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Automated testing of service portal

Mike_StormsMike_Storms Customer Adept IT Monkey ✭✭
in Analyst Portal
Hi All, Is anybody using any tools or home grown methods to do automated user emulation of the Cireson portal? After any updates to our platform regardless if it OS patching, SCSM upgrade, Cireson upgrade, enhancements. We manually go through a set of regression test to validate the portal is working. I know there are products on the market that allow scripting of such via recording a session and running the script in the background and check results. Any suggestions would be welcome. Additionally we are trying to identify certain SCSM functionality that should be verified after any changes and script some powershell scripts to perform the task. What do folks test after SCSM or Cireson changes or any change that might potential impact the environment. 

Answers

  • David_AllenDavid_Allen Partner Advanced IT Monkey ✭✭✭

    I use SCOM to perform a number of synthetic tests against the portal to validate functionality.  I find that particularly after standard patching, SCSM workflows have a tendency not to run properly until the workflow MS has yet another reboot. 

    What I have found is that after patching, all seems to be running well, and new work items can be submitted, but then you can access them in the portal or even search for them, as they aren't reaching the cache to due workflow issues/performance in SCSM.  So, I run synthetic tests from SCOM to raise a work item, and then validate it can then view that work item in the portal.

    I also run more generic tests, like make sure RO's are being returned on the home page, and that all the key pages load without error, such as My Work, My Requests etc.

    I know I can do plenty more, this is just where I am at the moment.

    David

  • Mike_StormsMike_Storms Customer Adept IT Monkey ✭✭
    I'm not familiar with SCOM or the concept of synthetic test... can you provide examples? When you say you run generic test... is that manual or automated? I'd be very interested in validation through automation.
  • David_AllenDavid_Allen Partner Advanced IT Monkey ✭✭✭

    SCOM (System Center Operations Manager) is a monitoring tool that has the ability to perform automated synthetic transactions against websites.  It has a built in recorder so you can record navigating your portal site, performing a search etc. which SCOM will then replay every x number of minutes to test that the pages are responding as expected and in the time frame expected.  If not, it will raise alerts for issues with the site. 

    SCOM can replay the test from anywhere it has a management server or agent deployed, so you can test from different locations to also help narrow down whether an issue is site based, or more of a local issue.

    Hope that helps.
    David

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