Worksoft expands functional testing tools to SAP systems users
By Manufacturing Business Technology Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 6/1/2007 12:00:00 AM
Worksoft, a tools provider focused on functional testing, is extending its coverage from internally developed Java and Microsoft .NET applications to enterprise system packages. Its initial target is the SAP R/3 enterprise system.
Worksoft aims its test tools at business users rather than software developers. Most functional test tools typically involve having a developer “record” a session by interacting with a screen, then tweaking the test by adding scripting—an approach that requires software coding skills.
By contrast, Worksoft's tools analyze the actual graphical features such as text boxes, drop-down menus, radio buttons, and so on. They support GUI features for Microsoft .NET and most Java applications, plus several IBM legacy “green-screen” formats. When an application is submitted for functional test, the Worksoft tool can automatically generate the actions that would be used to exercise the buttons and fields on a screen.
“You don't have to write tests in the normal sense,” says Worksoft founder and CEO Linda Hayes.
For SAP, Worksoft took the application's published process maps to anticipate what the buttons and fields on an SAP screen mean. Then it generates the actions that can be taken to test whether the screen actually works. If R/3 was implemented in a plain vanilla mode without major changes, theoretically, test generation could be completely automated.
However, because most SAP users have customized their implementations, the tests would have to be manually modified to reflect the fact that an SAP screen contains some different fields, or that the flow of SAP screens may have changed.
Worksoft says its Business Process Solutions, in support of SAP, are available now, with plans to start tackling Oracle's lines soon.
