Modernizing SAP systems can be challenging due to a combination of technical, organization, and business-related factors. For operations to continue without interruption, careful coordination between IT and business teams is a must. Model-based testing with OpenText grants key players an easy way to visualize and align functional testing with critical business processes. In this blog we’ll look at three capabilities you don’t want to miss.  

1. Visualize the user journey.

Model-based testing illustrates the business process graphically (similar to a process chart or an organizational chart). Team members don’t have to have a technical background to contribute to the testing effort. Drag and drop features allow them to place units into the process. This is a unique and advantageous way for IT, quality assurance, other business managers to align on process. There is no undecipherable code, no guess work, no waiting and just hoping it comes out right. Everyone can see and contribute immediately. Once aligned, functional testers can choose to automate testing or prepare for manual execution.

This approach excels in systematically generating test cases that can either be executed manually or integrated into other automated testing frameworks. This versatility is particularly valuable for SAP users who need to balance between automated and manual testing approaches depending on the context.

For example, for more complex SAP custom builds, a tester may want both manually executed tests and automated testing capabilities to achieve a more focused and thorough testing strategy. Manual testing may be preferred for validating user experience and handling cases where human judgment is needed. Automation, on the other hand, ensures efficiency by repeatedly executing regression tests, covering a wide range of scenarios quickly, and reducing the chances of human error. Together, they provide comprehensive test coverage and maintain the quality and reliability.

2. Repurpose existing Selenium code as units for automated model-based tests.

Selenium is an open-source tool that can be used without licensing costs.  SAP users who use Selenium can now extend their capabilities by converting Selenium code into units for automated MBT tests. This is significant because it leverages your established testing infrastructure, reducing the need for redundant efforts and enhancing efficiency. Selenium scripts, which are already designed to automate user interactions with SAP systems, can be directly integrated into MBT frameworks, enabling comprehensive testing of complex scenarios with minimal additional investment. This reuse of Selenium code allows you to focus on expanding coverage and refining models rather than rewriting automation scripts, leading to faster implementation of MBT and more robust, scalable testing processes. Additionally, this approach promotes consistency and reliability in test results, as the same proven Selenium scripts are used across different testing phases, ensuring that both UI-level interactions and underlying business logic are thoroughly verified.

SAP systems often support intricate and highly customized business processes across multiple departments, like finance, HR, supply chain, among others. One reason model-based testing is valuable is because it can manage the complexity by allowing users to link your required business processes to your manual and automated testing priorities. It does this by reusing documented SAP processes to accelerate and guide testing efforts. You can use the inbuilt path coverage strategies to identify which user journeys need to be tested based on what needs to be covered. For example, “Sanity Test” will show you the minimum number of tests that have to be run to cover each unit at least once, reducing the number of tests that have to be run in order to ensure coverage of the business process. 

3. Employ AI-object detection

One could be forgiven for thinking all AI models being offered render the same results, but challenges remain for many organizations to implement a reliable AI model that can recognize even the smallest change without risking the integrity of multiple scripts. AI-object detection identifies objects using visual characteristics – others AI models out there are based on properties.

OpenText is among the first to offer AI-object detection that can interact intelligently with the object by capturing its screen position, thereby eliminating the need for extensive property management and multiple steps for complex objects (like search fields, calendars, etc.), handling those interactions naturally (like a human would). This approach not only enhances accuracy but also promotes flexibility in handling diverse interface designs and updates.

This AI model also has the ability to work with configurable OCR tools such as ABBYY, Google OCR, Tesseract, or Baidu. This flexibility allows testers to adapt the AI to different environments and optimize performance according to specific requirements, ensuring consistent and reliable results.

Why use anything but the best?

MBT with OpenText offers SAP users a unique set of tools that enhance the efficiency, flexibility, and reliability of their testing processes. By converting existing Selenium scripts, generating tests for manual execution, and employing superior AI object detection, SAP teams can achieve greater test coverage, reduce maintenance efforts, and ensure consistent, high-quality software delivery. As SAP systems continue to evolve, leveraging these advanced capabilities will be key to maintaining a competitive edge and ensuring robust system performance.

To learn more about how OpenText supports your SAP applications visit our Solutions for SAP Modernization website