You can Trust Your Developers , Automated testing is always preferable

A couple of years ago, when Microsoft launched its Evergreen approach, they took into account the version shift that afflicted companies on numerous occasions. It enabled Dynamics 365 to modernise each month, so that solutions, including all-new features, are automatically kept up to date.

This was an ambitious move and, in many ways, a very good idea. However, the downside was the fact that monthly updates could cause all or part of a company's ERP solution to crash, the update conflicts with elements of the base system, customizations or integrations.

Evergreen Small upgrades and greater freedom should always be choosen as approach

This is a real risk. For example, in the first period after the monthly updates were launched, for several reasons the monthly updates caused a critical module in one of our clients Dynamics 365 for Finance, and Operations to crash, and we hear related stories from other organisations in both Denmark and abroad. Thankfully, we identified the challenges during the testing phase and were able to meet them before the situation became critical.

However, there are indications that Microsoft is aware that everything does not always go well with monthly updates, because in the meantime, Evergreen plans have changed. From now on, only eight annual updates are published, of which only the most important (April and October) are mandatory.

Testing upgrades before implementation is critical.

At Winklix, we advise our clients to run at least four annual updates to avoid falling into a variety of traditional offset traps.

However, it is always crucial to test every update ahead of time, so that you know that everything works as it should before the code is published in the production environment. Otherwise, critical processes, and perhaps even society at large, can be completely or partially paralyzed. This can be expensive in terms of both bottom-line and credibility.

Tests should be carried out for both.

• Core Solution (Dynamics 365)

• Customisations and modules

• Integrations

This is a comprehensive and complex task that may be performed by an IT department with intensive testing expertise. But manual testing requires a lot of labour and presents a significant risk of error, as the work is both long and incredibly monotonous.

Make sure you save time using automated testing.

Automated testing is a much better solution, particularly if you target and define test cases based on essential business processes. Still, even if Microsoft provides a tool (RSAT) that can automate regression testing of the core outcome and adjustments, it isn't completely possible to deal with it without in-depth testing skills. And testing integrations is further complicated.

For this reason, Winklix has developed a testing service. In collaboration with the company, we first evaluate what processes are essential to test, and investigate where they operate. Some processes can be executed simultaneously at multiple locations within your organisation, and all contexts must be tested each time.

We furthermore construct test cases, which are operated through Microsoft RSAT (for testing the D365 core and customisations), while regression testing of processes that operate across integrations can be automated by Winklix test experts. Over time, we also ensure that test cases are developed and customised to keep them relevant.

Make your organisation more available and stable.

On the one hand, the service provides the business with a basis for maximising availability and stability. Not only locally (for example, in one national department), but also through many branches with a wide geographical range. At the same time, you get the best possible conditions to take advantage of the innovation that Evergreen is.

Even if a product is supposedly 100% standard and the confidence is good, the verification is just better. Because when the company's basic processes are at stake, it's important to know ahead of time that everything will work as it should. Just in case.

Need to know more? We have compiled a lot of good advice on automated testing into one-book.