As you plan for application compatibility testing, keep in mind the future state of your computing environment. Are you planning to upgrade some of your software to versions that fully use new Windows features? Are you planning to implement new standard desktop configurations or use Terminal Services?
Issues such as these determine the resources that you require and the applications that you are going to test as a suite.
If you plan to deploy new applications with Windows during the rollout, test these applications with the current applications.
You can facilitate testing by setting up a lab where testers can conduct their tests. In such a lab, you can have the necessary tools and equipment available at all times.
In the lab, set up the test computers for dual or triple boot so that testers can quickly access the mode they need to install and test their applications. For example, you might need Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 to test the applications through the upgrade path. To make it easy for testers to restore the computers to their prior state, make disk images of the drives with the base operating systems.
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