Parallel testing overview

Payroll Parallel Testing
ADP Implementation

Today’s Purpose
• Introduce the Parallel Testing process
• Share what we have seen to date
• Explain why your input is so valuable
– Tell you what we need from you
– Tell you how you can learn more

Thank You
• Dedication
• Diligence
• Determination
• Desire
• Delivery
• All make ADP payroll a success for you and your
company’s employees!

Keys to a Successful Parallel
• Detailed planning
• Setting expectations
• Good communication
• Positive attitude

Payroll Parallel Process Overview

What is it?
What 3 people want to read this aloud?
A payroll parallel is the process of verifying that our new ADP payroll system is
as good as (or better than) the legacy payroll systems it is replacing. A set of
employees and data is loaded onto the ADP payroll system so that it matches
the legacy payroll system.
A payroll period that has already been run on the legacy payroll system and
used to pay employees is then recreated on the new ADP payroll system.
The payroll results are then compared between the two systems down to
employee and pay element level. By proving that the new payroll system
matches the legacy system, the business can have confidence that the new
system has been configured and will pay its employees.

What is Parallel Testing and What is it Not?

Overview
What is Parallel Testing?
• Why do we perform the test?
• What time frame is being tested?
• What other testing has been performed?
– Unit testing
– Integration testing

Why do we perform the test?
• Verify data conversion mapping, data cleanup,
cutover/ready-room procedures
• Validate System Configuration across the 5-company
data set
• Simulate our payroll jobs
• Validate the system known differences
• Attain processing results that meet project
expectations for acceptable outcomes
• Confirm our readiness

Overview
• What time frame is being tested?
– Unit testing

What time frame is being tested?
To the best of our knowledge -
• For exempts: This test uses time and personnel data
from 3/15/2013 through 3/30/2013
• For non-exempts: time entered from March 24 – 30 for
pay date of 4/5/2013
• Could change – be flexible!

Overview
– Unit testing

What other testing is performed?
• Unit Tests:
– Confirm individual configurations at companies as intended on
a small scale
– Does not impact go-live until acceptable results are achieved
• Integration Tests:
– Connect the individual pieces of the system to test support of
business process flow (example: interfaces)
– Validate accurate outcomes of specific scenarios

Overview
What other testing is performed?
– Unit testing
• Misc information

Activities and Results
• Test and validate not only the configuration of the
system, but also the processes, procedures, controls and
conversions developed to produce Payroll results.
• Designed to create a comparison of the legacy payroll
results against the ADP payroll results.

Issue Register
Priority
(H, M,
L)
1
2
Date
Resolved
Resolution/
Comments
Issue # Description Category
Reported
By
Assigned
To
Status
Rosalind & Barbara own the Issue Register

Preparing to run a Parallel
• The Parallel Test environment is established
• The foundation and translate tables are loaded into the parallel test
environment.
• The team members have been identified and have dedicated time to
work on the parallel test effort.
• Rosalind & Barbara have access to the ADP team. Discrepancies will
arise that require ADP-specific knowledge and questions or issues need
to be resolved in a timely fashion to keep parallel test on schedule.

Preparing to run a Parallel
• Construct the Payforce database
• Prepare payroll administrators for testing data
• Establish connections to Payforce
• Extract legacy data from the defined test period
• Map legacy values to Payforce values (paycodes, earn/ded codes, etc)
• Convert and validate data
• Load and validate collected data from spreadsheets
• If applicable, load and validate interfaced data into the system
• Load balances where required in the system
• Manually enter data (ex: lien & garnishment data)
• Load time data
• Run the payroll and address errors and variances
• Re-run and re-test

Things to Know
• Different systems sometimes have different values
• Some data does not exist in the legacy system
• Timing of payments
• Known differences

Items that could be different in legacy vs. PayForce:
• Imputed Income
• Deduction priorities
• Garnishments managed on a priority basis
• Accrual calculations are standardized

CAUTION
Busy Slide Ahead

Things to Know
How will discrepancies be categorized?
It is important to determine how discrepancies found between the legacy system
and new system outputs will be categorized. Below are some examples of the
types of discrepancies found in Parallel Tests and how they can be categorized:
Data entry/ Business Process errors: These discrepancies are defects, but not with the new
system. They can be addressed by “tweaks” to the business processes; user training and/ or user guides.
For example, slight discrepancies may be caused by differences in the respective systems’ method of rounding up or
down. These discrepancies require no action.
Legacy system errors: Sometimes Parallel Testing reveals existing errors in the legacy system, corrected by
the new system. Stakeholders may wish to do nothing about these discrepancies, or they may wish to develop some
communications to the employee population regarding this situation: - it will depend on the scale of the legacy
system error.
Business Rule configuration errors: Many discrepancies will be due to the fact that there have been
slight errors in the configuration of business rules. For example, rules governing leave accruals. These discrepancies
are defects and will need to be corrected and the payroll re-run to ensure that these errors have been rectified.
Unexplainable errors: These discrepancies are defects of the highest severity in a Parallel Test. Even a
discrepancy of 1 cent must be explainable. Otherwise, it represents an unacceptable risk to the business as there is
no way of knowing why the engine is calculating 1 cent more/ 1 cent less. Moreover, there can be no assurance that
in subsequent runs the difference will not be of a greater magnitude.

Things we test
• Gross earnings
• Gross-to-net
– before tax, after tax, employer paid, etc.
• Taxes
– employee’s tax calculations: federal, state, local
– tax liability to agencies
• Benefit deductions

Why we need your help
• Gross Pay is determined at the company
– Much of the information related to what made up a specific payment
is held at the company level.
– Special payments may have been made for the period tested that were
not converted due to the one-time nature of the payment (e.g. bonus
payments).
– LOA may have been applicable and the value was not available for
Payforce conversion.
– Overtime or other premium payments may have been paid for a period
other than that being entered for the test.

What to expect
• Most of the activities will require you to work at your facility.
• Hours to be arranged, but generally will be from 9:00am to
6:00pm, Central time. Some overtime can be expected.
• Maintain a positive attitude.
• Remain flexible – expect the unexpected.
• All team members will be a VERY integral part of the process.
• Focus of this work is to test; project deadlines do not permit
redesign of functionality.

What to expect - 2
• During testing, we hold daily status meetings at the same
scheduled time. This meeting supports a communication process
to inform the project team on the testing status, problems or
issues, and changes.
• The Agenda will include a review of open high and medium issues
and any action items from the previous day.
• Meeting minutes will be taken that include a list of attendees,
discussion points, and action items.

Exit Criteria
• All discrepancies have been explained or corrected, and
documented.
– All earnings calculation discrepancies have been explained or
corrected, and documented.
– All deduction and garnishment calculation discrepancies have
been explained or corrected and documented.
– All tax calculation discrepancies have been explained or
corrected and documented.

After the parallel
• The next step is to present the result of the Parallel Test to the
steering committee and request permission for go live to proceed.
• Once the steering committee has approved the go live, the project
can move into the “go live” and “post go live support” phases.

Change Management
• You are a critical link to a successful implementation.
– Your input and expertise will help drive this project.
– Keep in mind that you may be seeing only a piece to a larger
process. Reserve judgment!
• We need your positive outlook to help solidify change in your
company.

Parallel testing overview

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