Understanding PeopleSoft Test Framework

PTF automates various tasks within the PeopleSoft application, primarily functional testing. Automating functional testing enables testers to execute more tests with greater accuracy during a shorter time.

PTF works by replicating the actions of a single user executing functional tests against the PeopleSoft browser-based application. Users can record manual test procedures and save them within the framework. Later (perhaps after an application upgrade or patch), those tests can be executed against the application to verify whether the application still behaves as expected. This method for capturing and executing tests is often called the record and playback approach to automation.

Test assets (tests and test cases) are stored in a database as Application Designer objects. As a result, test assets are PeopleTools-managed objects, which can be managed along with other PeopleTools-managed objects through PeopleSoft Lifecycle Management.

PTF includes a number of features not available in other commercially available record and playback automation tools, including:

  • The ability to validate recorded objects against PeopleSoft object metadata definitions.

    As a result, the tester is able to assertively verify the existence of test objects before running a test rather than running the test to identify invalid object definitions by trial and error.

    See Understanding Change Impacts.

  • Features that help users manipulate data within the PeopleSoft rowset-oriented data structure.

    See Incorporating Scroll Handling.

  • Functionality that automates numerous PeopleSoft-specific functions, such as running processes through Process Scheduler.

    See Process.

  • Functionality that interfaces with other PeopleSoft automation tools, such as Data Mover and PsQuery.

    See Query.

    See DataMover.

You should be aware that PTF is not designed to:

  • Validate certain types of information, such as image appearance and relative position of data and online objects. PTF is a functional test tool rather than a user interface or browser testing tool.

  • Be a load testing tool; it replicates the experience of a single user running the application.

  • Replicate certain types of user actions, such as drag-and-drop mouse actions.

  • Recognize or validate certain types of objects you might find in third-party or external applications, such as Flash/Flex objects, data displayed in HTML regions, and so on. PTF is designed to validate objects in the PeopleSoft application.