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Upgrading your software - it doesn't have to hurt every time.

Apr 20, 2007

For many IT professionals, the words "We have to upgrade to a new release of software" strike fear and loathing in their hearts. "Upgrading to a new release of investment accounting software, or other back office systems is the last thing anyone wants to do, but it's an inevitable part of life in today's business environment," says Ron Harris, Director, Investment Conversion and Consulting, Inc.® (ICC).

"Everyone in the industry knows that upgrades happen, whether they come because of new statutory requirements, the addition of new functionality to meet new business requirements or represent a vendor's required ongoing maintenance and upgrade of their software."

Mergers are certainly driving the need to upgrade. They result in complex business processes and increased transaction volumes. "We fully understand all the emotions involved in these kinds of transactions," says Harris. "We've been on the front lines of mergers and acquisitions for over 15 years, having integrated the investment systems involved in some of the most high profile mergers in the financial services."

Many companies are so averse to dealing upgrades that they'll postpone them for as long as possible. "Some of the companies, we've seen will do workarounds instead of taking advantage of the latest functionality just to avoid the upgrades and inevitable testing," says Harris. "Still others will turn to their software vendor for a short-term fix. This may work for a short period of time but eventually this comes back to haunt them. As volumes increase and downstream processes such as reporting and general ledger are impacted, things start to fall apart.

For any upgrade, resource is the most critical issue. Deciding who will do the upgrade is something everyone wants to postpone or avoid. "Very few want to take on responsibility for an upgrade," points out Harris. "Everyone today is short on resources and most companies don't have the personnel to spare to do the testing, verification, and quality assurance for an upgrade. Systems people are up to their eyeballs in work and those in the business units are usually too busy with day-to-day, month-end closes, and quarterly reporting. That's what we hear from the clients who bring us in to assist them."

Harris says one of the keys to removing the sting of upgrades is to develop a process for handling them and reuse it over and over again. "Many companies document their upgrade and testing process so they can replicate it each time an upgrade's necessary. Few, however, take it to the next level of developing a test case database library that they can draw from. When you do that you can say , 'When we get an upgrade this is what we do.' Such a library allows you to move easily and adapt to the nuances of the upgrade you are implementing. If you add new functionally, you go to that library and use an old test case that's been proven. All you do is modify it to fit the new scenario."

Such a database should contain reports that track results and find problems. "With that database in place, you're able to essentially track exactly where you are in the testing process, and react quickly to problems as they arise. You also gain efficiencies as you do successive upgrades," Harris points out. "Sometimes it's a matter of organizing and documenting the test cases, expected results and actual results and putting them into an environment that makes it easy to report on and track the results."

ICC uses its own database of test cases, results and timelines which were developed based upon experience with clients. "The database contains reports and screens that allow us to capture clients' test information and present it back to them to help them understand the results of the testing. It lets them check it against the timeline for each of the hundreds of test cases," says Harris.

He offers additional ways to shorten and simplify testing:

• Get new releases working quickly in a test area. "Review all of the functionality and quickly test new and existing functionality in that upgraded area," he suggests. "Once you understand the impact of the new release, you can look at all the downstream applications to other systems. Remember that systems, such as accounting systems, have tentacles that go throughout the organization. You have to test the reaches of those tentacles. We often find that companies don't allow enough time to do these tests during an upgrade and there is a rush to integrate the rest of the organization. This quick testing allows you to develop early test data so that other parts of the organization can get a head start on the upgrade process. You need to make sure that all recipients of this test data understand this is only test data and the real data will follow but they get a preview and it gets other areas involved early in the process."
• Use a reconciliation tool where possible. A reconciliation tool allows you to compare the before and after test results. You need to be able to quickly identify differences, drill down and understand what those differences are. "We have worked with clients to develop analytical reports for data comparison and developed our own tools which make it possible to perform the reconciliation quickly and easily," says Harris.
• Use a data tool that allows you to browse data and look at the changes in structure and attributes. "Any upgrade will contain changes in things like columns and tables. You need to be able identify these easily. We use "EZ data dictionary®" to do this. It is a software tool that lets you manage the differences between multiple databases as well as documenting the meaning of data, which is usually forgotten with in-house developed databases and customized tables."
• Most importantly involve people with experience in both the business and the technology sides of the house. "Form a team of people that includes project managers from both the business and technology sides," he says. "Take care not to skew one way or the other. Testing takes a combination of technical as well as business skills.

"No one looks forward to an upgrade, but they are a fact of life," concludes Harris. "Upgrades increasing system functionality, allow your company to benefit from new technology or form the working synergy of a merger. The way to treat is learn from each successive upgrade, develop systems to spot and remedy disparities and handle them with the right combination of in-house and vendor resources. That way everyone can get back to the business as usual."

Investment Conversion and Consulting, Inc.® (ICC) helps institutional investors implement investment management back-office solutions. ICC has been called the financial industry's "merger veterans", having created and put into play many of the best practices used today in investment accounting systems integrations. Since 1993, they have integrated the investment systems in some of the most high profile mergers in the industry. The firm also offers systems' consulting services support for the investment accounting and operations functions of major insurance companies and other institutional investors. They provide business analysis, technical analysis, software solution recommendation, vendor selection, and improved processes for management and operations. The firm's proprietary software tool, IRDB®, enhances management and operations related reports for clients. For more information see www.iccinc.com