Siebel Product Administration Guide > Testing Products and Using Workspace Projects >

About Scenario Tester and Workspace Projects

Scenario Tester allows you to test the validity of your customizable product or simple product with attributes at any time that you specify (past, current, or future) and to create a number of quotes, orders, and agreements that will be used to test your customizable product. Each quote, order, agreement or asset is a scenario used for testing.

Before you test products using Scenario Tester, you must create a workspace project, which includes:

• Contents list. Add the objects you want to test.
• Scenarios list. Define the test Quotes, Sales Orders, Service Orders, and Agreements that you are using to test these objects.

Working with Versioned and Unversioned Objects

Scenario Tester can test:

• Versioned objects. You can test customizable products, classes, and attribute definitions.
  • If the objects are part of the active Workspace Project, Scenario Tester uses the version in the Workspace Project, even if it is unreleased.
  • If objects are not part of the Workspace Project, Scenario Tester uses the released version of the object.

    NOTE:  Scenario Tester uses objects that are not part of the Workspace Project if objects that are part of the Workspace Project are dependent on them. For example, if you add a product with attributes to the Workspace Project, but do not add the Class that the product inherits its attributes, Scenario Tester uses the released version of that Class.

• Unversioned objects. Scenario Tester tests the eligibility, compatibility, and pricing rules for unversioned objects, using the Base Date to determine whether a particular item must be retrieved.

Administering Data in Test Mode

Administering data in test mode allows the administrator to create data that use either unreleased or future data. For example, in test mode, the administrator can enter a future price for an unreleased product or future-effective product.

You work in slightly different ways in these two modes:

• Test mode. The mode that the application is in when the Use Project checkbox is selected for a workspace project. This mode gives the administrator access to unreleased objects included in the workspace project and other objects not in the workspace project based on Base Date.
• Normal mode. The mode that the application is in when the Use Project checkbox is not selected for a workspace project. The application uses released objects based on the application's internal date.

When you are administering a Workspace Project in test mode, you can see unreleased products and tie them to other objects in the application for administration purposes, as follows:

• Tying a Versioned Object to a Versioned Object. You can associate a versioned object with another versioned object in test mode. An example is associating an attribute definition to a product class.
• Tying a Versioned Object to a Unversioned Object. You can view all unversioned objects regardless of test date and whether you are in Test Mode. For instance, you can view all price list items regardless of their effectivity dates and regardless of test date or mode. You can associate versioned objects with unversioned objects as follows:
  • Price Lists, Cost Lists, Rate Lists, Aggregate Discounts, Discount Matrices, Eligibility and Compatibility Rules, Bundled Products, Product Recommendations. In Test Mode, the application shows records if the item has been added to the Workspace Project, and shows records that are in effect on the test date if the item has not been added to the Workspace Project. In Normal Mode, the application shows records for products or classes that have released versions as of today.
  • CP Pricing Designer. In Test Mode, the application shows the component products of the version added to the Workspace Project, and shows the version of the product that is in effect on the Test Date if the item has not been added to the Workspace Project. In Normal Mode, the application shows the union of all component products across versions of a customizable product within the effective date period of the root customizable product price list item.
  • Catalog Product Items. In Test Mode, the application shows records if the item has been added to the Workspace Project, and shows records that are in effect on the test date if the item has not been added to the Workspace Project. In Normal Mode, the application shows records for products or classes that have released versions as of today. The record counter for products in a given category are based on today's date. While testing, you must run the counter update periodically on the production application.
  • Product Promotions. In Test Mode, the application allows the user to add products and classes contained in a Workspace Project as products and classes covered by the promotion. After testing, the user must ensure that the objects referred from the promotion are released during the effectivity dates of the promotion, so there are no integrity problems to run-times in Normal Mode.
  • Catalog Categories. This object is used based on effective dates. It behaves the same way in Test Mode as in Normal Mode, because it does not have to associated with another object to be used.
  • Compound Product Rules, Simple Validation Rules, Cardinality Rules, Smart Part Numbers, Favorites, Attribute Adjustments, Data Validation Rules. These objects are not supported by Scenario Tester.