Quality

Your testing is 100% complete. Why is your go-live still heading for disaster?

“Are you ready for go-live?” is the million-dollar question – one that keeps quality assurance managers up at night. The boxes can all be checked, but if all you’ve tested is functionality, your checklist isn’t long enough.

Most testing strategies create the illusion of readiness by focusing on features while ignoring data integrity, usability, security, real-world performance loads, and critical integrations. True quality isn’t about getting the features to work; it’s about ‘fit-for-purpose’. Every note has to be in tune.

Getting the right things right

Fitness for Purpose—is multi-dimensional and engineered from the start of the project.

  • Functional (Process Alignment and Reliability)
  • Non-Functional (Performance, Security, Usability)
  • Data (Accuracy and Integrity)
  • Compliance (Controls and Auditability)
  • Integration (Ecosystem Connectivity)

Navigating Quality

True Quality: Going Beyond Bug Hunts

The Challenge

A pervasive and limiting misconception frames ERP quality as a technical exercise—a “bug hunt” focused on defect detection

The Impact

A project can be a technical success with a low bug count yet fail to generate business value because the system is fundamentally misaligned with goals it was meant to support.

The Solution

Shift from a tactical bug hunt to a multi-dimensional focus on “Fit-for-Purpose”—ensuring the system is tuned to the organization’s needs and enables its desired outcomes.

The Bug Hunt – Quality Control

Many organizations view ERP quality with a focus on testing. This approach, known as Quality Control (QC), aims to find and fix defects after building the system. This is necessary, but concentrating primarily on technical correctness overlooks the most important measure of success: whether the system truly serves the business. 

Shift to Prevention

A better strategy relies on Quality Assurance (QA), a proactive method aimed at preventing defects before they happen. QA includes designing strong processes, clarifying business requirements, and ensuring quality at every stage of the project. This approach shifts the focus from identifying errors at the end to creating a high-quality product from the beginning, making sure the system is genuinely suitable for its intended use. 

An Economic Imperative

Adopting a prevention-first mindset is a compelling financial strategy. The cost of fixing a defect rises steeply the later it is discovered. A defect found after go-live can cost over 100 times more to fix than one caught during the design phase. Late-stage failures lead to not only technical rework but also creates business disruptions, which can seriously threaten project ROI. Proactive quality assurance serves as the most effective tool for managing risk and controlling costs. 

Functional ("The What") & Non-Functional ("The How") Quality

“The Bug Hunt” focuses on functional quality – does the system work?  Non-functional quality is about what the system does.  Lack of functional quality can sink a system. However, non-functional quality, such as how the system works, is more likely to be the primary cause of failure.

The What: Functional Quality

Functional quality ensures the system can perform the specific business tasks it was designed for. It answers the question: “What must the system do?” A failure here means the system is fundamentally broken.

Examples:

  • Finance: The system shall generate an accurate quarterly income statement.
  • HR: The system shall allow an employee to enroll in benefits during open enrollment.
  • Supply Chain: The system shall track inventory levels in real-time across all warehouses.

The How: Non-Functional Quality

Non-functional quality defines the system’s operational characteristics and the user’s experience. It answers the critical question: “How well must the system perform its functions?” A failure here makes a working system unusable.

Performance: A slow system kills productivity and frustrates users, leading to poor adoption and lost revenue.

Usability: A confusing, non-intuitive system leads to high error rates and user resistance to change.

Data Integrity: If your data isn’t trusted, your reports are meaningless, and your decisions are flawed.

Security: A security breach is a brand-destroying event with massive financial and legal consequences.

Scalability: A system that can’t grow with your business becomes a constraint on your future success.

Data Quality: The Foundation of Trust

There are areas of overlap in the Eight Pillars – data quality obviously fits within data, but data quality also fits squarely within quality.  After all, the topic is “(1) Data (2) Quality.”  Because the topic is so critical, I felt it was better to be error on the side of redundancy than economy.

The Challenge

The “garbage in, garbage out” principle is absolute. Flawed, inconsistent, and duplicate data from legacy systems is a threat to an ERP’s success.

The Impact

Poor data quality costs organizations millions annually, causes operational disruption, and—most importantly—corrodes user trust. This leads to the rise of “shadow IT” (spreadsheets) and total project failure.

The Solution

Treat data quality with the utmost care during data migration, and as an ongoing business discipline, not a one-time IT task. This requires a formal Data Governance framework led by accountable business “Data Stewards” to ensure data is “fit for use”.

The Anatomy of Trustworthy Data

To go beyond general concerns, Let’s break down data quality into six specific, measurable attributes. These serve as the standard for checking if data is suitable for its purpose:

  • Accuracy: Does the data reflect reality? 
  • Completeness: Is all necessary information present? 
  • Consistency: Does this data match across systems? 
  • Timeliness: Is this data available when needed? 
  • Validity: Does this data follow the rules? 
  • Uniqueness: For master data, Is this the only record for this entity? 

The Measurable Cost of Flawed Data

Poor data quality is a real problem. It incurs clear costs in terms of financial loss, operational issues, and project failures. 

  • Operational Disruption: Inaccurate data creates bottlenecks, slows down core processes like order-to-cash, and needs costly manual work to fix. 

  • Project Failure: Data issues are a leading cause of delays in ERP projects, budget overruns, and a high failure rate to meet goals. 

The Biggest Cost

The biggest cost of bad data is the loss of user trust. When users see errors, they blame the new system and lose confidence. This leads to a ‘broken windows’ deterioration in data quality.

Evident lack of data quality in the systems leads to a lack of respect for the data, which leads to a lack of concern for accuracy,  which causes more errors for others to encounter, reinforcing the idea that the system is unreliable. 

This cycle pushes users to abandon the ERP for their own spreadsheets, undermining the idea of a single source of truth and hurting the project’s return on investment. 

The Strategic Response: Data Governance

The answer is to treat data quality as an ongoing business function, not a one-time task. This needs a formal governance structure led by the business. 

 

  • Business Ownership: Designate business leaders as responsible “Data Stewards” for key data areas (e.g., customers, products). 
  • Continuous Audits: Regularly check data to identify and fix the root causes of errors, rather than just addressing symptoms. 
  • Automated Rules: Use the ERP system to enforce data standards (e.g., required fields, dropdowns) when data is entered. 
  • Collaboration: Set up a council with various departments to agree on standards and address disagreements over data definitions. 

The Compliance Framework – Operating with Confidence and Integrity

There are areas of overlap in the Eight Pillars – data quality obviously fits within data, but data quality also fits squarely within quality.  After all, the topic is “(1) Data (2) Quality.”  Because the topic is so critical, I felt it was better to be error on the side of redundancy than economy.

The Challenge

Navigating the complex global regulatory landscape (SOX, GDPR, FDA, etc.) is a critical, non-negotiable business function.

The Impact

Failure to comply leads to costly penalties, fines, and a catastrophic loss of brand reputation and partner trust.

The Solution

Embed compliance, including automated audit trails, data integrity controls, and role-based access, directly into the ERP. This reduces risk and transforms verifiable trust into a competitive edge that boosts growth.

The Complicance Landscape

Navigating the complex global regulatory landscape is essential for any business. A modern ERP does more than manage data; it incorporates compliance into your operations. This minimizes risk, builds trust with stakeholders, and turns following regulations into a strong competitive advantage.

Building a Foundation of Verifiable Trust

For regulators and partners, trust needs to be verifiable. Set-up ERP systems with automated, unchangeable audit trails and strong data integrity controls. Every important transaction and data change is recorded, providing a clear and reliable record that makes audits easier and demonstrates operational integrity.

Proactive Compliance Across Jurisdictions

Compliance is essential, whether it’s SOX financial controls, GDPR data privacy, or strict industry-specific rules like those from the FDA or GMP. Our expertise ensures your ERP has the right security, access controls, and quality management workflows to meet and surpass these standards, shielding you from expensive penalties.

Compliance as a Competitive Weapon

Leading organizations see compliance as a way to empower their business, not as a hindrance. A well-implemented, compliant ERP system improves your brand reputation, speeds up partnerships, and builds confidence to enter new, tightly regulated markets. We help you use compliance as a strategic asset that promotes growth.

The Conductor, Not the Soloist: Orchestrating Quality for ERP Success

There are areas of overlap in the Eight Pillars – data quality obviously fits within data, but data quality also fits squarely within quality.  After all, the topic is “(1) Data (2) Quality.”  Because the topic is so critical, I felt it was better to be error on the side of redundancy than economy.

The Challenge

The traditional “Soloist” model treats quality as a final, reactive “bug hunt.” This is a high-risk, high-cost gamble. 

The Impact

This approach creates “dissonance”—budget overruns, delays, and strategic failures. “Garbage in, garbage out” data migration poisons the ERP’s core value from day one.

The Solution

A “Conductor” model that “shifts left.” Quality becomes a proactive, shared responsibility. The focus is *defect prevention*, orchestrating all teams toward a single, harmonious goal.

The Old Model: The Soloist's Dissonance

A Flawed Methodology

Relying on a ‘testing phase’ to address quality is a fundamentally flowed idea. Quality is built in, not tested out. Quality is not the responsibility of the QA department; it is the responsibility of the entire team.   

The High Cost of Dissonance

Pushing quality to the end of the project is costly.  Fixing a defect costs much more the later it is found. A bug caught during production can cost 100 times more than one caught during design. 

The New Model: The Conductor's Symphony

"Shift-Left": From Detection to Prevention

The solution is orchestration using a “shift-left” approach. This method moves quality from the far end of the timeline to the very beginning. It is integrated into the early design stages. The focus shifts from reacting to defects to preventing them right away. 

Quality as a Shared Mindset

Approaches like Agile and DevOps support this shift. They break down the barriers between development, testing, and business operations. Quality is no longer the responsibility of one team. It becomes a shared duty for the entire team. 

The “Conductor” is not an individual. It is a mindset of orchestration. The QA professional evolves from a soloist (tester) to a music director, the expert who provides the tools, techniques, and processes to help the whole orchestra play in harmony

A Virtuous Cycle

A modern ERP acts as an active instrument in this orchestra. Its integrated tools help enforce quality standards and offer immediate feedback. This creates a virtuous cycle. A well-orchestrated implementation results in a high-quality system, which makes it easier to maintain quality in daily operations.

The “Conductor” is not an individual. It is a mindset of orchestration. The QA professional evolves from a soloist (tester) to a music director, the expert who provides the tools, techniques, and processes to help the whole orchestra play in harmony

The Taxonomy of Quality Success

Getting Quality right requires getting a hierarchy of things right.  Explore the taxonomy of Quality critical success factors below.  Click the grey + to reveal more detail.

  • Quality
    • Functional Quality
      • Business Process Validation
        • End-to-End Flows
        • Module Coverage
        • Workflow Accuracy
      • Requirements Alignment
        • Functional Specs
        • Fit-to-Standard
        • Exception Handling
      • User Interaction
        • Usability
        • Role-Based Access in Function
        • Data Entry Validation
    • Non-Functional Quality
      • Performance
        • Response Times
        • Throughput
        • Batch Window
      • Scalability
        • Concurrent Users
        • Transaction Growth
        • Elastic Capacity
      • Reliability & Availability
        • Uptime
        • Failover
        • Error Recovery
      • Usability
        • Navigation & Layout
        • Accessibility
        • Learnability
      • Security
        • Authentication
        • Authorization
        • Data Protection
      • Maintainability
        • Patching
        • Upgradability
        • Supportability
    • Data Quality
      • Accuracy
        • Transactional Accuracy
        • Master Data Accuracy
      • Completeness
        • Mandatory Fields
        • Record Coverage
      • Consistency
        • Cross-Module Consistency
        • Duplicate Detection
      • Integrity
        • Referential Integrity
        • Historical Integrity
      • Validity
        • Format Compliance
        • Business Rule Compliance
    • Compliance & Control Quality
      • Regulatory Compliance
        • Financial Regulations
        • Data Privacy
        • Industry Regulations
      • Regulatory Compliance
        • Audit Trails
        • Transaction Logs
        • Reporting Evidence
      • Internal Controls
        • Segregation of Duties
        • Approval Workflows
        • Control Monitoring
    • Integration Quality
      • Internal Integration
        • Module Linkage
        • Cross-Process Flows
      • External Integration
        • Interface Reliability
        • Protocol Adherence
        • Data Mapping
      • Data Flow Validation
        • Real-Time Sync
        • Batch Transfers
        • Error Handling
    • Evolutionary Quality
      • Regression Integrity
        • Core Stability
        • Test Coverage
      • Extensibility
        • Modular Growth
        • Custom Extensions
      • Upgradeability
        • Vendor Releases
        • Backward Compatibility
      • Configurability
        • Business Rule Changes
        • Parameter Adjustments

Quality in the Project Lifecycle

An overview of activities for Quality success, by phase, from the beginning of the project. Click any of the phase buttons below for a summary.

Compliance

Engagement

The “Why”

“I have to”

“I want to”

Motivation

External
(reward & punishment)

Internal
(pursues purpose)

Focus

Rules and policies

Goals and mission

Results

Meets standards

Exceeds standards

Behavior

Follows instructions

Take initiative & innovates

Outcome

Stability

Growth, innovation, higher productivity