Enterprise Resource Planning systems are the modern-day backbone of any enterprise, unifying finance, supply chain, and human resource functions. However, guaranteeing the perfect functioning of ERP systems is quite challenging, particularly due to their intricacy. This is the point at which automation in ERP testing becomes revolutionary.

A report from Statista highlights that the global ERP market size could grow from $52.33 billion in 2024 to $62.36 billion by 2028. Around 53% of businesses depend on cloud-based ERP systems; hence, it explains the reason for witnessing a compound annual growth rate of 4.48%.

The current analysis of the market shows that there is a need for robust ERP systems, and testing is a crucial phase in the software development process of these systems. ERP systems are complex, and most of the time, these systems require some degree of configuration to meet the business needs. Now, the modifications might inherently cause issues, like inaccurate insights on dashboards or flawed automated workflows, leading to rework and error resolution.

Comprehensive validation and quality assurance testing procedures are required to check the functioning of ERP systems and find out all the flaws before it is deployed. Gone are the days when testers used to rely heavily on manual testing methods; automated testing tools have paved the way to make ERP testing better and more efficient.

Automated testing speeds up error detection and minimizes the need for manual involvement, conserving time and resources while enhancing precision.

Understanding Automated ERP Testing

Automated ERP testing includes the utilization of specialized tools and frameworks such that all the necessary tests, whether functional or regressions, run without any intervention. Testing teams can develop scripts for a given set of test cases that stimulate user action, validate system behavior, and ensure data integrity. These test cases are run, and the code automatically gets checked to match the expectations.

According to reports, inadequate test coverage is a major reason for almost 29% of project failures because 50-70% of defects go undetected until production. With automation, the testing team can cover up more testing scenarios, scripts, and cases, in less time as compared to traditional testing methods.

Besides, it frees the testers from performing repetitive tasks. It directs their focus on productive activities and critical tasks, like exploratory testing, test review, and collaboration with developers for effective debugging.

AI in ERP Testing

Integrating advanced technologies, like artificial intelligence and machine learning, into test automation converts it into smart testing processes. Let’s understand how AI can be used to enhance ERP Testing:

• Self-Healing Test Scripts

AI-powered testing tools, like Testim and Functionalize, can automatically detect changes in the codebase, like modified element locators or renamed fields. Based on the changes, these tools can automatically update the testing scripts and ensure testing reliability while reducing manual script maintenance.

• Predictive Test Selection and Risk-based Testing

The AI-driven analytics provide insights about high-risk areas based on historical defect patterns, usage frequency, and business impact. It helps in prioritizing test cases for regression testing and reduces execution time.

• Autonomous Test Generation

With the evolution of Gen AI, the LLM models utilize AI and NLP to generate test scripts from user stories, functional requirements, and business models. Around 45.90% of teams utilize AI for test case generation because it speeds up the testing process and expands the test coverage.

• AI-Powered Test Data Management

AI-driven test data management automates and optimizes the process of creating, managing, and utilizing test data for software applications. Traditional data management possesses some challenges, like data inconsistencies, time consumption, security concerns, and huge data volume. AI-powered test data management tools can overcome all these challenges as they can generate realistic test data that mimics real-world applications.

• Continuous Testing with AI in DevOps

With continuous testing using AI in DevOps, automated tests can run automatically at every stage of the development, including unit, integration, functional, and performance, as soon as changes are submitted. It dynamically adjust the test execution strategies as per system performance, error rates, and test coverage.

Automated testing tools, like Selenium, Appium, Katalon, and Playwright, can accelerate the testing process, leading to faster test execution and feedback to the development teams. The rapid testing cycles play a crucial role in meeting the tight deadlines in the ERP projects.

The Benefits of Automation in ERP Testing

The automation of ERP testing has emerged as an essential element of contemporary software management. It boosts productivity, lowers expenses, and guarantees steady performance. As companies increasingly depend on ERP systems to handle essential operations, automation simplifies testing procedures and guarantees smooth implementation and upgrades. Here’s an overview of its main benefits:

• Streamlined Regression Testing

Automation allows the team to quickly validate the updates or new modifications made to the codebase to ensure that it doesn’t disrupt the existing functionality. With automated regression testing, the issues can identified in the early stages, reducing the chances of downtime.

• Cost-Effectiveness and Resource Efficiency

Automation testing has the potential to lower testing costs by as much as 40%. Manual testing procedures frequently demand considerable resources, resulting in increased expenses. Besides, while the automated testing tools handle other aspects of testing, the testing team can direct their efforts on creative aspects, like exploratory testing.

• Improved Test Consistency

Test consistency is required to get accurate results and issue identification, and automated testing ensures that all the test cases are executed consistently. This eliminates the variation in testing outcomes that is common in manual testing.

Automation provides an average return on investment of 600%. Through decreasing manual involvement, speeding up testing processes, and maintaining uniform outcomes, companies obtain significant financial advantages.

• Time efficiency

Automation has the potential to decrease testing time by up to 60%. Automation allows repetitive and time-consuming tasks to be finished more swiftly. This effectiveness enables teams to concentrate on important problem-solving and system enhancement, speeding up project schedules.

• Increased Test Coverage

Manual testing methods are time-consuming, and the team can cover so much of the scenarios or testing cases due to tight deadlines. While your keenest testers and QA professionals can work 60 hours max a week, automated testing can run 24×7 without exhaustion. So, the automation tools can analyze the ERP system completely and generate comprehensive test cases to ensure that each functionality is thoroughly tested.

Automation ensures efficiency and effectiveness toward attaining organization-wide goals and objectives by improving precision, reducing expenses, and conserving time-related to ERP.

What Kind of Test Cases Can Be Automated?

ERP Systems are complex, and hence, a number of tests need to be performed to ensure end-to-end testing of ERP implementation. So, here are the factors that one should keep in mind to understand what tests can be automated: Repeatable, Determinant, Repetitive, and Business Critical. For instance, here’s the list of tests that can be automated:

1. Unit Tests: Validate the working of individual components of ERP systems in isolation
2. API Tests: Ensure the APIs and integrations between ERP and third-party systems are securely done
3. UI Tests: Verify the usability and functionality of the ERP system user interface
4. Performance Tests: Assess the performance of the ERP system in varying workload settings
5. Regression Tests: Ensure that the new changes do not break the existing functionality
6. Software Integration Tests: Test the interaction between the ERP system and external systems
7. Data Environment Tests: Check the data accuracy, consistency, and flow across different ERP system components
8. Cross-Browser Platform Tests: Ensure the ERP system works seamlessly across different browsers and devices

Now, comes the point of discussing which tests should not be automated. These include the ones where the outcome changes frequently, one-off or ad-hoc tests, and under-development features. For example:

1. Exploratory Testing: Look for unexpected behaviors or potential issues through unscripted and creative testing
2. Usability Testing: Assess the user-friendliness of the ERP systems from the perspective of end-users.
3. Localization Testing: Validate the translation and region-specific functionalities manually.  

The other tests that the team of testers can perform manually include end-to-end testing, payment testing, captcha verification, visual testing, and real-world performance testing. It is recommended to build a fused testing strategy where your team infuses automated and manual testing efforts for better collaboration. The fused testing approach created a blended workflow, integrating both shift-left and shift-right principles.

Amplify the Process of ERP Testing with Qualizeal!

Choosing the right technology partner plays a crucial role in determining the outcomes of automated ERP testing. One poor decision can lead to a waste of money, potential, resources, and time, and that’s why, as a software development company, one needs to be careful while choosing a partner.

We always say before believing it is best to access.

At Qualizeal, we are all about supporting your software development process to maximize the ROI and business value. Here’s how our automated testing services make a difference in what you require to deliver quality solutions:

1. Our tried-and-tested automation testing framework can be applied within 15-30 days, while others take around 6 months.
2. The ready-to-use testing scripts are built with scalability in mind and are CI-enabled. So, the costs associated with script development and manual efforts are reduced, leading to quicker time-to-market.
3. The IaaC accelerators can help in building and tearing down cloud testing environments in mere minutes instead of hours and days, giving you the desired agility to respond to business requirements.
4. The AI/ML integrations enhance the effectiveness of our automated testing frameworks as they provide the necessary insights and analytics, like finding the patterns, predicting potential issues, prioritizing test cases as per risk, and detecting anomalies in real-time.
5. QualiCentral is our proprietary software test automation execution planning and reporting portal that helps testing teams achieve quality with speed by implementing continuous test automation capabilities.

The best part? Our automated testing services are flexible. This means you can subscribe to our infrastructure for continuous testing needs, or you can take it in-house; we will align our offerings as per your needs so that you can make the best out of your ROI.

Conclusion

The incorporation of automation in ERP systems is more than a trend—it’s a crucial move to boost efficiency, enhance decision-making, and guarantee scalability. As companies expand and change, conventional approaches to managing ERP processes frequently struggle to address the rising complexity and need for immediate solutions. Automation offers essential tools to simplify workflows, minimize human mistakes, and enhance resource distribution, rendering it crucial for contemporary enterprises.

By adopting automation in ERP testing, organizations can lower expenses, enhance precision, and greatly decrease testing duration. These advantages result in quicker product launches, improved customer satisfaction, and enhanced business flexibility. No matter if you’re in manufacturing, retail, or healthcare, automating your ERP systems is a strategic step toward securing the future of your operations.