ATM Testing - February 8, 2024
In this blog series, you have seen the high failure rates associated with large projects like the Windows 10 migration, as well the need to build a solid foundation and to automate everything from a testing perspective to keep your project on track.
Of course, every organization is different, and you must deal with own unique situation and requirements. But, despite these differences, every ATM shop can benefit from virtualization and automation.
If you've got all the pieces of the testing puzzle in place for your migration project, you will be well positioned to optimize your environment so that you can successfully take on more projects and priorities no matter that they might be.
Go Beyond ATM Application Testing
- Check "under the hood." Expand testing to include your entire software stack: firewalls, event management applications, and other software installed on your ATMs.
Virtualization is a great way to test your core ATM components, but it can do much more than that. By virtualizing the entire software stack from your ATMs, you can also test other applications running on the machines. Since the virtualized ATMs behave just like your physical ATMs (because they run exactly the same software that is on your physical ATM), you can build and include tests for these components into your project. For example, you can test your software distribution system’s interactions with the Windows 10 ATMs before they are deployed in the field. Again, while you’ll benefit immediately from this testing during your migration project, you can further leverage your virtualization efforts as you test future updates, patches, and changes.
Guard Against Unexpected Performance Issues
- Run performance tests comparing Windows 7 to Windows 10 activity to ensure all systems function properly under real-world transaction volumes.
All too often, performance testing is done infrequently using homegrown tools that do not necessarily reflect real-world processing, even though testing best practice says that performance testing needs to be an integrated part of the testing process.
In the case of Windows 10, we know there is a possibility for both the ATM and the ATM-driving host to behave differently than with Windows 7. Your testers may not notice subtle performance differences when running individual functional tests, but performance issues can quickly surface under real-world transaction loads. However, when you incorporate the same transactions used for your functional testing into a performance test set that you can easily run at any time and at any rate required, you have gone a long way toward ensuring your systems are always available and processing at peak efficiency.
Continuous Testing is a critical component in the CI/CT/CD pipeline
As you upgrade and automate your ATM testing processes, you can also begin to integrate your ATM test environment with your other enterprise systems. Many organizations have moved toward a DevOps environment, including building a Continuous Integration/Continuous Testing/Continuous Deployment pipeline.
Adding these capabilities might fall outside of the formal charter of your Windows 10 migration project, but by investing in virtualization and automation to achieve a successful project result, you get the benefit of leveraging the investments for all future work. There really is no downside here.
Manage Change by Changing the Way You Test
The pace of change in our industry will continue to increase, i.e. we will see even more regulation, more competition, more technology, more alternative payment methods, and it will not stop. A modern and efficient payments testing infrastructure will give you a competitive advantage, helping you innovate and stay ahead of the pack.
Contact us to schedule a conversation with an experienced partner for your Windows 10 migration project.
