Recently Microsoft has rolled out 2021 Release Wave 2. Dynamics 365 major release comes with hundreds of new features that help in streamlining business processes. With every new release, QA teams need to assess its impact on Dynamics 365’s key workflows, customizations, & critical integrations.
However, the major challenge in Dynamics 365 testing is that it is still manual. Testers need to update the test scripts with every release and manually execute test scripts. These slow and manual testing approach cannot keep pace with Dynamics 365 frequent releases. Furthermore, discrepancies in manual testing can expose your critical business processes to costly bugs after each release.
So if not manual testing, then what?
The answer to this question is “automation testing”. Test automation not only helps QA teams to execute hundreds or thousands or tests in no time but also highlights the risks that may arise due to Dynamics 365 Application updates. However, test automating Dynamics 365 Apps is not a walk in the park due to its complex functionalities, controls and configurations. Furthermore, Dynamics 365 support for customization and integrations also pose some serious challenges to test automation.
Let’s look at some of the challenges in Microsoft Dynamics 365 test automation:
- Open source test automation tools like Selenium have always been first choice of QA teams. However, Dynamics 365 being complex in nature is difficult to automate with Selenium scripts.Dynamics 365 apps feature dynamic object IDs, nested iFrames, and deep object trees. So, testers need to put lot of efforts in automating Dynamic 365 apps.
- Another challenge is the frequently changing UI paradigm of Dynamics 365 Apps. Since the UI of Dynamics 365 Apps changes between versions, constant maintenance of test scripts is required. It will lead to additional efforts or can result in wastage of time and resources.
- Dynamics 365 has compatibility issues with certain web browsers. During testing, scripts should remain compatible with all major available browser versions.
- Dynamics 365 supports integration and can be integrated with apps from AppSource and other productivity tools like Office 365. During application upgrade, critical integrations need to be tested to ensure business continuity.
The proposed solution
- Enterprises should embrace zero-code Microsoft Dynamics 365 aware test automation platform that can handle Dynamic IDs using AI (Artificial Intelligence) to identify the correct field.
- The proposed test automation framework for Dynamics 365 should keep track of dynamic elements and leverage autonomous healing capabilities to maintain test scripts. It will reduce maintenance efforts and helps enterprises to quickly embrace innovation.
- The proposed test automation platform should deliver real-time change impact assessment so that enterprises can understand the impact of changes on customizations and critical integrations.
- The proposed test automation tool for Dynamics 365 should recommend test cases based on the highlighted risks, enabling QA teams to shift from test everything approach to “risk-based” test automation. It will help in providing adequate coverage.
- The test automation framework should be scalable, modular, and robust that supports reusability and helps Dynamics 365 apps testing across different devices, browsers, & platforms.
Conclusion
Dynamic 365 test automation is critical for digital transformation success. Finding the right test automation tool and using the best testing practices and guidelines can help enterprises in achieving their digital dreams. Test automation helps you save lot of effort, money and protect your business from unwanted disruption by delivering adequate coverage.
