Oracle’s PeopleTools ATT is an integrated application part of Oracle’s PeopleTools software that helps build and update PeopleSoft applications easily. The need for robust testing grows with the adoptionof ERP systems as critical organisational tools for executing seemingly fundamental administrative responsibilities. PeopleTools ATT – Application Testing Tool is vital for functional and regression testing to minimise the manual effort needed, decrease testing errors, and speed up the delivery process.
This article offers an extended rationale of the PeopleTools ATT, its functions, and advantages concerning enhancing the testing paradigm over PeopleSoft applications. Regardless of whether you are a developer, testers, or business analyst relying on PeopleSoft, this guide will explain how ATT in PeopleTools can integrate itself into your system, easier and more efficient development, fewer errors, and less costly processes to create enterprise applications. Swim into this article to discover how Oracle’s robust platform can revolutionise your PeopleSoft testing strategy.
Understanding PeopleTools
Indeed, to provide more details regarding PeopleTools ATT, it is crucial to give more information about PeopleTools at large. It is a foundation for PeopleSoft applications where end users can produce and modify different enterprise solutions. It includes a variety of integrated tools that allow developers to:
- Create and customise PeopleSoft applications:It encompasses application design for developers, helping them reshape the application to meet business needs.
- Database management:It permits connection with other forms of ‘Relational Database Management Systems such as Oracle, SQL Server, and DB2.
- User interface customisation:By using this tool, developerscan create a friendly interface for the users.
- Application deployment:It also facilitates the quick and efficient rollout and fine-tuning of PeopleSoft applications across any platform.
- Security and monitoring: The framework implements security measures and includes ways of measuring system compliance.
- Testing:PeopleTools can best be termed another workbench that proudly boasts this testing tool as the means to test applications.
Now, it is time to discuss the PeopleTools ATT more and explain its role within the toolkit.
What Is PeopleTools ATT?
PeopleTools ATT is one of the modules of PeopleTools, Oracle’s special software aimed at the management, development, and utilisation of PeopleSoft solutions. ATT is an abbreviation for “Application Testing Tool.” It is the key component employed to test application changes, upgrades, or configuration shifts in the PeopleSoft domain.
This tool offers an integrated solution for testing applications. It also saves time for personnel who constantly test the application to ensure special changes or additions maintain its smooth running. Maintaining the testing aspect of enterprise applications is one of the most important functions, especially concerning the HR and financial aspects, where people mostly use PeopleSoft.
Core Features Of PeopleTools ATT
PeopleTools is one more competitive advantage of Oracle, and among its particular functions, it is worth identifying and explaining the role of PeopleTools ATT.
- Test Automation
It enables the presentation of other tests, automated functional and regression testing of people-soft applications, and reduced manual testing.
- Scriptless Testing
The tool also allows business analysts, especially those with little understanding of programming, to develop test scripts, as it does not utilise scripts. This feature greatly enhances the usability of the current static and complex layout.
- Data-Driven Testing
This would mean that PeopleTools ATT can test with different types, amounts, or combinations of data. This feature is extremely useful when similar tests are required on different data sets.
- Integration Testing
The tool can provide comprehensive support for integration testing, helping to ensure PeopleSoft’s different modules work together.
- Real-Time Reporting
PeopleTools ATT has additions that include the ability to produce real-time evaluation reports, which developers and testers can use to assess the tests adequately.
- Test Case Management
It provides a means of generating, administering, and evaluating tests and case tests, which effectively covers the PeopleSoft application.
- Role-Based Access Control
The tool provides role-based user controls to prevent unauthorised test data and operations access.
- Cross-Browser and Cross-Platform Support
An important feature of PeopleTools ATT is the ability to run it in different browsers and platforms, which allows an organisation to determine whether an application will work as designed across different networks.
Why Is There A Need For Automated Testing For Peoplesoft Applications?
In this regard, an automated test is a mandatory commodity in organisations that deal with PeopleSoft applications since the systems are highly sophisticated and massive in terms of use. PeopleSoft applications usually address business concentrations such as HCM, financial, and SCM. Failures to these systems are fatal for the business climate, ranging from payroll issues to procurement requirements.
Main Problems Of Manual Testing
Here are some common issues you normally face in manual testing.
- Time-consuming: The given testing approach is rather time-consuming, mainly when applications include many modules with intricate interconnections.
- Inconsistent results: Inefficient or even wrong results are possible, and test results are not consistent most of the time, especially since human errors are more probable when doing manual testing.
- Scalability Issues: With the increase in business applications, manual testing takes a lot of work to scale down, reducing an organisation’s ability to deploy updates or even new features.
- High costs: Manual testing is much more resource-intensive, meaning that it will require more human effort and more money to run.
That is why convenient automation testing tools such as PeopleTools ATT relieve all these risks by providing accurate, fast, and extensive testing.
Advantages of PeopleTools ATT
Below are some significant advantages of this testing tool.
- Reduced Testing Cost
Using PeopleTools ATT in the testing process speeds up the process itself because an automated system can perform many monotonous activities. Developers and testers can work with more complex checklists, which are rather appropriate to be solved manually. Automated testing also saves time: Problems are understood and detected within the shortest time possible compared to the time it would have taken while using other conventional methods.
- Improved Accuracy
Critically, test case automation greatly minimises the rate of human error. The PeopleTools ATT guarantees the standardisation of every test case, making the results precise. This consistency is particularly useful in regression testing, where the same test cases can be run repeatedly in the development process.
- Effective Testing
At this stage, this tool supports the creation and running of an optimum comprehensive test case for testing an application’s many facets. This results in the improvement of application stability and performance. Also, with the support of data for testing, it helps to implement coverage on the appliance through chunks that help to consider the amount of data in the Assessment.
- Cost-Effective Solution
A key benefit of adopting PeopleTools ATT is that an advanced automated testing tool reduces the many testing costs caused by manual work. It also guarantees that applications may be tested many times faster, meaning that the total time it takes to deploy an application will be minimised, expensing the development costs.
- Faster Time to Market
An organisation can introduce and roll out new features considerably more quickly by using automation to decrease the duration of its development and release cycles. Being able to launch new products faster is extremely important for companies in highly competitive industries.
- Role-based Access Control
The only real option to display the access control model is through role-based access control in PeopleTools ATT, where only authorised personnel can be granted access to sensitive test data and configurations. This feature assists organisations in keeping their data safe and adhering to regulations, especially in financial and health facilities.
- Seamless Integration
This tool is readily available to interact with other components of PeopleSoft, including the Application Designer and the PeopleSoft Test Framework (PTF). It results in testing being adopted within the development process cycle, so it is not undertaken as a supplement. Additionally, it facilitates the closest possible communication between the development and QA teams.
How ToImplement PeopleToolsATT In Your Organisation?
The following are some steps you should follow while practising this testing tool for your organisation.
Step 1: Installation and Setup
The first essential activity is to deploy the tool and define the organisation’s requirements. Oracle has detailed procedures for installing PeopleTools ATT, and the procedure normally includes configuring the testing environment and application programmes.
Step 2: Creating Test Cases
The next step is creating test cases, although this comes before installing a tool. As mentioned earlier, PeopleTools ATT enables script-less test case generation because users with little knowledge about PeopleCode can quickly build test scenarios from the tool’s graphical user interface. You can take functional, regression, and integration tests based on your needs.
Step 3: Executing Tests
Once you have developed test cases, you can run them in different environments and rationally manage them. It enables you to test various browsers and operating systems to see how the PeopleSoft application will perform on each of these systems.
Step 4: Analysing Test Results
PeopleTools ATT comes with report capability, which allows users to produce reports instantaneously as they conduct tests. These reports include test run time, pass/fail information, and any defect noted when testing was underway. They contain useful information that helps developers solve such problems before deploying the application to a production environment.
Step 5: Maintenance and Updates
To the best of my knowledge, like any other tool, PeopleTools ATT needs to be updated frequently to ensure it is effectively serving its purpose. Updating and patching is a recurring process that Oracle provides users with, including the latest enhancements for better use of the software.
Real-World ApplicationsOfPeopleTools ATT
In many organisations in different industries, this testing tool has been used to implement PeopleSoft application testing quickly. For example:
- Financial Services
It might be implemented in financial institutions to guarantee that their ERP systems comply with the admissible lexicon rules. At the same time, it would reduce the time and money needed to carry out tests manually.
- Healthcare
This tool meets the needs of healthcare providers to check conformity to the regulations of PeopleSoft HCM and the financial modules of this application.
- Retail
This tool is employed by Retail companies to simulate supply chain and inventory systems supporting their operations.
PeopleTools ATT Best Practises
Some guidelines must be considered when properly using and adopting PeopleTools ATT. Here are some recommendations to get the most out of this tool:
- Plan Test Cases Early
Our first recommendation for Test cases is that you start developing them as early as possible in the development lifecycle. Determine where you will need to regress the test and which test cases should be automated. One benefit of this method is that necessary test cases are accrued in advance, preventing the delay of the testing phase.
- Parameterise Data for Reuse
Data-driven testing can be done using parameterisation input wherever possible. This approach is very efficient, as the same test scripts can be run on other data sets, increasing coverage while saving time.
- Use Modular Test Scripts
Use a combination of methods expressed in test scripts that allows the reuse of test cases. If tests are split into reusable chunks of code, you can develop a script collection that might be used in multiple instances and thus avoid repeating the same script.
- Utilise Record Playback Facilities
Record and Playback automate test cases with real-life user scenarios. This enables practitioners to ascertain that the test scripts emulate typical users’ usage paths in a natural environment.
- Execute in Multiple Settings
Automate tests at various levels (development, QA, and production) to ensure the application gives different responses. Environment-dependant problems are always present and can only be detected or confirmed through environment-based testing.
- Assess and Evaluation Tests
Continuous testing and assessment are conducted to identify areas that frequently record high failure rates or low performance. Due to the flexibility of this tool reporting, submit reports to project managers and stakeholders and discuss actions for improving application function and quality with them.
- Schedule Automated Tests
Follow the scheduling feature supported by PeopleTools ATT. It is even preferable to run an automated test when the business is closed; this minimises the interruption of daily work while making the best use of resources.
Challenges And Limitations
Although PeopleTools ATT provides significant benefits, there are a few challenges and limitations to be aware of:
- Learning Curve
As for several other Self-Service Applications, this tool requires some learning to understand its complete capacity and versatility. Users require time to dedicate to mastering how best to create and use these test scripts. Although Oracle generously offers documentation for the product, its high learning curve will pose a problem to new users.
- Complex Customisation
Many PeopleSoft applications are developed as fully loaded applications, which may cause issues with testing. PeopleTools ATT focuses on automating tests, but preparing tests for specific and unique business processes can still take a lot of time.
- Resource Intensive
Sometimes, automated tests are very resource-intensive, especially when used with large, complex systems. To supplement these tests, organisations must ensure that they have sufficient resources to carry them out without straining system capability.
- Test Script Retention
Since applications change over time, so does the test script used during application testing. Maintaining automated test scripts may be cumbersome, especially in organisations where there is always a change or update.
Conclusion
PeopleTools ATT is an effective method that assists an organisation in testing PeopleSoft applications more efficiently, accurately, and at a larger scale. That is because it acts as a component of the larger PeopleTools and is ideal for companies that want to leverage their Sun systems ERP.
This tool successfully automates functional and regression testing, which helps cut costs, decrease market time, and provide overall test coverage. Regardless of whether an organisation belongs to a specific sector such as finance, health care, retail, or any other people tool, it offers a comprehensive utility to guarantee the efficiency and reliability of the PeopleSoft applications.
