Software QA Terminology: ORT(Operational Readiness Testing)

In the first article of ‘Software QA Terminology’ series, we have covered about Big Bang Testing. Today, we will explore ORT – Operational Readiness Testing. It is sometimes referred to as ‘Pre Go Live’ test. This testing ensures system is ready for functioning in production environment. Read on to know more about this testing.

Ready to Go!

Definition:
ORT is done to ensure that all the configuration on production system is done correctly. Configuration such as database, server, code deployment is verified to avoid risks in production environment. Also, a sanity check is performed in this testing to verify application is functioning properly as expected before it is made live. As per WikiPedia, Operational Readiness Testing generally includes checks for,

• Maintainability
• IT Service Management (Supportability)
• Installation and Backout
• Component Testing
• Performance, Stress and Volume,
• Security and Penetration
• Backup and Restoration
• Failover (Within the same data center)
• Component fail-over
• Network fail-over
• Recovery (across data centers)
• Data recovery
• Application/system recovery
• Monitoring and Alerts (to ensure proper alerts are configured in the system if something goes wrong)

Who is involved?

• Developers: Developers verifies code quality and perform health check of code deployment. They ensures that system is not having regression issues by performing a unit testing.
• Testers: Testing team verifies that functional aspects of the system is as expected by performing a sanity check. In some cases, they are involved in performance, load and stress testing of the application.
• System Administrators: System is checked for maintainability, backup/restore, monitoring and installation related issues by system administrators. They also may check system for security vulnerabilities.
• DBAs: DBAs are involved in verifying database configuration in ORT.

ORT Scenarios:

• Checking the network and hardware configuration of the system.
• Performing sanity check of functional aspects of the system by taking UAT test scenarios in account.
• Verifying installation of system is working fine.
• Carrying out load test to ensure system is able to sustain expected load.
• Checking sanity of database configuration by querying and verifying its integrity.
• Performing code review to verify code quality.

Advantages:

• ORT is an additional layer of checking to ensure that system is working as expected.
• It promises better code quality.
• Possible security vulnerabilities are exposed and can be fixed during this phase.

Operation Readiness Testing is not performed often due to time constraint. However, as you can derive from above article, it is important in ensuring proper functioning of the system post go live. Let us know your view in comments.