This is the second blog in a three-part mini series to support our latest white paper, “Transitioning from Manual to Automated Salesforce Testing: Your Complete Guide.” Check out the first blog, 5 Signs It’s Time to Transition to Automated Testing, and stay tuned for part 3!

Are you and your DevOps or QA team thinking about making the transition from manual to automated Salesforce testing, but don’t know where to start? Feeling overwhelmed by what feels like a Herculean task ahead? Wondering if there’s someone or something that can guide you and your team through the transition? 

You’ve come to the right place. 

At Provar, we build solutions to make Salesforce testing and quality management easier, faster, and more effective. And we know firsthand the overwhelm that can be experienced when tackling the move from manual to automated testing.

In this blog post, we’re covering five ways you can start moving from manual to automated testing to help guide you through the transition. We want you to feel confident and capable in your journey to automated Salesforce testing!

For even more guidance, be sure to download the full Transitioning from Manual to Automated Salesforce Testing: Your Complete Guide white paper!

Step 1: Evaluate Your Testing Needs

As in life, start where you are. Have your team begin simply, by evaluating your existing testing processes and identifying areas that will benefit from automation. Now, pick out repetitive test cases, tests that are time-consuming to execute manually, and tests that are prone to breaks and human error. These are your first best candidates for automation. By focusing first on these high-value cases, you can maximize the impact of your automation. 

Testers Tip: 
Write down questions and proof-of-value exercises you need to follow up on before moving to the next step. 

Step 2: Select a Test Automation Solution

Next, do the research. Choosing an automated testing solution shouldn’t be taken lightly — be sure to budget ample R&D time to demo several different solutions to see which best suits your organization’s Salesforce environment needs. When you’re looking at solutions, you’ll want to consider the product and the vendor. The best automated testing solutions will score high in both areas. 

When considering solutions, first evaluate the high-level factors, including: 

• Ease of use
• Training and support
• Scalability
• Future-proofness
• Security 
• And, of course, price. 

Next, evaluate each test automation solution product based on these parameters: 

• Test resilience or fragility
• Test reusability
• Ease of use and onboarding
• Testing adjacent systems

Then, evaluate the vendor based on these criteria: 

• Support
• Training
• Customer success

Step 3: Implement Your New Solution

After you’ve selected the best automated testing solution for your needs, it is time for implementation. For better or worse, this is more than a “set it and forget it” situation. In order to smoothly and successfully implement your new solution, you’ll need to work closely with your vendor to set a strong foundation, clear lines of communication, and expectations and goals for your team. 

To do so, first reflect back on the goals and objectives you outlined in your selection process. Then, develop a comprehensive test strategy around the scope, objectives, and approach of your automation efforts. Identify the tests to be automated, prioritize them, and determine the test coverage requirements. Next, clearly define communication channels among everyone involved in the QA process, and make sure you have buy-in from your stakeholders. Finally, work with your vendor to create an onboarding and training plan that works for your team. 

Step 4: Implement Best Practices When Transferring Your Manual Tests to Automated Processes

Now the rubber meets the road. As you begin to transfer your manual tests to an automated solution, you’ll likely encounter some roadblocks and unexpected bumps in the process — that’s okay. By front-loading your work to build best practices, you are setting yourself up for success in the future. 

To save your team some trouble, we’ve outlined a few of our own best practices for turning manual tests into automated ones. 

• Identify automation candidates from manual test cases: Take a full view at all your tests, and prioritize which tests you will automate first. Go from there. 
• Pinpoint the environments you’ll use: Define clear parameters for your environments and the support they will need. Then, talk to your team. 
• Design your tests with reusability in mind: Building your tests for reusability across orgs, languages, and user profiles will save your team time, money, and resources from day one. Remember to utilize your solutions reusability features – that’s what they’re for.  
• Initiate mapping for manual vs. automated tests: Once automation has begun, map your manual tests to your automated tests, and voila – results. From here, you can adjust for success.
• Create a useful report for your test execution results: Figure out how to generate the simplest and most transparent report possible for your team. Skip the jargon, communicating your test execution results with clarity and ease for your whole team. 

Step 5: Evaluate Your Results and Adjust for Success

Revisit the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of this process. Note whether you’re meeting your automated testing objectives, and if you’re not, dig into the why. Evaluate the extent to which your automated tests cover your Salesforce org, identify gaps in coverage, and build more tests for better coverage. 

Other areas to evaluate are defect detection and maintenance. If your automated tests are performing poorly or requiring rework, you may need to adjust. Above all, encourage your team to embrace continuous improvement, and regularly evaluate your systems and processes to optimize for greater effectiveness and efficiency.  

Conclusion

By following these simple steps, organizations can successfully transition from manual to automated Salesforce testing. With a structured approach and strategic migration, organizations can maintain quality while they make the switch to automated testing. 

To support those organizations considering a transition to automated testing, Provar recently released Transitioning from Manual to Automated Salesforce Testing: Your Complete Guide. This white paper is a step-by-step guide to help evolving organizations move from manual to automated testing, and gives you everything you need to know to transform your testing.

To learn more about how Provar can help your organization successfully switch to an automated testing solution, download our latest white paper, Transitioning from Manual to Automated Salesforce Testing: Your Complete Guide today!