What is the Y2K testing challenge?
Testing of the applications for the Year 2000 accounts for 30% to 80% of the project’s time and expense. The effort is so great because the numbers of conditions that may have to be tested are infinite. As a result, testing is often done in a haphazard and arbitrary way. Often it is found that the original, unaltered code didn t work correctly in the first place. Testing must be done not only for Y2K compliance but also for business functionality of the remediated system. It is estimated that unit testing is still only 80 to 90 % effective, so enterprises must allow time for integration and acceptance testing. Such tests simulate actual business activity. This testing should include products and services purchased from service bureaus or vendors. Because system interfaces often vary from institution to institution, there may be significant difficulties in integrating them.
