This blog was written by Robin Gupta, Associate Vice President of Innovation at Provar, as part of our ongoing Executive Series.
Salesforce is a cloud-based Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform that is designed to help organizations manage their customer interactions and streamline their sales processes. Testing Salesforce is different from testing other software applications in several specific ways, and therefore requires a specialized testing strategy.
In this blog, we’ll outline how Salesforce testing differs from testing other software, and the steps to take to design a test strategy that will help your organization successfully implement Salesforce.
Salesforce-specific Features
Complex and Customizable Platform:
Salesforce is a highly customizable platform that can be tailored to meet the unique needs of each organization. This means that testing Salesforce requires a deep understanding of the platform’s architecture and functionality to ensure that the customizations do not negatively impact the system’s performance or functionality.
Continuous Updates and Releases:
Salesforce is a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform, which means that it is constantly updated with new features and releases. Testing Salesforce requires organizations to keep up with the latest updates and releases, ensuring that their testing efforts are always up-to-date with the latest changes.
Multi-Tenant Environment:
Salesforce is a multi-tenant environment, which means that multiple organizations use the same infrastructure and resources. This can make it challenging to test changes or updates without impacting other organizations using the same environment.
Integration with Other Systems:
Salesforce is often integrated with other systems and applications, such as marketing automation systems or customer support systems. Testing these integrations requires a deep understanding of the different systems and their APIs to ensure that the integrations are functioning correctly.
Importance of Data Quality:
Salesforce is a data-centric platform, and data quality is critical to its functionality. Testing Salesforce requires organizations to ensure that the data is accurate, consistent, and complete to ensure that the system functions correctly.
Therefore, Salesforce testing is different from testing other software applications due to its complexity, continuous updates, multi-tenant environment, integrations with other systems, importance of data quality, and user experience. Testing Salesforce requires bespoke strategy encompassing skills, expertise, and tools to ensure that the system is functioning correctly, meeting the business requirements, and providing a seamless user experience.
Steps to Design a Successful Salesforce Test Strategy
Here are a few steps to successfully design a test strategy for Salesforce testing.
Understand the business requirements:
The first step in designing a test strategy for Salesforce testing is to understand the business requirements. This involves collaborating with the business stakeholders and end-users to identify their needs, pain points, and goals. Understanding the business requirements helps to define the scope of the testing effort, and identify the critical areas that need to be tested. Think of this step as stepping back, and looking at the bigger picture from a user’s perspective.
Define the Test Objectives:
Once you’ve identified the business requirements, define the test objectives that need to be achieved. The test objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. The test objectives should align with the business goals and objectives, and help in ensuring that the Salesforce application meets the business requirements. The test objectives are generally tied to the phases of the product life cycle and act as the compass for steering the engineering team.
Define the Test Scope:
Based on the test objectives, define the test scope. The test scope should cover all the critical areas of the Salesforce application that need to be tested. The test scope should also consider the different types of testing, such as functional testing, integration testing, performance testing, security testing, and regression testing. In addition to the various forms of testing, engineering teams must be cognizant of the fact that Salesforce also performs regular updates and tests the platform from their side, so the test scope should always be custom tailored to business requirements.
Define the Test Approach:
Based on the test scope, define the test approach that will be used for Salesforce testing. The test approach should consider the testing methodology, testing techniques, test automation, test environment, and test data management. The test approach should also consider the different types of testing that need to be performed, such as manual testing, automated testing, or a combination of both. Tools like Provar Manager and Automation can be used to effectively implement the test approach defined in this step.
Define the Test Deliverables:
Based on the test approach, define the test deliverables that will be produced during the testing effort. The test deliverables should include the test plan, test cases, test scripts, test data, test reports, and defect reports. The test deliverables should be reviewed and approved by the relevant stakeholders before being finalized.
Define the Test Resources:
Based on the test approach, define the test resources that will be required for the testing effort. The test resources should include the testing team, test tools, test environment, and test data. The test resources should be managed effectively to ensure that the testing effort is executed efficiently and effectively.
Define the Test Schedule:
Based on the test resources, define the test schedule to outline the testing effort’s timelines and milestones. The test schedule should consider the different types of testing and the dependencies between them. The test schedule should also consider the different phases of the testing effort, such as test planning, test execution, and test closure.
Conclusion
In conclusion, designing a test strategy for Salesforce testing is a critical activity that helps ensure that the Salesforce application meets the business requirements, is of high quality, and provides a seamless user experience. By following the above steps, organizations can design a robust test strategy that aligns with the business goals and objectives and helps ensure the success of their Salesforce implementation.
Want to learn more about how Provar can help you make your Salesforce testing strategy stronger and empower your organization? Schedule a demo with our team to see how Provar can help you achieve your quality goals.
