Hosted by Chandra Wobschall and Paul Houtkooper

Hey JDE Connection listeners!

We’re back with the second half of our conversation with Andrew Schenone, and we found ourselves spending a lot of time talking about something that almost everyone wants but very few organizations feel like they’ve fully figured out: test automation.

Building Before Perfecting

One thing we really appreciated about Andrew’s approach was how honest he was about where his team is today. They’re not pretending they’ve automated everything or solved every problem. Instead, they’re building one step at a time. Sometimes that’s refreshing to hear.

We spend plenty of time at conferences hearing success stories, but the reality for most organizations is that automation starts small. One process becomes automated. Then another. Before long, the team starts looking at everyday work a little differently and asking, “Could we automate that too?”

That mindset shift might actually be more valuable than the automation itself.

Sometimes the Biggest Win is Empowering Your Team

The conversation naturally moved toward Orchestrator, but not in the way you might expect.

We loved hearing how Andrew’s team intentionally trained everyone together. Business analysts, developers, CNC administrators. Everyone learned the same tool.

We’ve heard Orchestrator described as a developer tool more times than we can count. But if you’ve ever watched a curious business analyst pick apart a business process, you know they’re wired to think through logic. Giving them a way to automate those processes without writing traditional code opens up some really interesting possibilities.

The Data Problem Isn’t Going Away

Of course, it didn’t take long before we landed on everyone’s favorite topic. Data. It seems like no matter what conversation we’re having, eventually everything comes back to data.

Automated testing sounds fantastic until you realize every organization has different processes, different configurations, different integrations, and different ways of entering information. Suddenly creating repeatable tests becomes much harder than simply recording a few clicks.

Andrew shared how his team already has standardized testing procedures. Their next challenge is making the data just as consistent.

Lean Thinking Doesn’t Stop on the Shop Floor

One topic we weren’t expecting to spend so much time discussing was lean manufacturing.

What made it interesting wasn’t manufacturing itself. It was the realization that many of those same principles apply just as well to ERP administration.

• Standardize where you can.
• Reduce unnecessary variation.
• Create repeatable processes.

Those ideas aren’t limited to production lines. They show up everywhere, including how organizations approach updates, testing, and long-term maintenance.

As we wrapped up, the conversation naturally drifted toward update strategies and why smaller, predictable updates often feel far less intimidating than massive upgrade projects every five or ten years. It’s one of those topics where technology, process, and organizational culture all collide.

There’s plenty more to unpack there, and we have a feeling this won’t be the last time we revisit it.

Midwesternism of the Day

This week’s Midwesternism takes us to lake country during the height of summer. Picture a dock, a golf course clubhouse, or a backyard gathering where something icy, minty, and deeply rooted in local history makes an appearance. Its name hints at a colorful past, but we’ll let you discover the full story by listening to the episode.

Thanks again to Andrew for joining us and sharing both where his team is today and where they’re headed next. Conversations like these remind us that continuous improvement rarely happens overnight. It happens one small, thoughtful step at a time.

Until next time, let’s keep learning, sharing, and most importantly, laughing together.

Toodles!

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