End-to-End Testing Explained

2022 marked a significant year for the Integrated Renewal Program - Student (IRP Student) as we moved through the Design phase into the Build phase. Throughout the Build phase, design input gathered from the community was incorporated into Workday Student and its integrations. As we now move from the Build to the formal Testing phase, and continue on our journey towards Launch 1, IRP Student will begin to test the new student information system’s capabilities in practical day-to-day scenarios.

The next step in the Testing phase, End-to-End Testing, ensures that the new student information system is tested in an integrated context, ensuring all components of the new system work cohesively by testing business processes from beginning to end. This stage represents a continuation and expansion of iterative testing that has been happening by those who have designed and built Workday Student and its integrations. This formal testing approach will rigorously test all critical capabilities needed for Launch 1 and 2, and ensure business continuity at UBC.

Goals & Objectives of End-to-End Testing

End-to-End Testing will begin in May 2023, and continue past the Go-Decision in July 2023. During this phase, IRP Student aims to:

1. Validate critical business processes are behaving as expected and there are no unexpected or inadvertent failures.
2. Confirm converted data works and data integrity is maintained between Workday and all integrations within the new student information system.
3. Ensure business processes from start-to-end, including data and reports can only be executed and accessed by appropriate security roles. Security roles are appropriate levels of access provided to specific roles and users at UBC.
4. Provide opportunities for identified “key users” to participate in End-to-End Testing to provide feedback on the system prior to the Go Decision. The Go Decision is a point in time when IRP Student has completed a final stage of rigorous checks to ensure the system is ready for launch.
5. To provide empirical test evidence with full traceability to support IRP Student Go Decision for Launch 1 & 2.

What is Tested During End-to-End Testing?

The renewed student information system is configured with multiple components, including, but not limited to: Workday, Appian BPMS, the Admissions Solution, University Data Platform (UDaP), and existing UBC applications called the Ecosystem applications. These Ecosystem applications and point solutions are separate systems which are tightly integrated with the core Workday system to provide a seamless user experience.

Each capability of the new student information system will be tested to validate that there is proper flow of processes and information, and that the entire new student information system functions as expected. This process will confirm that data is converting appropriately, and that data integrity is maintained between Workday and all other applications. Through testing all components simultaneously, this stage also ensures business processes, data, and reports have the right security settings for the entire student information system.

Community Involvement in End-to-End Testing

Throughout all stages of the development of the new student information system, including the Build and Design stages, Community Design Consultants (CDCs) have continued to be involved in providing feedback and input for the new system. As we journey into End-to-End Testing, the UBC community will continue to be engaged.

The purpose of including the UBC community in End-to-End Testing is to provide an opportunity for identified key business users, known as community testers, to see the new system, get hands-on experience, and provide feedback on the functionality.

During testing, community testers - who will include staff, faculty, and students from across UBC - will be able to apply their knowledge and understanding to the new system in a test environment. This will provide an assurance check that the system works as intended, and also provides another touchpoint for engagement. Test scenarios will take users from start to finish of a specific business process with multiple variations to confirm the system is behaving as expected, that workflows are sound, and that there are no unexpected or inadvertent failures.

Next Steps with Community Testers

Throughout End-to-End Testing, multiple teams across IRP Student as well as identified community testers, will conduct several rounds of testing to ensure the objectives of End-to-End testing are fulfilled.

During March and early April 2023, IRP Student will work with the Transition Network to identify community testers in various roles within the UBC community whose knowledge and experience aligns with test scenarios across the functional areas of IRP Student. As faculties, departments, and units have day-to-day workflows that touch on multiple functional areas, careful consideration is being taken in regard to how these groups will be involved.

Timeline: End-to-End Testing and the Community

Throughout April 2023, identified community testers will be oriented and onboarded to the testing process.

End-to-End Testing will be completed in two stages:

• The first testing pods will focus on critical activities in scope for Launch 1 and will begin in May 2023, where pods will begin executing planned test scenarios
• Beginning in June 2023, testing levels will increase as all testing pods will be active, and focusing on activities for Launch 2 and beyond

As End-to-End Testing progresses, IRP Student will provide an update to our community through a blog post on the IRP Student website, which will be available in June 2023.

2023 is set to be a big year at IRP Student, and we look forward to continue engaging our community in this very exciting phase of the Program. Information gathered throughout End-to-End Testing will bring valuable feedback to the final development and implementation of the renewed student information system. If you have questions about End-to-End Testing, please reach out to your Primary Transition Lead (PTL).