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Stage 6: Testing & Training

This is the most important stage. Skip testing and training and go-live hurts. Buying Vista without investing in learning it defeats the purchase. Experienced implementers can tell immediately who has trained and tested versus who has not. This stage exists so the team builds real fluency before cutover.

On time and effort, Testing & Training is equal to or a close second behind Core Configuration. Treat it with that weight.

phase_key: testing_training

What this stage accomplishes​

  • The team practices with scenarios that have purpose, ideally tied to real live or upcoming work, not bare transaction drills.
  • Starter scenario groups covering key processes are worked to completion or consciously blocked; the client can add their own.
  • Issues and retraining needs are logged with follow-up ownership.
  • Scenario / follow-up items sync to Company Tracker, with refresh so Playbook and Tracker stay aligned.

Typical work / artifacts​

Scenario-based practice (with purpose)​

Do not only say "enter an AP invoice" or "enter a job" with no reason attached. Provide scenarios with purpose, preferably tied to real data and real upcoming work. When there is purpose and a tie to how the company actually operates, learning clicks. Directionless busywork does not teach.

Example scenario family: job setup and cost foundation

  1. Enter a recently awarded job and walk it through Vista.
  2. Get comfortable with job setup.
  3. Add a new change order item.
  4. Continue the purposeful chain: create a billing, review it, and confirm it matches how they billed.

The product provides a base set of core scenarios. Clients can add their own. There will always be more scenarios beyond the starter set.

Other artifacts​

  • Per-scenario status (not started, in progress, completed, blocked) with testing notes
  • Issue and retraining follow-up log
  • Tracker visibility / actions for scenarios and follow-ups that need tracking outside the Playbook

Connection to Company Tracker / Vista​

Scenarios and follow-up items sync to Company Tracker. Sync and refresh keep Playbook and Tracker aligned. Scenario execution itself is process validation against the configured Vista company.

Exit / moves to next stage​

Testing & Training is complete when critical scenarios are exercised, material issues have owners, and the team is ready to decide beginning-balance scope. The implementation then moves to Beginning Balance Decisions.

In the product​

In Mission Control, complete the Testing & Training workspace (scenario groups, issues, and Tracker sync). For step-by-step UI, see Complete the Testing and Training Stage. For shell navigation and exports, see Run the Implementation Playbook.