All-Around Guide to CRM Testing

Duration: Up to 2 weeks.

To ensure CRM requirements are designed in a way streamlining future testing, assign a QA manager to validate each CRM requirement is clear, measurable, and complete. The best practice is to design CRM functional and usability requirements in the form of user stories. To pave the way for efficient functional and usability testing, the best practice is to involve representatives of each CRM user group in the requirements specification design.

Design a CRM testing KPI set, which includes KPIs like tests’ execution time, test scripts’ maintainability, the number of bugs rejected by the development team, requirements not covered by test cases, the test automation rate, and others.

Consider an optimal collaboration schedule and scenarios between the CRM test and development teams. Relevant project and test management tools can streamline their communication.

Duration: Up to 4 weeks.

If you plan to perform CRM testing in-house, your QA manager should design a CRM test strategy and plan the required project efforts. In line with the designed CRM testing artifacts, the QA manager gathers a test team. The QA manager may consider hiring additional testing talents to introduce optimal test automation or handle the specifics of a relevant CRM provider, if required.

Note: The longer the CRM development process is, the more viable test automation becomes.

Generally, the best practice for CRM systems (either custom or platform-based) is to automate cross-browser and data quality testing types. Besides, performance testing can’t be performed manually. As CRM applications continuously evolve after their initial rollout, an automated regression test suite should be run after each CRM software change (e.g., customization of out-of-the-box features, introduction of new custom features or integration with third-party apps).

In case of a long-term CRM development project with at least 30-40% of test automation involvement from the total test coverage, you need to assign a test automation lead to outline best-suitable test automation scenarios, design a test automation architecture, choose and configure relevant test automation tools and frameworks.

Multi-level functional testing (at the unit, API, and UI levels) comprises the majority of the CRM testing scope. Still, the following testing types should also be present in your CRM test plan:

• Data quality testing. CRM’s business value significantly relies on its data sharing with other enterprise applications like ERP, document management, financial systems, an email server, and a data warehouse. So, CRM data quality test cases should validate that data related to your existing and potential customers is complete, valid, accurate and not duplicated, remains intact during data transfer.
• Performance testing. This testing type checks CRM behavior under continuous and peak load conditions, measures the effects of multiple users working with CRM simultaneously: loading speed, response time, and a maximum number of users.
• Security testing. To ensure security of sensitive customer data, CRM testing should include vulnerability assessment, penetration testing, and role-based access control validation.
• Usability testing. To encourage high CRM user adoption, its GUI should be convenient and logically structured. So, it’s necessary to validate the intuitive and convenient arrangement of UI elements, content layout, and the number of usage steps with regard to all user groups’ needs and established usability standards and metrics.

Duration: Up to 12 weeks.

To choose a relevant CRM testing vendor, you should:

• Look for vendors with QA certifications like ISTQB or CSTE, vendors offering services compliant with ISO and IEC standards.
• Look through the vendors’ portfolios for CRM testing projects with similar prerequisites.
• Check if the vendor has enough resources to meet your CRM application’s scale.
• Prepare a detailed request for information (RFI) and distribute it among the shortlisted CRM testing vendors. Based on the vendors’ responses, further shortlist 3-5 providers best corresponding to your CRM testing needs.
• Request CRM testing cost estimate and proposal from the preselected vendors to make an informed decision on CRM testing ROI.
• Negotiate SLA and CRM testing costs and sign a contract with the chosen vendor.

Duration: Up to 2 weeks.

To start the CRM testing process, an outsourced or an in-house test team sets up and configures the test environment, starts to develop test cases and test scripts, prepares test data.

Note: For platform-based CRM solutions, a relevant test environment can be obtained from your CRM provider.