ServiceNow Regression Testing Tips And Tricks

Due to frequent upgrades and fixes, regression testing is a key part of using the Now Platform. 

ServiceNow system upgrades are significant projects, and each new release will include new features and additions. As great as these new features are, you’ll need to consider how they’ll impact your existing workflows and applications.

In addition, some updates aren’t optional. To stay on a supported version, ServiceNow's N-1 policy mandates all users to upgrade at least once a year.  That’s why you need complete full ServiceNow regression testing to avoid downtime and ensure your workflows are running smoothly.

In this blog, we’ll share ServiceNow regression testing tips and tricks. We’ll also discuss how knowledge of current testing tools and resources can contribute to a successful upgrade process. 

ServiceNow Regression Testing Tips & Tricks

The Now Platform releases two significant upgrades per year, including new features, patches, and hotfixes. Each upgrade includes major additions, so you’ll need to understand how your current ServiceNow instance operates, including performance levels of key business functionalities and active applications.

Here are some tips and tricks to get the most out of ServiceNow regression testing.

1. Prepare for common upgrade issues

Upgrade issues on the Now Platform usually involve customizations. Customizations may not be affected by upgrading, or they can break completely. Upgrading can also affect minor custom apps and functionality. Full regression testing is essential to identify these issues.

2. Design effective tests to expand test coverage

Use effective test case design techniques that ensure the most coverage with the least amount of testing. Start with developing a strong testing strategy, then design test cases that will close gaps while increasing coverage. 

3. Use automation to reduce time and cost 

Regression testing is time consuming and repetitive, therefore it’s a prime candidate for automation. Automated tests can run in parallel and test across platforms and devices — with fewer errors than a human tester.

4. Run regression tests on mission-critical functionalities

To guarantee that no upgrade impact has occurred, you need to check the majority, if not all, of your key business functionalities and active applications.

5. Take advantage of ServiceNow’s built-in ATF

ServiceNow offers ATF (Automated Test Framework) as a plugin and platform testing feature. You can use ATF to automate slow, resource-and- time-consuming tests, ensure your applets, screen UI policies and functions are working, and minimize the risks of incidents after deployment.

When working with ATF, you can copy and customize quick start tests on the Now Platform to validate your instance works after making configuration changes and speed up the regression testing process, ensuring that users can continue to work as expected after an upgrade.

6. Know when you need supplemental test solutions.

ATF is a reliable and effective testing application for simple, out-of-the-box tests. However, many users may need to work with additional testing tools for advanced test scenarios.

Although customization is part of what makes ServiceNow so attractive, the platform is not responsible for integration issues. Every release, sprint, or ServiceNow-driven upgrade presents opportunities for your larger ecosystem to break. When this happens, fixing the issue becomes the customer's responsibility.

Full regression testing will involve running thousands of tests if you’re testing in a complex environment involving multiple systems, clouds, and on-premise applications. Setting up multiple test cases with the ATF application can be a time-consuming challenge.

Custom functionality will increase the framework's implementation costs with every upgrade by necessitating specialist scripting skills and the provision of custom test stages.

Copado Robotic Testing for ServiceNow

Copado Robotic Testing is a powerful AI-powered automated testing solution for the cloud. Our cross-platform SaaS product can tackle automated testing or tasks for any web-based application. 

Regardless of the complexity of your organization's IT landscape, Copado Robotic Testing can help you complete full regression and end-to-end testing to drive digital transformation across all SaaS cloud platforms. The benefits of Copado Robotic Testing include:

• AI-powered automation with self-healing capability to deal with scripts that break in updates.
• A low-code solution that fills the skills gap in your workforce while allowing for customizations.
• Test your configurations and customizations across Employee, Customer, IT, and Creator workflows.
• For multiplatform infrastructures, run parallel tests to validate the system on several layers at once.
• Validate your digital workflows with end-to-end testing.
• Open-source API integrations
• Reduce ServiceNow regression testing efforts for upgrades.
• Test across different apps, interfaces, and systems — even mobile!

When testing in a complicated IT system, Copado Robotic Testing can solve problems that other technologies can't, allowing users to confidently accept and deploy ServiceNow upgrades.

Partnering with Copado for ServiceNow Testing Solutions

Many traditional testing methods are simply unable to keep up with the rapid rate of technological advancement. You can avoid costly downtime and ensure improved release quality by planning ahead for ServiceNow upgrades and utilizing the best testing tools available.

Copado leverages low-code test automation to tackle the most complex IT landscapes. Our AI-powered testing solutions will expand test coverage, reduce testing time, and allow you to prevent critical bugs and defects.

Copado Robotic Testing on the Now Platform allows you to catch bugs early in development and avoid delays in your release schedule. We recommend end-to-end regression testing for each release to ensure continuous ServiceNow functionality.

Copado testing solutions will empower you to upgrade and deploy confidently, faster, and with fewer production failures.