Test management system for package focused erp solutions in odoo cuba

The quality of the software product is highly dependent on the efficiency and effectiveness of the development process. The orderly and intentional reuse of quality software components without errors is possible when the testing process is guided by standards and procedures that standardize and incorporate quality attributes into the solution, allowing the reduction of production costs and the increase of customer satisfaction.

The creation of this article responds mainly to the growing need of the Odoo Desoft R + D + i Project in the Development Management of the Desoft La Habana Division to automate the development and testing process, ensure the generic processes of the Odoo solution for the Cuban environment, reduce testing time by incorporating them throughout the life cycle of the development process, incorporate and integrate a chain of tools in the development and testing process and obtain traceability and integration with all parties involved in the development process.

As part of the implementation process of a new Software Product Lines (LPS) development model and due to the adoption of Odoo technology, from 2012 to the present, the Odoo Desoft R + D + i Project has been redesigning its process quality management and therefore the management of tests in order to regulate, control and measure the production process.

Introduction

Any production or service process whose objective is to satisfy its end customers and improve production efficiency needs to be supported by a quality management system and intrinsically a test management system. As of the first fortnight of 2012, it was decided to create a quality management group and therefore a group that would be dedicated to the management and execution of the tests in the R + D + i Project in the Development Management of the Division Desoft La Habana and that it will focus on meeting the specificities of package-focused ERP solutions in Odoo and on the needs to streamline the software development process without losing sight of the quality attributes that it must meet.The software has certain special characteristics and without a good development process it is almost impossible to obtain a good product, therefore, the definition of the quality of the development processes and of the software itself should be based on the following characteristics:

Software is a mental product, not restricted by the laws of Physics or by the limits of manufacturing processes. It is abstract, and so is its quality. It is developed, not manufactured. The cost is fundamentally in the design process, not in the production. And mistakes creep into design, not production. Software doesn't deteriorate over time. It is not susceptible to the effects of the environment, and its failure curve is very different from that of hardware. All the problems that arise during maintenance were there from the beginning, and they affect all copies of it; no new errors are generated. Software maintenance is much more complex than hardware maintenance. When a hardware component deteriorates, it is replaced by a spare part,But every software glitch involves an error in the design or in the process by which the design was translated into executable machine code. It is deceptively easy to make changes to a software product, but the effects of these changes can be propagated explosively and uncontrolled. Software with bugs is not rejected. It is assumed that the software is unavoidable.

It is important to highlight that the tests in ERP solutions focused on packages in Odoo must be supported by procedures / strategy that has incorporated the fundamental aspects to consider in the entire testing process, one of them is the ISO / IEC 29119 standard for software testing is an international benchmark in the field of software testing and allows you to eliminate existing inconsistencies as well as cover those areas of the software testing process that simply had not been taken into account.

It is important to highlight that the execution of the tests must be considered in all the evolution stages of the software development (specifications, design and coding). It is not enough to consider the quality of the solution after completion, when poor quality problems are no longer solvable or the solution is very expensive.

The following research proposes a testing strategy and an ecosystem to automate the development and testing process, ensure the generic processes of the Odoo solution for the Cuban environment, reduce testing time by incorporating them throughout the development process life cycle, incorporate and integrate a tool chain in the development and testing process and obtain traceability and integration with all parties involved in the development process.

Organizational structure.

The Odoo Desoft R + D + i Project in the Development Management of the Desoft La Habana Division has been structured according to the characteristics of the Software Development Model focused on architecture and based on the paradigm of software product lines (LPS), resulting in a new management mode and incorporating a factory production model of software products, with a high degree of automation of the production process.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE ODOO DESOFT R + D + I PROJECT

Based on this structure, the main objective of the Test Group was determined, which is nothing more than the monitoring and control of the management and execution of the tests, thus establishing a work system that would allow to regulate, execute, review and measure the quality of the solutions in the Quality Group, this terminology gave way to define a Test Strategy and a Test Ecosystem that would support said strategy.

Strategy and Testing Ecosystem.

The Test Management System Test Strategy for package-focused ERP solutions in Odoo integrates a set of activities that describe the steps to be carried out in a test process: planning, test case design, execution and results, taking into consideration how much effort and resources will be required, in order to obtain a correct construction of the software as a result.

The general objective of the Test Strategy is to establish a procedure that allows organizing and planning the activities to be carried out to achieve satisfactory test results, having as specific objectives:

Plan the necessary tests in each iteration Design and implement the tests by creating the test cases that specify what to test, how to perform the tests and creating, if possible, executable test components to automate them Perform different tests and handle the results of each test systematically.

The overall Test Group Test Strategy process is divided into 3 phases:

Planning and Monitoring of Tests Analysis and Design of Tests Execution of Tests

PHASES OF THE GLOBAL PROCESS OF THE TEST STRATEGY

Each of these phases has defined the activities to be carried out, the artifacts generated in each one or to support the activity, and the roles and responsibilities of those involved in each of the activities. The different phases and activities are interrelated with the software development life cycle, documented in the Development Methodology for package-focused ERP solutions in Odoo in the Odoo Desoft R + D + i Project. The Development Methodology Analysis process for package-focused ERP solutions in Odoo is directly aligned with the Test Planning phase, since from the initial stages the estimation of test activities and the expected dates of completion (Plan and Test Planning).

The Test Strategy takes into account automation to increase product quality and optimize testing effort, some of its advantages are:

Automation reduces regression testing effort and time. Automation performs validations during change cycles, which would be impossible to do manually due to time constraints. Automation enables consistency and logical coverage. There is no risk of excluding test cases or missing errors if designed correctly.

One point to highlight is that due to the large amount of customization, parameterization and variability that are carried out in ERP solutions focused on packages in Odoo, it is essential to automate test cases of certain generic Odoo processes for the Cuban environment, which for its importance and complexity need to go through regression tests in each one of the generated versions.

The feasibility of test automation depends on combining traditional technology with test frameworks oriented to a Test Ecosystem that supports such Test Strategy.

The notion of a Test Ecosystem started from the base of incorporating and integrating a chain of tools in the development and testing process that would support the premises of the Test Strategy and that would allow traceability and integration with all the parties involved in the process. development and testing. In principle, the use of it became complex, requiring more effort and time to achieve efficient results. Doing the tests before or during the development stage, allows greater security in the implementation of the code, since it works in parallel with the execution of the tests, eliminates the risk of generating bugs that affect other already validated codes.

TESTING ECOSYSTEM

Verification and validation of the Test Strategy and Ecosystem.

For the verification and validation of the Test Strategy and Ecosystem, it was ensured that the different phases, activities and artifacts proposed by the Test Strategy are interrelated with the software development life cycle, documented in the Development Methodology for focused ERP solutions. by packages in Odoo in the Odoo Desoft R + D + i Project and in demonstrating that the automated Test Ecosystem is capable of meeting the needs of the Test Strategy and those dictated in the Development Methodology.

To carry out this activity, the main objectives were:

The relationship between the Development Methodology and the Test Strategy.

DEVELOPMENT METHODOLOGY AND TEST STRATEGY

The relationship between the activities and artifacts of the phases of the Development Methodology and Test Strategy. In each phase of the Development Methodology, reference is made only to the deliverables that are related to the Testing Strategy, serving as inputs to the Testing Process.

Phases and Deliverables of the Development Methodology (only the deliverables directly related to the Test Strategy are included)	Phases and Deliverables of the Test Strategy
Analysis - Specification of Requirements	Test Planning - Test Plan (initial version) - Test Planning -Incident Management Procedure (one specific for each project different from the standard) Analysis and Design of Tests - User Stories Specification - Specification and Design of Test Cases (System) - Traceability Matrix
Design - Specification of the Design of the Flow X solution - Specification of the Design of the Module X solution	Analysis and Design of Tests - Specification and Design of Test Cases (Integration) - Specification and Design of Test Cases (Unitary) - Traceability Matrix - Test Plan (technical specification
Implementation - Software Product	Testing execution - Unit Test Results - Results of integration tests - System Test Results - Test Tracking Reports - Test Level Report
Tests - User manual	Testing execution - Results of Acceptance Tests. - Final Test Report

C ORRESPONDENCIA M ETHODOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING STRATEGY .

The verification was carried out to check if the outputs in the different stages of development meet the conditions or requirements imposed on the test stages. This activity was carried out by specialists who did not have a direct relationship with the development process and the testing process. The validation was carried out to verify that the Test Ecosystem obtained meets the requirements of the Test Strategy. This activity was carried out in the operating environment area by a specialist who had no direct relationship with the development process and the testing process and with the participation of a Testing Engineer.

Conclusions

The realization of the present investigation allowed to gather in a succinct and simplified way the main conceptual bases of the Strategy and testing ecosystem of a Test Management System for ERP solutions focused on packages in Odoo in the R + D + i area in Management Development of the Desoft La Habana Division.

It is important to highlight that the Test Management System systematizes the good practices of the ISO / IEC 29119 standard, it will cover the complete life cycle of the solution designed in the very structure of the Quality Management System of the Desoft La Habana Division. Carrying out this work, the results obtained from it and many other experiences, allows us to understand that it is an activity that supports the development of ERP solutions in general, regardless of the technology used. This new task updated the procedures, methodologies and development processes in the R + D + i area in the Development Management of the Desoft La Habana Division. It contributed to carry out organized, structured and disciplined processes, where the project has the ability to repeat and improve them.

References

Fischer G., «The Software Technology of the 21st Century: From Software Reuse to Collaborative Software Design». Páez J., «Design of a model for software evaluation / testing based on test engineering applying the ISO / IEC 29119 standard ». Reid S.,« Software Testing. The new international software testing standard ISO / IEC 29119 ».

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