Hospital shares its Y2K testing process
The systems and products you test for year 2000 (Y2K) compliance and how you test them depend on your specific practice setting. The Hospital of Saint Raphael in New Haven, CT, developed the following Y2K test plan. The hospital notes that this plan is a work in progress and continues to evolve as the calendar moves closer to Jan. 1, 2000.
Year 2000 Test Plan
The item being tested will be certified year 2000 compliant if it can pass the following tests:
1. The product must operate with dates that are less than, equal to, or greater than 2000 when the system is 1999 or less.
2. The product must operate with dates that are less then, equal to, or greater than 2000 when the system is 2000 or less.
3. The product must work when the system date rolls between 12/31/99 and 01/01/2000.
4. If the product is passing a date that contains a year less than four digits to another application or system, it must pass enough information for the receiving system to comply with items one through three.
5. If the product is receiving data that contains a year less than four digits to another application or system, it must be able to interpret the date received to comply with items one through three.
6. The product must recognize the correct day of the week where required.
7. Date values stored, calculated, imported, exported, or displayed with less than a four-digit year must be completely unambiguous.
8. Date values must sort correctly. Sorting routines will recognize that dates containing years equal to or greater than 2000 are later than dates in the 1900s.
9. Date value calculations must operate and provide correct results. All date-related calculations will recognize that dates containing years equal to or greater than 2000 are later than dates in the 1900s. Enter various date formats to ensure they all work and the system can covert dates from one format to another.
10. The product must recognize year 2000 as a leap year and process 02/28, 02/29, and 03/01, 2000 properly.
11. Installations that are sensitive to file date-stamps will update files correctly. Installations will recognize that files stamped with years equal to or greater than 2000 are newer than those stamped with years in the 1900s.
Year 2000 Test Procedure
1. If the system represents dates in any variable as an offset from a base date/time, determine the following and accept or reject based on the functionality and expected lifetime of the application:
• maximum value for dates using this representation;
• minimum value of dates using this representation [using the base date].
2. Reset date to 6/23/2000. Exercise as much of the system functionality as possible, especially functions that would include date processing. Verify that system can be backed up before 01/01/2000, and restored after 01/01/2000.
3. Reset date and clock at least two minutes before midnight on 12/31/1999. Let unit run through midnight and at least two minutes past midnight. Ensure the following:
• date and clock continue to run with expected display values;
• verify that display and printed dates are correct.
A. Repeat Test 3 with power off during the transition.
B. Repeat Test 3 by setting date to some time after 01/01/2000.
C. Repeat Test 3A by setting date to some time after 01/01/2000.
D. Repeat Test 3 by setting date to 12/31/1899.
E. Repeat Test 3A by setting date to 12/31/1899.
4. Verify that in all instances when the system passes a date that contains a year less than four digits to another system, it passes enough information for the receiving system to interpret the date properly.
5. Verify that in all instances when the system receives a date that contains a year less than four digits from another system, it must be able to interpret the date received properly.
6. Verify the following information:
• 01/01/2000 is a Saturday;
• 02/29/2000 is a Tuesday;
• 03/01/2000 is a Wednesday;
• 02/28/2001 is a Wednesday.
7. Find the input limits to the date values the program accepts. Determine if these limits are acceptable.
A. Verify that the display of two-digit years reflect the correct century.
B. Review output reports for examples where the century "19" is hard coded. Determine if this is important.
C. Verify if there are any examples in the program where "00" or "99" mean something special, e.g. end of file, does not expire, etc.
D. Reset date to 09/09/1999. Exercise as much of the system functionality as possible, especially functions that would include date processing.
E. Test system date edits by entering the following:
• day = 0, day = 32, day = blank, day = alpha characters;
• month = 0, month = 13, month = blank, month = alpha characters.
8. Sort various dates in the 1850 to 2100 range and verify that years equal to or greater than 2000 are later than dates in the 1900s.
A. Test various reports with a year sort or a pagination by year across year 2000.
9. Calculate the number of days between two dates over 01/01/2000 and over 02/29/2000.
A. Enter various dates and ensure that they can be properly represented in the following formats:
• month/day/year;
• day/month/year;
• day/month;
• month/year;
• year/month;
• year/day.
10. Reset date and clock to 02/28/2000, 11:59 p.m. and verify that date and clock roll over to 02/29/2000.
A. Reset date and clock to 02/29/2000, 11:59 p.m. and verify that date and clock roll over to 03/01/2000.
B. Repeat tests 10 and 10A with power off during the transition.
11. Verify that files date-stamped with years equal to or greater than 2000 are newer than those date-stamped with years in the 1900s.
Consider checking these systems for Y2K compliance
o Computer systems: including laptops, host computers, file servers, mass data storage, off-the-shelf computer programs, desktop software, and area-specific application software (such as billing and financial).
o Office machines: fax machines, photocopiers, scanners, printers, telephones, telephone switches, electronic personal reminders, electronic personal calendars, pagers, cash registers.
o Medical devices: infusion pumps, glucometers, fetal monitors.
o Physical plant items: ventilation systems, refrigeration units, security systems, wireless communications.
o Electronic data supply partners: third-party payers, administrators, auditors, banks.
o Vendors: licensed software vendors, maintenance agreement providers, utility companies, trash collectors, medical waste collectors, suppliers (such as pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, devices, housekeeping, dietary, and office).
Source: Henry Ford Home Health Care, Detroit.
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