What is a common cause of the NPSP upgrade failing when run in Production and...

A common cause of the NPSP (Nonprofit Success Pack) upgrade failing when run in Production, despite no issues in the sandbox, is not having adequate test code coverage. This is essential for successful deployments in Salesforce environments.

Test Code Coverage:

Salesforce requires a minimum of 75% test code coverage for deploying Apex code to a production environment.

This means that automated tests must cover at least 75% of the codebase, ensuring that most functionalities are validated and reducing the risk of errors during deployment.

Sandbox vs. Production Differences:

Sandbox environments often have less data and different configurations compared to production, which might not fully mimic real-world scenarios.

In production, there could be additional triggers, validation rules, or workflows that are not present or not active in the sandbox.

Mitigating Upgrade Failures:

Ensure that all custom code, including Apex triggers, classes, and batch processes, has adequate test coverage.

Review and test all dependent packages and configurations in a full sandbox environment that closely replicates the production setup.

Additional Considerations:

Conduct a comprehensive review of all customizations and integrations.

Run the NPSP Health Check Tool and Salesforce Optimizer in sandbox before the actual upgrade to identify potential issues.