How do you test system changes before and after deployment?

1 Planning and designing

Before you make any changes to your system, you need to plan and design them carefully. You should identify the scope, objectives, and expected outcomes of the change, as well as the risks and dependencies involved. You should also define the criteria and methods for testing the change, and document them in a test plan. A test plan should include the test cases, test data, test environment, test tools, test roles, and test schedule.

2 Developing and testing

After you have planned and designed the change, you need to develop and test it in a separate environment from the production system. You should use a version control system to track and manage the changes in the code, and a configuration management system to automate and standardize the deployment process. You should also perform various types of testing, such as unit testing, integration testing, functional testing, and performance testing, to verify that the change meets the specifications and does not break any existing functionality.

3 Reviewing and approving

Before you deploy the change to the production system, you need to review and approve it according to the established procedures and policies. You should involve the relevant stakeholders, such as the system owners, users, and managers, in the review process, and collect their feedback and approval. You should also ensure that the change is compliant with the security, quality, and regulatory standards, and that it has a rollback plan in case of any issues.

4 Deploying and verifying

After you have reviewed and approved the change, you need to deploy and verify it in the production system. You should follow the deployment plan and use the configuration management system to ensure that the change is deployed consistently and correctly. You should also perform a post-deployment verification, such as a smoke test or a sanity test, to check that the system is stable and operational after the change.

6 Maintaining and updating

After you have monitored and evaluated the change, you need to maintain and update it as needed. You should perform regular maintenance activities, such as backups, patches, and upgrades, to keep the system secure and up-to-date. You should also review and update the test plan and test cases, as well as the system documentation, to reflect the current state of the system. You should also be prepared to handle any incidents or problems that may arise from the change.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?