So you have approved the Statement of Work (SOW) for some modifications and are awaiting the delivery of the bundles from Customer FX. The next item you should be working on is a solid test plan. There are several ways to create a test plan and my intent is not to guide you onto any one method but to encourage you to create and use some type of plan.

CFX has very limited insight as to how your organization uses Saleslogix. We create our scope documents based on the information you provide during the planning of the modifications. Our testers use those same documents to make sure the customization you requested are working as documented. Only your organization has a complete understanding on how the modification is intended to be used.

A well written plan created soon after the SOW will help maintain the scope of what is trying to be accomplished. Often we see organizations go into beta testing like kids in a candy shop. The issues reported have little to do with the modification and more to do with “it would be nice if it also did this” or “shouldn’t we also be able to do that”. Reporting these types of issues will change the scope of the project. A good test plan helps your team stay on track with what needs to be tested and helps you evaluate what issues are to be reported. Also, using a test plan ensures the same tests are run for each bundle revision and provides an easy way of documenting your progress through testing. A planned approach will make your testing of the modification more accurate and efficient.