PMIS Test Plan: Testing Strategy and Execution Details

This document presents a comprehensive test plan for a Project Management Information System (PMIS). It outlines the purpose, objectives, and testing scope, including usability and functional testing. The overall strategy involves system testing to verify functionalities and workflows. The plan details entrance criteria, test data, and an execution plan using tools like HP Quality Centre and Bugzilla. A crucial aspect is the Business Continuity Plan (BCP), designed to ensure uninterrupted business processes, covering risk and disaster management. The BCP includes phases like project management and initiation, business impact analysis, and recovery. Recommendations are provided on effective PMIS usage, emphasizing stakeholder communication, project communication planning, and risk & change management. The report also addresses project closure, comparing planned and actual activities. References to relevant literature are included to support the plan.

Contents
Test Plan................................................................................................................................................2
Introduction.......................................................................................................................................2
Purpose..........................................................................................................................................2
Objectives......................................................................................................................................2
Testing Scope....................................................................................................................................2
Overall Strategy and Approach..........................................................................................................2
Testing Strategy.............................................................................................................................2
System Testing Entrance Criteria..................................................................................................2
Test Data...........................................................................................................................................3
Execution Plan...................................................................................................................................3
Environment......................................................................................................................................3
Test Schedule....................................................................................................................................3
Assumptions......................................................................................................................................3
Business Continuity Plan.......................................................................................................................3
Set of Objectives................................................................................................................................4
Phases of BCP...................................................................................................................................4
Project Management and Initiation................................................................................................4
Business Impact Analysis..............................................................................................................4
Recovery Phase.............................................................................................................................4
BCP Development Phase...............................................................................................................5
Final Phase....................................................................................................................................5
Recommendations on how to effectively use PMIS in the organization................................................5
Stakeholders......................................................................................................................................5
Project communication plan and reporting........................................................................................6
Tracking Project Tasks......................................................................................................................6
Risk & Change Management.............................................................................................................6
Project Closure..................................................................................................................................6
References.............................................................................................................................................7
1

Test Plan
Introduction
Purpose
The purpose of the document is to bring up the details of the testing activities that shall be
carried out for the testing of Project Management Information System (PMIS).
Objectives
 To illustrate the testing processes that shall be conducted on the PMIS
 To make sure that the testing scope and strategy is clear among all the project
resources
 To define the acceptance criteria for the testing processes
Testing Scope
The scope of the testing process is to cover the quality planning, assurance, and control
activities for the PMIS. The scope covers the determination and reporting of the bugs along
with the follow-up activities in the form of regression testing.
Overall Strategy and Approach
Testing Strategy
The system testing activities will be conducted to determine the correctness of the functional
components and specifications of the PMIS. The testing process will test the workflows along
with the verification of the internal and external interfaces.
System Testing Entrance Criteria
The initiation of the system testing process shall be marked by the following activities.
Testing Types
 Usability Testing: The user interface attributes, content, and the overall look & feel of
the PMIS will be determined for the general usability. The goal will be to ensure that
the navigation of the PMIS is smooth and the users succeed in accessing all of the
functions (Klug, 2017).
 Functional Testing: The primary objective of the testing type will be to make sure that
all of the components are designed as per the functional aspects. The testing process
shall compare the functionalities implemented in the PMIS with the business
specifications and rules.
2

Test Data
The use of dummy data will be done to carry out the testing processes and activities. The
functional testing process will be carried out using the dummy project information that will
have striking similarity with the real project information.
The end-users will be invited to carry out the usability testing for the project.
Execution Plan
The use of the test tools, such as HP Quality Centre will be done for the test case
management and handling of the testing information. The test scenarios and test cases will be
fed in the tool and the tracking and execution will be marked in the same.
The use of Bugzilla will be done for logging, tracking, and management of the defects
associated with the PMIS (Flores & Polo, 2010).
Environment
The test environment will be developed for the conduction of all of the testing activities. The
development team will provide the test builds and the use of dummy data will be done to
carry out the testing processes.
Test Schedule
The overall duration for the testing process will be 65 days. It will run in parallel with the
development process. The resolution dates on the defects may change as per the response
provided by the development team. The number of open defects at the end of the testing
process shall be nil.
Assumptions
 The testing tools required by the testing resources will be available to the team before
the initiation of the process.
 The test reports will be shared with the stakeholders during the testing phase.
Business Continuity Plan
Business Continuity Plan (BCP) for the Project Management Information System (PMIS)
shall make sure that the business processes run without any interruptions and there is no
damage done to any areas of the project or the organization (Heng, 2015). The planning shall
be done so that the internal and external threats are identified and the protection of the assets
3

& the continuity of the business operations are maintained. The two essential components of
the plan shall be risk and disaster management.
Set of Objectives
The objectives of the BCP are listed below:
 To make sure that the risks associated with the PMIS are identified and prevented to
maintain business continuity
 To minimize the impact of any interruption
 To determine the points of failure and work on the same for continued execution
 To have a recovery plan in place in the case of occurrence of a disaster
 To streamline the PMIS business operations for achieving market and competitive
advantage
Phases of BCP
There are numerous phases that will be involved in the business continuity planning
associated with the PMIS.
Project Management and Initiation
This is the phase in which the needs and risk analysis for the PMIS will be carried out and the
management support will be obtained on the basis of the same. The establishment of the
teams and the development of the work plan will be done (Rehak & Dvorak, 2010). The
initial report shall be shared with the management to receive formal approval.
Business Impact Analysis
The phase shall include the determination of the maximum tolerable downtime for the PMIS.
The consequences and impact of the risk situations shall be determined across all the
organizational levels. There will be further information required to conduct the business
impact analysis associated with the PMIS. The determination of the techniques to be used,
such as interviews, questionnaires, etc. shall be done. The analysis of the information sets and
reporting the recovery options to the management shall be done.
Recovery Phase
On the basis of the information gathered above, the recovery of the processes shall be done.
The recovery plans shall be identified and developed for the PMIS areas, such as network,
data, data center, facilities, supplies, and likewise.
4

BCP Development Phase
The development of the detailed plan covering the testing and verification, maintenance, and
disaster response activities shall be done in this phase.
Final Phase
The last phase shall include the final set of reviews and audits that must be done by the senior
management and authorities so that the BCP developed for the PMIS covers all the necessary
aspects. The detailed maintenance plan and activities covering annual reviews and change
handling processes shall be defined in this phase (Brotherton, 2010).
The planning shall also include training as one of the essential activities. The planning of the
training processes and schedule shall be done in this phase.
Recommendations on how to effectively use PMIS in the organization
It is necessary that the functionalities included in the PMIS provide the project team with the
ability to centralize the project data and facilitate the project communications. The team shall
also be able to automate the project processes in terms of handling and management. The
necessary components are shown and described in the table below.
Apart from the above components, there are further recommendations that have been
included below.
Stakeholders
It is necessary that enhanced level of communication is maintained among the stakeholders
so as to achieve project success. The Project Manager must ensure that the project
information shared with the internal and external stakeholder is relevant. Not all the
stakeholders are interested in detailed documents (Tromp & Homan, 2015). There shall be
use of statistics done to support the reports so that the quick look may provide the project
updates. Also, there shall be summary section included to highlight the key points.
5

Project communication plan and reporting
Project communication planning and reporting are essential activities involved in the
planning phase and will be necessary for the effective usage of the PMIS. The
communication guidelines shall be shared with all the resources. The Project Manager shall
make sure that the reports on the schedule and budget estimations and tracking are prepared
and regularly shared. There may be numerous changes that may come up in the PMIS
functionalities. The change reports shall be prepared and shared with the stakeholders to
manage the PMIS scope and processes.
Tracking Project Tasks
There are several tools that are used in the project management activities and one such tool is
Gantt chart. The tool provides the ability to keep a track of the project activities and
determine the schedule of each of these activities. The information on the resources and costs
can also be mapped with the schedule prepared. The use of the Gantt chart shall be done with
the PMIS so that the work plan along with the detailed schedule is known. Also, the work
progress will be easily tracked using the Gantt chart.
Risk & Change Management
There will be several risks associated with the functions that will be conducted by the PMIS.
It will be necessary to identify the risks and take preventive and controlling actions
accordingly. The tasks list shall be updated regularly so that the risks around schedule and
resources are identified. There shall also be a change control system that must be developed
and it shall have three steps for the handling of the changes and related risks. A custom list
must be prepared followed by the customization of the three-state workflow. The testing of
the workflow shall be carried out thereafter.
Project Closure
The project closure is the last step in any of the project management activities. The phase
shall include the determination and comparison between the activities planned and the ones
that are carried out. The identification of the gaps between the estimated and actual values
will provide a brief on the project performance. The evaluation of the project will be
effectively done and the usage of the PMIS by the project stakeholders will be determined as
well. The information on the usage of the similar PMIS in the future will also be obtained.
6

References
Brotherton, H. (2010). Disaster recovery and business continuity planning: Business
justification. Journal Of Emergency Management, 8(3), 57-60. doi:
10.5055/jem.2010.0019
Flores, A., & Polo, M. (2010). Testing-based process for component substitutability. Software
Testing, Verification And Reliability, n/a-n/a. doi: 10.1002/stvr.438
Heng, G. (2015). Business Continuity Management Planning Methodology. International
Journal Of Disaster Recovery And Business Continuity, 6, 9-16. doi:
10.14257/ijdrbc.2015.6.02
Klug, B. (2017). An Overview of the System Usability Scale in Library Website and System
Usability Testing. Weave: Journal Of Library User Experience, 1(6). doi:
10.3998/weave.12535642.0001.602
Rehak, D., & Dvorak, J. (2010). Risk catalogue as a software tool for supporting the business
continuity planning. International Journal Of Business Continuity And Risk
Management, 1(2), 187. doi: 10.1504/ijbcrm.2010.033638
Tromp, J., & Homan, T. (2015). How Unplanned Changes Emerge while Implementing a
Project Management Information System (PMIS) in a Complex Multi Project R&D
Environment. Procedia - Social And Behavioral Sciences, 194, 211-220. doi:
10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.06.137
7