What Is Migration Testing: How to Efficiently Conduct Testing While Migrating Data?

Technology is ever-evolving with new advancements making its presence every day. Organizations are constantly updating their legacy systems to the new ones to take advantage of these developments and align with the constantly changing end-user preferences. However, the major challenge lies in migrating to the new system without losing data. Data owned by organizations is an asset that provides critical insights to plan future endeavors, hence, organizations cannot afford to lose them.

Though data migration is a tedious process that requires enormous effort and time, it is a significant process that plays a crucial role in application redesign. Data migration cannot yield favorable results without a thorough testing process in place. Migration testing ensures that data integrity is maintained while upgrading, integrating, or transferring the system, while making data migration a success that affects your business positively.

Migration testing ensures the data migration has not resulted in any disruption and all functional and non-functional aspects of applications are retained even after migration. It is extremely important to undertake Data Migration Testing to find out the discrepancies that arise while migrating the data from the parent or legacy database to the new or destination database. Organizations must efficiently conduct testing while migrating data for smooth operations.

The need for migration testing

Testing of the system is critical even when the slightest change is made, to ensure the incorporated change doesn’t create any conflict in the current workflow or make any further unnecessary modifications. Hence, it becomes important to carry out end-to-end testing during the system migration process. Migration testing is essential as it:

  • Ensures continuity and consistency after the platform migration – imagine if your mortgage computation changed because the lender changed systems?
  • Ensures no data loss when you move to the new platform – imagine if your broker could no longer locate your retirement account after her company upgraded their systems?
  • It identifies any defects in the new application and ensures that it works perfectly without any issue.
  • When migrating from one system to another, migration testing ensures proper flow and working of the application, as it was before migration.
  • In addition to testing data retention and functionality checks, migration testing also checks if the application is optimized to the new workflows and environment.

Data Migration Testing Approach

Organizations should incorporate the following strategic approach for data migration testing for best results:

  • Form a specialized team for data migration testing: It is of paramount importance to have a team that possesses the required skill set and experience to carry out data migration testing.
  • Risk and Error Analysis: It is essential to ensure that data migration testing should be smooth and does not disrupt the current business. Data migration testing should focus on high-risk scenarios to validate and mitigate risks.
  • Scope of Migration Testing: Organizations should decide the scope of data migration testing- what is to be tested.
  • Select the Data Migration Testing Tool: An appropriate Data migration Testing Tool should be selected to achieve minimum discrepancies and anomalies.
  • Identify the Test Environment: The test environment should be set up according to the technical aspects of the source and target data system.
  • Migration Test Document: In the end, it is important to prepare a migration test document that states the testing tool, testing methods, schedule of testing, etc.

Data migration testing has assumed a lot of significance in the current scenario, where the availability of the right data at the right time governs the success of any organization. Organizations are investing a huge amount of resources in migration testing to avoid any mishaps later on. Efficient and effective data migration testing combines a systematic approach, prescient risk minimization techniques, and holistic test coverage.

Understanding data migration testing

Efficient data migration testing includes the following two levels of validation testing:

  • Data Level Validation Testing
  • Application-Level Validation Testing

Data Level Validation Testing

When data is moved from several databases to one common database, data level validation testing is done to ensure that there are no discrepancies. It ensures that the complete data is migrated to the new system and no loss was incurred during the migration process. Data Level Validation Testing can be further classified as follows:

Level 1: Counting the number of rows

In his stage, we find out the total number of records that would be moved or migrated.

Level 2: Verification of data

A sample is selected from the migrated data and checked thoroughly to verify the accuracy of the data.

Level 3: Verification of Entitlement

At this stage, the new database is verified for the users as well as samples of data.

Application-Level Validation Testing

Application-Level Validation Testing checks whether the migrated applications function efficiently in the new database or not; a sample application, that was migrated, is tested for its functionality. Following validations are carried out:

  • Verification of sample data by logging into the new application after migration
  • Verification of the status of accounts- whether it is locked or unlocked by logging into the legacy system post-migration
  • Verification of access to legacy systems during migration despite user blockage
  • Verification of instant restoration of user access to the old system in case of failure of migration
  • Verification of denial of access to legacy systems at the time of migration
  • Validation of login credentials for migrated applications

Data Migration Testing Tools

Data Migration Testing Tools can be classified into three categories as follows:

  • On-premise Tools
  • Open-Source Tools
  • Cloud-based Tools

On-premise Tools: When organizations want to transfer data from one server to another or from one database to another within the enterprise, they use on-premise data migration testing tools. In this scenario, it just involves changing the database or integrating databases.

Open-Source Tools: Open-source data migration tools are easily accessible by people. They are free to use. Organizations can use these data migration testing tools if the project is small and the data to be tested is less. Knowledge of coding skills is required if you use open-source tools.

Cloud-based Tools: Cloud-based data migration tools are the latest developments in data migration and testing. These tools enable the organizations to transfer the data to Cloud, which is the need of the hour. Hence, Cloud-based data migration tools are widely used as they are secure, flexible, and cost-effective.

Yethi’s data migration testing

Yethi is a well-known name in the BFSI industry for offering specialized QA services. We understand the importance of testing during data migration process, hence, we assure seamless data migration testing under budget and time constraints. At Yethi, we have the experience and expertise to handle testing of different scales and complexities of the data migration process. With our extensive technical and functional audits, you can be assured of having a perfectly working system, even after the migration process.

All that you need to know about Cloud Testing

Introduction

Digitalization is driving transformation!

In recent years, many digital platforms were developed to address user requirements, and innovation is still underway. Since we use the digital platform in every sphere of our life, technology and innovation will keep emerging. Just while we continue developing more digital platforms, we need to be confident about their performance and user acceptance. Testing becomes extremely important as it ensures that the software performance is top-notch, and end-users can reap the benefits of these applications. As digital platforms are evolving, so is testing. From manual testing to automation, the testing phase has moved further to Cloud testing.

What is Cloud testing?

Testing of applications using cloud computing services is known as cloud testing. Cloud testing focuses on faster availability while ensuring scalability and flexibility, and helps in saving time and cost, which is an ultimate requirement for software testing. The purpose of cloud testing is to check and validate the functional and non-functional requirements of software using cloud computing. Cloud testing allows testing of software over an internet-based platform and remotely provides many computing services like hardware, software, and other computer-related services.

Following are the main models of Cloud Computing,

Models of Cloud Computing

Types of Testing in the Cloud

The applications can undergo following types of testing in the cloud.

1. Functional testing

Functional software testing examines all the features and functional requirement of software. It also checks how software interacts with hardware.

  • System testing — Through this testing system’s compliance is evaluated for its functional and system requirements.
  • Acceptance testing — Acceptance testing ensures that an application can meet customer requirements.
  • Integration testing — This testing checks if the application is compatible with different platforms and works even when it is moved from one cloud infrastructure to another.

2. Non-functional testing

Non-functional testing in the cloud allows you to validate the non-functional features of software such as performance, usability, and reliability.

  • Security testing — Security testing of application ensures that data is stored and transmitted safely.
  • Stress testing — Executing Stress testing help you in evaluating your application performance under excessive stress.
  • Performance testing — Performance testing ensures that the application performs correctly with various numbers of users, while cloud solutions should be scalable on-demand.
  • Load testing — Load testing helps in measuring software response time when the load is increased in system.
  • Latency testing — Latency test allows you to measure the application response delay after deploying it in the cloud.

3. Ability testing

To verify whether users really receive application services on-demand, ability testing is necessary.

  • Compatibility testing — As the name suggests, the compatibility testing helps in evaluating the application’s compatibility with various environments and platforms.
  • Disaster recovery testing — Disaster recovery testing helps in evaluating disaster recovery time and ensure that the application is available to users with minimum data loss.
  • Multi-tenancy testing — Multi-tenancy testing verifies application’s ability to ensure the level of security and access control for multiple users in the cloud.

Benefits of Cloud Testing

Cloud-based testing is widely accepted over traditional manual testing. Here are the following reasons:

  • Scalability — Business requirements keep changing frequently. Based on these requirements, cloud computing resources can be increased or decreased, ensuring the scalability of the technology.
  • Time-efficient — Cloud testing allows you to run your applications on various hardware. Hence, testers have enough time to fix the bugs making the technology more time-efficient.
  • Cost-efficient — Cloud testing allows you to pay only for those resources, testing environment, hardware, and software that you might use.
  • Easy test environment configuration — Cloud-based tools allow you to set up a test environment on multiple devices, saving you time and money. It can also detect the errors during environment configuration across all devices.
  • Easily customizable — Cloud testing provides easily customizable options by using cloud-based tools and services. Testers can easily emulate an end-user-centric environment saving you time and money.
  • Ensure comprehensive testing — Cloud testing creates an all-device platform and configuration, eliminating the need for multiple devices and facilitating comprehensive testing.
  • Faster testing — Cloud-based testing tools enable software test automation reducing, time to the market. It has eliminated the need for having separate testing infrastructure while enhancing team collaboration and improving testing.
  • Continuous availability — Software testing is available to the testers anytime and anywhere to speed up their software development lifecycle with its continuous availability.
  • Improve team collaboration — Companies can improve their team collaboration by implementing DevOps in the cloud. The team collectively can try different configurations and data and automate testing processes using tools.

Four main categories of Cloud testing

  • SaaS testing in Cloud – Based on the application requirements, functional and non-functional testing is executed.
  • Testing using entire cloud – Based on the cloud features, where the cloud is considered as an entity, testing is executed by Cloud and SaaS vendors, as well as end-users.
  • Testing within a cloud – Cloud vendors can check internal features to carry out testing.
  • Testing across cloud – Utilizing different types of cloud environment, the testing is executed.

Cloud Testing’s Core Components

The testing is executed of these core components to ensure the following aspects.

Cloud Core Component

Conclusion

The expert team at Yethi understands the importance of testing across multiple devices and networks. As swift changes in digital environment redefine consumer and retail banking, we are providing exhaustive test-coverage throughout all aspects of digital transformation and application testing like Functional, UI/UX, Performance, Compatibility, Security, Geo-based and network testing, by enabling testing across multiple devices, OSes, and browsers,

With cloud testing, we ensure timely testing of digital and mobile assets by incorporating real-time testing of both native and hybrid mobile applications across multiple platforms, thereby eliminating delays and redundancies and saving time and money.