Counterpoint: What topics should user acceptance testing cover?

We have outsourced our data migration from one SAN (Xiotech) to another (Clariion CX Series). The consultants have asked us to come up with user acceptance testing. My question to you is: What should user acceptance testing cover?

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In migration, there are several things to consider and should all be part of your acceptance testing. First you need to decide if the migration will be done while data is active or not. That's a big decision and changes the complexity dramatically. If the migration is done while the data is not active, consider the following:
  • After the migration, compare the data to be sure it transferred accurately.
  • Are there pacing controls such that the migration can have less resources dedicated to it so more important jobs can finish?
  • Can the migration be interrupted and then resumed without starting over?
  • What configuration changes are required? Can the transition to the migrated device be done seamlessly?
If the data is active, make sure that:
  • An interruption on the source or an interruption on the target does not affect the application.
  • Write data is written to both the donor system and the target so that a fallback operation will be successful.
Read Greg Schulz's response to this question.

This was first published in July 2004

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