dominant part of cases, the frameworks of the different sources are closed down during the execution of movement. In the case of Brewton retail clothing business, the source applications are run all over the years and have no downtime.

· Transition

Sooner or later after the information has been moved into the system, the time is chosen for the framework and, where appropriate, old framework is rejected. However, in the execution stage, review trails and logs will be made to information has been accurately relocated that the right synchronization has been accomplished. At last, by assessing the review of logs, settle on the choice to progress clients to the new framework (Mohagheghi, 2011).

· Production

Seventh and the essential part of the migration process is the production of the design. In this instance, the policy is developed regarding the system retirement. However not the entire system is rejected, and in this process, some ongoing improvement is managed. As in the case of Brewton Retail Company, the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is needed to be added to the system so the new system would be implemented and the old data would be transferred carefully.

2. Test Environment

· User Acceptance Testing Environment

The final stage of the process of software testing is UAT (User Acceptance Testing), and in this concern, the hardware is required to manage the client application, and the database of Brewton business is maintained. Moreover, the processor performance requirement and any differences are there then it is accessed by implementing UNIX. These would be based on the RISC processors. In addition to it, the Intel CISC processor (IA-32) is used along with EPIC (IA-64). However, in order to increase the memory of disc space along with the CPU could be managed considering the future growth and system needs. The SQL server and 64-bit processor will be dependent on the scalability or the requirements of memory (Amoako-Gyampah, 2004).

It is observed that the 64- bit version would be used for different applications through which fast access is got to deal with the larger amount of data. It would eventually offer the SQL server to deal with the Gigabytes of processes. As Brewton organization has to deal with the multidimensional data in the regard the usage of the 64-bit version is ideal. The test equipment prerequisites are dependent on data that gathered for evaluation of the present condition and recorded in a Data Archive Systems Environment. Hardware for testing UNIX customers should utilize the particulars of the current apparatus as a premise (Amoako-Gyampah, 2004).

For Brewton moving applications from UNIX, changing over UNIX equipment particulars to the comparable PC customer details can be testing a result of the distinctive CPU designs, framework strategies. The personal who will participate in the user acceptance testing would be the users and clients. In Brewton retail, the users would be this company and the custom software that is built by the developers. The software service provider and the end user are available, and the feedback is gained. In this regard, the team would include the best tester and the customer who will internally select UAT member in this way every role could be tested (Amoako-Gyampah, 2004).

3. Methods and Procedures of Testing

The procedures and methods used for testing include regression testing, load testing, and performance.

· Performance Testing

Mainly performance testing is done to identify the performance level so the systems that are used in certain conditions. This testing would be applied in which the scalability, reliability and the usage of resources are validated. In a broader spectrum, this performance testing is also called performance engineering that focuses on addressing the issues related to performance and the software product architecture. The essential objective of performance testing incorporates setting up the benchmark conduct of the framework. There are various industry-characterized benchmarks which are likely to be met in performance testing (Avritzer, 2002).

Figure 1:

· Load Testing

For load testing, the practical automation tools are employed to the systems. In this instance load runner and the WAPT are considered as two primary tools that help in load testing. This test is also known as endurance testing and volume testing (Weyuker, 1998).

· Regression testing

This type of testing is the one that identifies the software developed previously. Through this test, the performance is tested either it works in the same way or is interchanged. In changes testing the configuration, software development and the patches are included. Through this testing, the system is evaluated effectively (Rothermel, 2001).

References Andreas Jenzer, G. W. (2008). Infrastructure Technology Basics for SAP Deployment. Pearson . Motiwalla. (2008). Enterprise Systems for Management. Pearson Education India. Sandeep Singhal, D. P. (2011 ). Hardware and Software Requirements for Implementation of ERP in Technical Education Institutes in India . International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research , 1-5. Andreas Jenzer, G. W. (2008). Infrastructure Technology Basics for SAP Deployment. Pearson . Bjørner, D. (2006). Software Engineering 3: Domains, Requirements, and Software Design. Springer Science & Business Media. Motiwalla. (2008). Enterprise Systems for Management. Pearson Education India. Palo Alto Networks, I. (2014, 01 01). Technical Documentation. Retrieved from paloaltonetworks.com: https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/documentation Ralph L. Kliem, P. (2007). Effective Communications for Project Management. CRC Press. Sandeep Singhal, D. P. (2011 ). Hardware and Software Requirements for Implementation of ERP in Technical Education Institutes in India . International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research , 1-5. Amoako-Gyampah, K. a. (2004). An extension of the technology acceptance model in an ERP implementation environment. Information & management, 41(6), 731-745. Andreas Jenzer, G. W. (2008). Infrastructure Technology Basics for SAP Deployment. Pearson . Avritzer, A. J. (2002). Software performance testing based on workload characterization. ACM, 2(1), 17-24. Bjørner, D. (2006). Software Engineering 3: Domains, Requirements, and Software Design. Springer Science & Business Media. Mohagheghi, P. a. (2011). Software engineering challenges for migration to the service cloud paradigm: Ongoing work in the remics project. IEEE World Congress, 12(1), 507-514. Motiwalla. (2008). Enterprise Systems for Management. Pearson Education India. Palo Alto Networks, I. (2014, 01 01). Technical Documentation. Retrieved from paloaltonetworks.com: https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/documentation Ralph L. Kliem, P. (2007). Effective Communications for Project Management. CRC Press. Rothermel, G. R. (2001). Prioritizing test cases for regression testing. IEEE Transactions on software engineering , 27(10), 929-948. Sandeep Singhal, D. P. (2011 ). Hardware and Software Requirements for Implementation of ERP in Technical Education Institutes in India . International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research , 1-5. Weyuker, E. J. (1998). Testing component-based software: A cautionary tale. IEEE software , 15(5), 54-59.

Performance Testing

Load Testing

Scalability Testing

Spike Testing

Stress Testing

Endurance Testing

Volume Testing