Batch Testing

• Business processes which require intervention from users in terms of input data, decisions etc. are developed as online applications for e.g., Login page – required user to enter ID and Password
• Batches typically deal with large volume of data with many transactions in a predefined sequence due to the dependency on each other
• They also require most of the system resources due to which they are typically scheduled to be executed during off business hours
• There is no user interface unlike applications testing. The inputs are provided through defined files or configurations and output is verified in the database or output files
• The test steps are minimal since there is no navigation across screens as in applications
• The verifications points are many at the end of a single batch and requires validation across many different tables for verification of expected results
• Dependency on the transactions needs to be taken into consideration while planning. Jobs need to be sequentially run to ensure each job receives the necessary input from the previous job appropriately
• Appropriate error notifications and audit trails to be tested
• Business processes which do not require any intervention from users and are not real time based on user demand are developed as batch applications. For e.g., payroll processing for employees in a company