Category: ServiceNow

Fast-track ServiceNow upgrades with Automated Testing Framework (ATF)

ServiceNow, Tech TipsJDS

Why automate?

ServiceNow provides two releases a year, delivering new features to consistently support best practice processes. ServiceNow has flagged they will move towards “N-1” upgrades in 2019, meaning every customer will need to accept each release in the future. To keep up, ServiceNow customers should consider automated testing. This can provide regression testing, completed consistently for each release, and reduce the time and effort needed per upgrade. Effective test automation on ServiceNow is provided by the Automated Testing Framework (ATF), which is included in the ServiceNow platform for all applications. It enables no-code and low-code users to create automated tests with ease. Aided by complementary processes and methodology, ATF reduces upgrade pain by cutting back on manual tests, reducing business impact and accelerating development efficiency.

What is the Automated Test Framework?

Testing frameworks can be viewed as a set of guidelines used for creating and designing test cases. Test automation frameworks take this a step further by using a range of automation tools designed to make the practice of quality assurance more manageable for testing teams.

ServiceNow’s ATF application combines the above into an easy to use and implement solution specifically for ServiceNow applications and functionality. Think of ATF as a tool to streamline your upgrade and QA processes by building tests to check if software or configuration changes have potentially ‘broken’ any existing functionality. It also means developers would no longer be required to start invasive activities like code refactoring to generate new test cases.

Overview of test creation in ServiceNow ATF - click to enlarge

ATF’s unique features include:

  • Codeless setup of test steps and templates (reusable across multiple tests)
  • Testing Service Catalog from end-to-end including submitting Catalog forms and request fulfilment
  • Module testing e.g. ITSM (Incident, Problem & Change Management)
  • Testing forms in the Service Portal (Included in London release)
  • Batching with test suites e.g. Execute multiple tests in a defined order and trigger based on a schedule
  • Custom step configurations & unit testing using the Jasmine test framework
        

Using the codeless test step configuration in ATF to set a Variable value on a Service Catalog form

Simplify your upgrades

For most software upgrades, testing is a burdensome and complicated process, with poorly defined test practices often leading to compromised software quality and potentially, failed projects. Without automation, teams are forced to manually test upgrades - a costly, time-consuming and often ineffective exercise. In most cases, this can be attributed to a lack of testing resources and missing test processes, leading to inconsistent execution.

To address these, ATF introduces structure and enforces consistency across different tests applied to common ServiceNow use cases. Test consistency is important, as this forms a baseline of instance stability based on existing issues, meaning defects caused by upgrades are more reliably determined. ATF allows for full automation of test suites, where the run order can be configured based on tests that depend on each other.  

The following illustrates a simple test dependency created in ATF:

An example ‘hierarchical’ test structure implemented within ATF

A common issue resolved by automated testing is the impact on Agile development cycles. Traditionally, developers would run unit tests by hand, based on steps also written by the developer, potentially leading to missed steps and incomplete scenarios. ATF can be used to run automated unit tests between each build cycle, saving time through early detection and remediation of software issues along with shortened development cycles. The fewer issues present before the upgrade, the fewer issues introduced during the upgrade.

A common requirement of post-upgrade activities is to execute a full regression test against the platform. This means accounting for countless business logic, client scripts, UI policies and web forms that may have been affected. Rather than factoring all of these scenarios into lengthy UAT/Regression cycles, ATF can reduce the load on the business by running those common and repetitive test cases involving multiple user interactions and data entry.

The below example shows how a common use case for testing, field ‘state’ validation on a Service Portal form, is applied using the test step module:

Validating visible & mandatory states of variables with ATF against a Record Producer in Service Portal

Unfortunately, not everything can be automated with ATF out of the box, there are some gaps that are a result of complex UI components, portal widgets and custom development work. It is also important to note custom functionality will add overhead to the framework implementation, and will require specialised scripting knowledge and making use of the ‘Step Configurations’ module to create custom test steps.

When configured properly, it’s possible to automate between 40-60% of test cases with ATF depending on environment complexity and timeframes. The benefits can largely be seen during regression testing post-upgrade, and unit testing during development projects.

In summary, implementing an ATF is a great way of delivering value to ServiceNow upgrade projects and enabling development teams to be more agile. Assessing the scope and depth of testing using an agreed methodology is a great way to determine what is required, and to achieve ‘buy-in’ from others, rather than taking the ‘automate everything’ approach.

JDS is here to help

Recognised as experts in the local Test Automation space for over 12 years, JDS' specialist team has adapted this experience to provide a proven framework for ServiceNow ATF implementation.

We have developed a Rapid Automated Testing tool which can use your existing data to take up to 80% of the work out of building your automated tests. Contact us today to find out how we can build test cases based on real data and automate the development of your testing suite in a fraction of the time that manual test creation would require.

We can help you get started with ServiceNow ATF. In just a few days, a ServiceNow ATF “Kick Start” engagement will provide you with the detail you need to scope and plan ATF on your platform.

Conclusion

Want to know more? Email [email protected] or call 1300 780 432 to reach our team.

Our team on the case

What if your application was one second faster?

AppDynamics, Micro Focus, ServiceNow, Services, SplunkJDS

Why one second faster?

Improving your website performance will increase your business. But don’t take our word for it—there is plenty of evidence.

According to Kissmetrics:

  • 25% of consumers will abandon a website that takes more than four seconds to load
  • 47% of consumers expect a webpage to load in two seconds or less
  • 79% of shoppers who are dissatisfied with website performance are less likely to buy from the same site again
  • A one-second delay in page response can result in a 7% reduction in conversions
  • A one-second delay (or three seconds of waiting) decreases customer satisfaction by about 16%

So, what would performing one second faster mean for your web application or website? JDS is now offering a limited time promotion that will allow you to realise the maximum performance of your website or application. Over the course of five days, our experts will work with your team to analyse your web application and accelerate its performance for your customers.

 

What’s included?

  • Your own dedicated performance expert for five days (either on-site or off-site)
  • A technical deep dive of your web application, turning over every rock to understand how it can work faster and harder for your business
  • Best practice tips and techniques straight from the guys in the know
  • Experts fluent in everything from Java and .NET through to SAP and Oracle
  • A presentation and roadmap of the findings and recommendations found

Why JDS?

We are Australia’s leading performance test consultancy with 15 years of experience partnering with organisations of every size, from startups to large enterprises and governments. We have a reputation for being a key player in making Australian web applications exceptional. Want to get started? Reach out to a JDS team member, send an email to [email protected], or call 1300 780 432 to confidentially discuss your web application and how we can help.

We partner with leading technologies

Filtered Reference Fields in ServiceNow

ServiceNow, Tech TipsJDS

One common requirement JDS sees when working with ServiceNow customers is the need to dynamically filter the available choices in reference fields. This can be useful in both general form development and record producers.

Consider the following business requirement:
A national charity wants to implement a feedback form for its staff.
As staff work across a variety of areas, it’s important to match staff with the correct department, so the correct department manager can be notified about the feedback.

The charity has provided us with some sample data for testing:

Departments

Filtered Reference Fields in ServiceNow 1

Department Staff

Filtered Reference Fields in ServiceNow 2

As this feedback form is available to anyone working within the charity, JDS has built a record producer to capture feedback using the Service Catalog within ServiceNow.

Filtered Reference Fields in ServiceNow 3

To limit the available choices to only staff within a particular department, we’ll need to use a script that is triggered whenever anyone starts typing in the field or accesses a value lookup for the variable “Who would you recommend?”
Although there are numerous ways to approach this, always look for the simplest option. Rather than calling a custom script, use the Reference qualifier field in ServiceNow to set up the relationship.

Filtered Reference Fields in ServiceNow 4

Normally, fields on a form can be referenced using current.fieldname but record producers within a service catalog are slightly different, and need a slightly more qualified reference of current.variables.fieldname.

Let’s look at the results…

If we select “Community Outreach” the list of staff available under “Who would you recommend?” is limited to Jane Brown and Sarah Smith.

Filtered Reference Fields in ServiceNow 5

If we select “Youth Action” the list of staff available under “Who would you recommend?” is limited to Matthew Jones and Sarah Smith.

Filtered Reference Fields in ServiceNow 6

ServiceNow is a powerful platform that allows for advanced customisations to ensure a good fit with business requirements.

Straight-Through Processing with ServiceNow

ServiceNow, Tech TipsJDS

How much time is your organisation wasting on manual processes?

What is the true cost of lost productivity?

Straight-through processing (STP) has long been recognised as the Holy Grail of business processes, as it promises to eliminate manual paper forms along with human intervention at the back end. By avoiding the duplication of effort, straight-through processing promises to drastically improve the speed and accuracy of business processes.

Although straight-through processing has been attempted by numerous enterprise applications, such as SAP, IBM and Oracle, the problem has been that no single system handles data collection in a consistent, comprehensive manner.

Single System of Record
ServiceNow is unique among enterprise applications in that it uses a single system of record with common/shared supporting processes, such as workflows and notifications. Although there are hundreds of tables in the ServiceNow database, they are all closely related, and are often based on the two core tables — CI (Configuration Item in a CMDB) and Task. In ordinary business terms, CI and Task translate into objects and actions—and ultimately, all business processes revolve around things/people, and actions applied to them.

Source: https://thisiswhatgoodlookslike.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/platform.png

By using a common architecture for all applications, ServiceNow avoids the problem of integrating with conflicting data structures/applications. In essence, everything speaks the same language.

Straight-through processing
ServiceNow has a single system of record, making it ideally suited to straight-through processing. ServiceNow has the flexibility to adapt to multiple different application requirements whilst leveraging common structures and components. For example, fleet car management, purchase orders, and timesheet entries are entirely different business processes, but in essence they deal with objects (cars/orders/people) and activities (driving/tracking expenditure/working hours), and have similar requirements (approvals, workflow, records management, notifications, common master data, etc).

Essentially, the ServiceNow Automation Platform allows different business processes to be captured without changing the underlying system.

JDS recommends deploying straight-through processing in an iterative manner, using an agile approach.

  1. Validate user input with the target system
  2. Digitise paper forms
  3. Straight-through processing
  4. Automation

By adopting an agile approach with implementation in phases, organisations can see incremental benefits throughout the project.

Phase One: Validate user input with the target system
For straight-through processing to be successful, ServiceNow needs to validate incoming information to ensure it’s compatible with the target system. To do this, ServiceNow forms need to be pre-populated with values taken from the core system.

Straight-Through Processing with ServiceNow 2

For example, organisational data such as cost centres and approvers would be integrated with ServiceNow overnight to provide defaults/selection values within ServiceNow form fields. This approach provides the best performance, as access to up-to-the-minute data is not typically required, and the data integration ultimately ensures the consistency and accuracy of straight-through processing.

Phase Two: Digitise paper forms
Once ServiceNow has default values to validate end user input at the point of entry, existing paper forms can be digitized.
In the first phase, the front-end will be transformed with forms which are pre-filled and built upon a responsive UI, whilst the back-end process is unchanged.

 

Straight-Through Processing with ServiceNow 3

 

Although it is possible to automate the entire business process at once, in practice, most organisations prefer a phased approach so they can manage change and reduce the risk of any inadvertent impact on their core system during this time of transition.
Note that this approach immediately has a positive impact on end users, as the old paper forms have been transformed and are now made available through a searchable and user-friendly service catalog, while back-end processes stay largely the same, avoiding any disruption to existing services. The organisation has the opportunity to introduce streamlined processing without causing upheaval in the back office.

Phase Three: Straight-through processing
Once the digitization of paper forms has been established, it is time to automate the process to introduce efficiency to the back office.

 

Straight-Through Processing with ServiceNow 4

As straight-through processing is often interacting with core systems associated with Finance and HR, JDS recommends establishing an approval workflow process. Instead of manually entering all the request information, back office staff now provide oversight and approval of straight-through processing.

Phase 4: Automation
There may be some business processes which involve multiple parties and integrate with multiple systems end-to-end that could be automated in their entirety, such as ordering of software or employee on-boarding. In this case, ServiceNow can streamline straight-through processing with the use of ServiceNow Orchestration.

Orchestration is implemented by workflows in ServiceNow, allowing JDS to configure complex processes that span multiple systems. These may include activities such as approval and follow-on tasks which utilise data outputs from a system called inside the workflow to determine the next action.

Straight-Through Processing with ServiceNow 5

How much is manual processes costing your organisation at the moment?

Think of how much productivity is lost because users are forced to fill out paper forms, or back office staff are required to enter information into multiple systems. By implementing straight-through processing with ServiceNow, JDS can help you streamline your business processes, saving time and money, while radically improving your customer satisfaction.