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​This month in Bang Your Drum, we take stock of what employers are seeking in SAP Testers, those tasked with ensuring that when it comes to IT and systems, failure is not an option.

For any enterprise, ensuring its systems are able to deliver when it matters is critical to business success. From specific IT projects large and small, to system integrations, the more you rely on any system, the more things that can go wrong… unless you have a sound testing strategy spearheaded by someone who knows the value of rigour!

WHAT TO KNOW

Often with experience in ALM, CRM, SOAP UI, ISTQB certifications or more, Testers are masters of the arcane, able to speak in many languages and peer through the present, to head off potential issues that can cripple the unprepared. Let’s get an overview of what employers are expecting from their SAP Testers/Test Analysts.

1. A LITTLE COMMUNICATION GOES A LONG WAY

As a tester, you’ll be expected to deal with lots of different people. You’ll be required to get information from business users and update testing managers on the status of your testing. Additionally, you’ll have to be comfortable working with functional and technical teams to overcome any issues that arise along the way. As such, your people skills will prove as vital as any system skills you might have.

2. ENGAGE!

A tester relies on the business users to understand the process or functionality they are testing for. That means it’s important to build strong relationships with key business users and stakeholders, since they’ll be the one’s you’ll be relying on for accurate and detailed information.

This will prevent unnecessary retesting, allowing you to be at your most effective and better able to execute testing right the first time out. Plus, on big projects, you’ll likely need the assistance of these key business people to help execute the User Acceptance Testing phase smoothly. Business engagement is a core competency for any SAP Tester. The sharper your ability here, the more effective you’ll be.

3. KNOWLEDGE IS YOUR CORNERSTONE – BUILD ON IT

The deeper your technical understanding of SAP and its functionality, the more capable SAP Tester you will be. Build your knowledge by either working with your SAP Functional/Technical counterparts on a closer basis across projects, or consider upskilling in your own time by doing an appropriate certification.

System design, IT infrastructure and database concepts, even SAP TMS will be highly regarded.

Keeping up to date with newer technologies will be most helpful, as the latest products are tested in different ways with different tools and techniques. No doubt, specialisation in one particular model can be great – however, the broader your general SAP knowledge and testing experience is, the more doors can open for you.

4. ALWAYS BE TESTING

Do you have experience across the full end to end testing lifecycle? Good. A truly capable Tester will have experience in all areas, including preparing your own test scripts and scenarios, testing across all phases including System, Integration, Unit, Regression and UAT, as well as experience with different testing methodologies and tools – both manual and automated.

5. PRIORITY ONE!

On projects big and small, there’s going to be a whole lot of stuff you’re going to want to test for. The main thing to remember is to know what are absolutely business critical – and prioritise accordingly!

One final thing… don’t forget your documentation! All test results, report progress, test case progress, and tracking needs to be recorded in detail for QA and analysis. So, now you know the table stakes for a career as an SAP Tester. Enterprises will always be looking to make their ships as resistant to fragility as possible. Why not have a look to see what’s in the cards for you in the current SAP job market?