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Product Administration Guide > Release and Manage Customizable Products >

Testing a Customizable Product (Validation Mode)

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You test a customizable product by selecting validation mode. This creates an instance of the customizable product and presents its selection pages. You can test configuration rules, the user interface, and pricing exactly as if you were a user.

Validation mode creates an instance of the customizable product from its current work space, not from a released version of the product. If you want to troubleshoot a problem in the most recently released version, you can do this by reverting the work space to the most recently released version. This overwrites any changes you have made in the current work space.

To test a specific group of configuration rules, set all the rules you don't want to test to inactive and then go to validation mode to test the desired rules. Then activate configuration rules one at a time as needed and return to validation mode to test the result.

If you have purchased ePricer, be sure to fully validate all component-based pricing adjustments and pricing factors. If you are using automatic pricing updates, verify that selection pages redisplay fast enough after each user action. If redisplay is too slow, consider switching to a base theme for the user interface that uses manual price updates. When in validation mode, the system uses the price list assigned to a special quote called ModelValidation.

Verify that user access is set up correctly for all the components of the customizable product. Do this by checking the categories to which the customizable product and all its components are assigned. Then check the access control groups assigned to these categories and associated catalogs. Users who will configure the product must have access permission to the product and all its components. You can check category assignments in Product Administration > Category or in Catalog Administration.

Validate a customizable product at regular intervals while you are developing it. For example, after you enter a block of related configuration rules or after customizing the selection pages, go to validation mode and check your work.

If your customizable products are complex, consider developing written test plans that exercise all the configuration rules and all expected user behaviors. In particular, be sure to test for unexpected or incorrect user behaviors in order to rule out unexpected responses from the eConfigurator engine.

You enter validation mode by clicking the Validate button, which located in the views where you work with customizable products, such as the Product Versions view, and the Rule Designer.

To test a customizable product

Make changes to the customizable product.

For example, add configuration rules in the Rule Designer.

Open the list menu and choose Validate.

For example, open the Rules List menu in the Rule Designer and choose Validate.

If you want to test pricing, you must associate a price list with the ModelValidation quote. This is a special quote provided for validating customizable products.

To test customizable product pricing

Navigate to Quotes.
Query for the ModelValidation quote.
Assign the desired price list to the ModelValidation quote.
Navigate to Product Administration > Product Versions.
Select and lock the desired customizable product.
Click Validate.

The system creates an instance of the product and displays its selection pages.

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