Salesforce Business Process: Test Cases To Decrease Risk and Improve Automation

As the customer experience has grown more complex, so has the end-to-end journey for all business processes. Consider the early days of e-commerce compared to now. When the Boston Computer Exchange became the first e-commerce company in 1982, there were no pay gates, shipping instructions, or supply chain connections. It was a simple consumer-to-consumer messaging service. However, over time, ecommerce grew into the complex system we see today. One way businesses have tackled this complexity is by using platforms like Salesforce to automate business processes. Salesforce business process automation has helped to improve flow, but in many cases, testing methods are less robust.

Salesforce business process test cases must validate very complex scenarios across different browsers, devices, and platforms. It's vital that these are built correctly to ensure your automated business processes work as expected. There are tools enterprises can use to support continuous end-to-end testing in a low-code environment. 

The Growing Complexity of Business Processes 

Every new segment added to a business process makes it exponentially more complicated. For a visual reference, we can compare the 1982 e-commerce journey of a customer to one using a site like Amazon today.

1982 – Boston Computer Exchange

• Offer:
  An online database of sellers with used computers is maintained on the Delphi online service bulletin board system and updated daily
• Search:
  A buyer signs into the database specifically seeking used computers and gets the seller's contact info
• Complete:
  The two connect and complete the sale off the platform

This journey was the shortest for the developer but the longest for the consumer. The developer only needed to create a platform to connect the parties and update it daily. While it sounds simple now, at the time, it was an impressive feat. It laid the groundwork for the incredibly complex process seen now. 

2022 e-Commerce purchase

• Search: A consumer goes to a search engine and enters a keyphrase
• PPC and SEO: The e-commerce company's marketing team reaches them through PPC and SEO campaigns targeted based on location, device type, and other information. The consumer clicks on a link. 
• Selection: The consumer reaches the product page and places the product in a shopping basket.
• Checkout: The consumer enters information, kicking off multiple simultaneous processes:
• Inventory check: Inventory is reviewed and adjusted based on the order. 
• Packing: A warehouse worker receives the order and locates it using a Warehouse Management System. They package it for shipment. 
• Shipment: A shipping label is created, and a route is planned to meet the customer's delivery date. This can branch into multiple segments given the modern use of decentralized warehouse systems. 
• Payment: Payment information is securely transferred to payment gateways while adhering to all applicable regulatory and compliance standards. 
• Confirmation: The consumer receives emails or content with details of the transaction and possibly real-time tracking. 
• Analysis: Data on the entire end-to-end journey is collected, organized, and used to make future decisions.  

As businesses sought to improve the customer journey, development moved to business process automation. All the steps above take place in only a few seconds for the end-user. But behind the scenes lies a series of thousands of commands. Platforms like Salesforce emerged to make this easier for developers.

Today, even low- and no-code users can create far more complex processes than those initially developed by Boston Computer Exchange. However, like all progress, it comes with risk. 

Risk in the New Customer Journey 

Low-code has been introduced as a solution to developer shortages and increasingly complex ecosystems. In this, business process experts are the ones responsible for creating development solutions. That's great from a process perspective. The individual with the most insight to that part of the journey is the one building the solution in Salesforce.

However, the Salesforce development knowledge gap could lead to issues on a technical level. Developers are trained on best practices in code creation. They know, for example, to create a test for every single process they create because it's easier to verify the issue when it's small. However, low-code users may be less familiar with this practice. 

On top of that, Salesforce does not work in a vacuum. Many business-critical processes rely on integrations to extend Salesforce’s capabilities into other applications across your tech stack. It’s not enough to simply test that features work in Salesforce, you need to know they work across every system and application. That means building end-to-end tests that encompass every step of the customer journey, including the paths data takes as it moves through your ecosystem.

To do so, you start by building test cases. A test case is the ideal scenario that occurs after someone completes an action. It's the standard against which the real program will be measured. It must be 100% accurate; this is where many low-code developers run into problems. 

Building Better Salesforce Business Process Test Cases 

Building business process test cases for highly complex systems is not easy. Most tools used to address the issue are aimed at technical experts. Meanwhile, it's business process experts who are most familiar with the complexities of the customer journey. Because they know what should happen, they're in the best position to define the most relevant tests. Reliable Salesforce business process test cases need a combination of business and technical knowledge. One way to accomplish this is through low-code testing tools, which bring business users into test creation.

For example, when building test cases, the user could record themselves going through the actual process with a screen recording tool. The recording collects information as the user goes through the entire journey. Then, the tool can turn that recording into a test case to be applied across the board.

When selecting such a tool, it's important to remember that you'll have to test different devices. Many testing solutions are limited to testing a single device type at a time, which can be incredibly time-consuming. A good low-code testing tool will run these tests parallel to save time and increase your test coverage.

Building better Salesforce business process test cases is about offering better tools to low-code developers. The consumer journey is growing more complex. A good testing tool, combined with the power of Salesforce, can ensure these journeys are smooth and secure.