PeopleSoft has lot of tools to work on – some of the very popular tools include Application Designer, Application Engine, Component Interface, etc.., When PeopleSoft releases a new tools version, generally it comes up with some new tools, and also provides updates/upgrades to their existing tools. Tools like Integration Broker, Upgrade Manager, XML publisher, etc.., are very handy, but somehow they are not so common to entry level technical consultants. I recently explored a new tool for functional testing which has been delivered by PeopleSoft from their tools version 8.51. This tool proves to be so easy to access, and entry level engineers will love playing with this tool.
This tool, named PeopleSoft Test Framework is slowly catching up for functional testing in PeopleSoft applications. It employs record and playback approach, and it is fun to watch the playback. When you record the test, it translates each of your activity into small steps, and these steps together make up a test. PTF has a test editor where you can modify the existing tests and clone them into new ones.
The idea behind the launch of this tool is to reduce the effort spent on functional testing. Since the tests you create in this tool are PeopleSoft managed objects, it is easy to move these to different development instances and just play it back. This is an interesting concept. As a functional tester, one can be relieved to get rid of mundane tasks to be done in each of the development instances – thanks to PTF tool. No need to maintain bulky excel sheets with boring templates. PTF generates the test logs for you and they can be viewed from PTF client along with the screenshots. If you are so techie, you can go ahead and create dashboard reports out of these test case results.
This tool can also be used for regression testing. This means, you can create a test today, and use the same script may be after couple of years when you do an application upgrade to see if your old functionalities are still intact. Organizations that have implemented PeopleSoft can very well utilise this tool for their testing needs. In the long run, they can very well realise that the testing costs have drastically reduced.
If your organization has implemented PeopleSoft, it’s high time they tried PTF.
Leave your comments on what do you think about this tool from PeopleSoft. If you are already using this, you can also explain what kind of value addition this tool brings to you and your team.
Karthikeyan Ramachandran 