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10 things that should not be missed when testing before an energy portal relaunch

written by Lisa

Energy portals are the digital backbone of many energy suppliers, municipal utilities and platform operators. They enable customers to access consumption data, tariff information, billing or smart meter applications - and are therefore much more than just a website.

A relaunch offers the opportunity for a better user experience, more security and new functions. At the same time, however, it also harbours considerable risks: Incorrect data migration, performance problems or security gaps can not only annoy customers, but also have legal and economic consequences.

This is why a structured QA and testing process is essential before the relaunch. In this article, we show you 10 important points that should not be overlooked when testing an energy portal.

1

Requirements analysis & test strategy 

Before the first line of code is tested, a clean foundation is needed: Which functions are new? Which legacy issues are being replaced? Who are the stakeholders?

_Haken_circle_blue  Define clear test objectives, acceptance criteria and risk analysis 
_Haken_circle_blue  Plan test levels (unit, system, acceptance) and test types

Tester in front of laptop and with several devices on the desk

2

Cross-browser- & responsiveness tests 

Energy portals are used on a wide variety of devices - from office computers to apps: Do all functions work on different devices and combinations after the relaunch?

_Haken_circle_blueTests on common browsers & devices
_Haken_circle_blueAdditional focus on tablets & older browsers
3

Validate data
migration

A frequent sticking point: Is the migrated data correct? Have customer accounts, consumption histories and contracts been transferred completely and correctly?


_Haken_circle_blueSample-based plausibility checks
_Haken_circle_blueAutomated comparisons of old vs. new databases
_Haken_circle_blueDealing with inconsistent or missing legacy data
 Hands on the laptop

4Last- & Performance-Tests  

 

Gerade bei Energieportalen gibt es wiederkehrende Lastspitzen – etwa bei Jahresendabrechnungen oder bei Preisanpassungen: Kann das System hohen Lasten standhalten? 

_Haken_circle_blueTestszenarien mit realistischen Peaks 
_Haken_circle_blueFokus auf Skalierbarkeit und Time-to-First-Byte 

5Design realistic test environments

Many problems arise because work is carried out in non-representative test environments. If the server configuration, database load or API interfaces are not production-like, the result will be falsified.

 _Haken_circle_blueUse a production-like configuration 
_Haken_circle_blue  Import real data (anonymised)
_Haken_circle_blue  Simulate authentication & third-party connections realistically

Zahl-6Schedule test
automation

Regular updates and hotfixes after the relaunch? Then there is no way around test automation.

_Haken_circle_blueUse tools such as Cypress, Selenium or TestRail
_Haken_circle_blueIntegrate automated smoke and regression tests 
_Haken_circle_blueIncrease repeatability and efficiency
Three Appmatics employees stand at a red table and look at a laptop

Zahl-7Accessibility

As public platforms, energy portals must be accessible - both technically and in terms of content: Are the requirements for digital accessibility met?

_Haken_circle_blueCheck BITV 2.0 conformity
_Haken_circle_blueTest screen readers, contrasts, keyboard operation

> You can find out more about the legal challenges here in the blog article.

Zahl- 8User acceptance tests (UAT)

What QA doesn't see, users often notice immediately. That's why real tests with end users are a must:

_Haken_circle_blueInvolve customer service, sales and real customers
_Haken_circle_blueMap use cases, integrate feedback
_Haken_circle_blueDocument acceptance criteria

 

Zahl- 9Prepare monitoring after
go-live

QA does not end with the go-live - on the contrary: now is the time to see whether everything is stable.

_Haken_circle_blueKeep an eye on logs & performance data
_Haken_circle_blueAlerts for error codes & utilisation
_Haken_circle_blueCheck loading times & availability regularly 

Zahl-10Rollback plan &
hotfix strategy

Despite all the planning, something can always go wrong. Then a plan B must be put in place - quickly and cleanly.

_Haken_circle_bluePrepare staging & backup environments
_Haken_circle_blueClear recovery scenarios
_Haken_circle_blueDefine hotfix processes, have a team ready
An Appmatics employee stands in front of the Devices Wall and takes a mobile phone from the wall

Zahl- 11Conclusion

Relaunching a website without thorough testing is like taking a leap in the dark - especially for critical systems such as energy portals. If you want to be on the safe side, you need a well thought-out QA strategy: from data migration to accessibility, from UAT to load testing.

Are you planning a relaunch? 
We can support you with all QA issues - contact us and let's make your energy portal future-proof together.

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