Anyone in the software industry will vouch for how most terms and facets have parallels in real life. Software migration testing is no different.  

Just like how one moves houses or cities or nations and does a preliminary check about facilities available, condition of the new house and neighborhood and so on to ensure an improvement in quality of life, migration testing is a process to certify that migrated systems don’t encounter unnecessary errors during the run of play.  

Why migrate software 

This happens when an existing technology used for a software product has run its course and moved into obsolescence. Think about the time you used Windows XP on your desktop or laptop. You could continue to use it, but it would be slow and with outdated features as compared to the latest Windows 11.  

Features and speed could be given a pass for personal use, but for businesses like retail and e-commerce, these can be the difference between a successful brand and shutting shop altogether. Shift in consumer preferences, mode of shopping (mobile, tablet) and aesthetics also influence decisions to migrate.  

For instance, e-commerce companies switching over from Salesforce’s legacy Sitegenesis to Salesforce Reference Architecture (SFRA) are able to provide a superior user experience, with a focus on mobile users. An obvious choice, given that 56% of all website traffic comes from mobile, according to statcounter.  

 One of the factors for certain technologies becoming obsolete could also be that the existing technology is unable to provide requisite security features, which are necessary for compliance.  

For instance, e-commerce businesses had to move their platforms from Magento version 1 to version 2 as the former did not have any security fixes. This meant lack of PCI compliance and losing out on important payment solution integrations.  

Importance of Software Migration Testing  

As pointed out earlier, software is migrated to capitalize on an upgrade that has obvious business and operational benefits. However, the process is not as easy as taking stuff from one place and storing it in another. Eventually, the user experience should be better, if not the same, after migration.  

Migration can affect the working of existing functionalities of an application. New functionalities incorporated may also not work as per expectations, or there might be issues in the compatibility with the new system. Another key aspect of migration is the movement of data. For online businesses, data is oxygen and any glitches in data migration can cause risky failures. Hence maintaining integrity of data after migration is one of the most important facets of migration testing.   

It is an accepted thumb rule that software migration is beset with multiple defects, which is why it is important to conduct proper end-to-end testing of the newly migrated application. In fact, the E2E migration testing also includes testing the existing software application to identify and remediate bugs to prevent it being carried over after migration.  

Any competent testing strategy will be based on a complete study of the old and new system with a complete survey of the possible business risks.  

Finally, all these checkpoints have to be completed within a suitable time-frame. Just think of your favorite sports website or shopping application being unavailable for days together. Not only would it translate into loss of business for the enterprise, but a complete shift of customer base to a competitor.  

Broadly these are the reasons why migration testing is necessary:  

  • Compatibility of software with the new system 
  • Fix data issues arising due to migration 
  • Address performance issues of migrated application  
  • All aspects of the system like hardware and software should work in synchronized manner 

Business Benefits of Migration Testing

During migration testing, the testers may strategize examining the hardware and software configurations, firewall and port in accordance with the new system where the software is being migrated to.  

Of course, basic checks will be performed on the software application to check its functionalities and data and remediate bugs. Testers will make sure that there are no data leakages or loopholes which can create a cyber-security issue.  

The connectivity between different modules of the application will also be tested.  

Broadly, the migration testing will be divided into pre-migration, migration testing, and post-migration testing.  

Broadly, these are the business benefits of migration testing:  
  • Reduction in costs of running and maintaining the application 
  • Enhances user experience 
  • To support added features and fix glitches if any 
  • Removal of bugs which can be a major risk to business 

There are several globally available examples of retailers upgrading their Magento versions and from SFCC to SFRA with tangible benefits like 25% faster loading times and similar advantages in functionalities.  

Migration testing done effectively can help them realize the benefits of the migration to an optimum level.  

For instance, a leading 100+ year old American retailer saved USD 210,000 and got a reduction of 80% on their testing efforts during their SFCC to SFRA migration. They were also able to implement an automated testing solution for the same.  

Conclusion 

Migrating your software application is pivotal to growing your business and emerging as a strong competitor, especially in customer-facing enterprises like e-commerce. Moving on from obsolete, unsecured technology is a natural progression.  

However, to ensure that this migration happens smoothly with minimum downtime to customers and better synchronization of existing and new functionalities, end-to-end testing for performance is essential.  

Aspire’s migration testing services offer an experienced set of industry professionals who can tailor solutions based on your testing needs.

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