ServiceNow sets Administrators and enterprises up for success with the Automated Testing Framework (ATF). However, so many accounts do not use it! Let’s review why this is one of the BEST features from the platform.

Despite its immense potential, ATF (in my experience on my accounts) remains underutilized and underrated. It is a critical tool that should be seamlessly integrated into your development lifecycle.

Most organizations aim to reduce technical debt and ensure maximum ROI on their products. ServiceNow’s ATF is designed to support these goals from the outset. However, it does require a modest investment of time and effort to maintain.

In the practical setting of a busy team, questions often arise: “Do we really want to use ATF? Is it worth the time to write the tests?” The unequivocal answer is yes! While developers may have reservations, administrators understand the long-term benefits ATF brings.

So, why is ATF so important? Why should managers and executives prioritize its use and upkeep amidst numerous competing demands and support tickets? The answer lies in its efficiency and value. ATF eliminates countless hours of tedious manual testing, providing valuable insights that not only confirm the health of your instance but also highlight customizations and ensure you are maximizing your platform’s ROI.

Investing a bit of extra time in the Automated Testing Framework daily will yield substantial returns. The benefits far outweigh the initial effort, making ATF an indispensable component of your ServiceNow environment.

Practitioner Insight: If you currently perform manual testing, and – for example – have customizations on your catalog, you can actually correlate resource hourly costs for manual user testing on upgrades before and after introducing the use of ATF (to either eliminate or reduce manual testing resource costs).

In addition, Project Managers love ATF – suddenly generic logic and regression testing for platform upgrades can be reduced to ½ the time and come with testing results automatically. No excel review needed.

As defined by ServiceNow……

The Automated Test Framework (ATF) is a ServiceNow application used to automate the testing of applications, customizations, and configurations.

• Test driven development: Testing while developing new applications
• Regression testing: Business logic testing
• Regular checkups: Part of routine checks for ServiceNow
• Miscellaneous testing: Any other use case where testing is required

Use ATF to test Business Logic. What is considered business logic?

• Service Catalog in Service Portal or ESC
• Forms
• Application Navigator
• Service Catalog
• Custom UI
• List and Related List
• Forms in Service Portal
• REST
• Server

Why did I not use this before?

Many products already come with a set of “Quick Start” tests by application or feature. Install the quick start tests and run them. Review the failed tests, and then you can quickly see where customizations are.

During each upgrade you should revisit the customizations (here in the test area) to see if it can be reverted back yet to the out of the box test.

Agile Development 2.0	GRC Audit Management	Security Incident Response
Application Portfolio Management	GRC Continuous Authorization and Monitoring	Service Level Management
Assessments and Surveys	GRC Policy and Compliance Management	Service Mapping
Change Management	GRC Risk Management	Service Portfolio Management Premium
Cloud Provisioning and Governance	Hardware Asset Management	Skills Management
Coaching	HR Service Delivery	Test Management 2.0
Communities	Incident Management	Universal Request
Configuration Compliance	Integration Commons for CMDB	Vendor Management Workspace
Configuration Management Database (CMDB)	Investment Funding	Vendor Manager Workspace and Third-party Risk Management
Continual Improvement Management	Knowledge Management	Vulnerability Response
Customer Service Management	Legal Request Management
Dashboards	Major Incident Major Incident Management
DevOps	On-Call Scheduling
Employee Center and Employee Center Pro	Metric Intelligence
Essential SAFe	Predictive Intelligence
Event Management	Problem Management
Field Service Management	Project Portfolio Management
Finance Close Automation	Project Currency test suite

What about customizations?

Yes, it is possible to create custom tests for various components within the Service Catalog, including items, forms, custom UI actions, redirects, email triggers, workspaces, and dashboards, among others.

There is a catch

When creating tests with ATF there are some restrictions on testing components. So, if you are building custom pages, UI’s, business rules, etc keep in mind to try and use the existing component features available with ATF so you can automate the testing later on.

Practitioner Insight: In my experience, most people get caught in issues with custom test creation due to UI actions. Make sure to check out the entire list of what you can and cannot test with UI test steps prior to building.

Still not sure how to tell, then use the Page Inspector and see what components are available for custom UI testing. If you can’t see it, you can’t automate it and you might rethink the build.

Let’s be clear: what types of testing does ATF focus on?

ServiceNow offers ATF to cover functional testing around specified items such as:

• Business logic
• Regression testing following an upgrade
• Browser compatibility testing (this is very important for tablets, mobile, etc)

What it is not intended to do: It is not intended to replace User Acceptance Testing (UAT) sign-off. Business should have a final review and formal sign-off of the environment and integrations.

UAT may include common manual testing around components such as:

• Reports and dashboards – anything that has been created by an end user or for a group
• Email format testing – reviewing the emails post ATF triggers or manual triggers (tip: this one is often missed and can be a real bugger post go live if it breaks – don’t miss testing this)
• Performance and/or load testing – if you have integrations or want to test peak loads at various times (you can also use products with it like Opentext Loadrunner Pro

Let’s recap

ServiceNow’s Automated Testing Framework (ATF) is designed to handle essential functional testing, ensuring your business logic, regression, and browser compatibility are thoroughly evaluated. However, it’s crucial to remember that ATF does not replace User Acceptance Testing (UAT). UAT remains a vital step, allowing for a comprehensive review and formal sign-off on reports, dashboards, email formats, and performance under various load conditions. By combining ATF with diligent UAT, you can achieve a robust and reliable ServiceNow environment.

Embracing an automated testing framework with ServiceNow not only streamlines your development processes but also ensures high-quality and reliable deployments. By reducing manual errors and increasing efficiency, your team can focus on innovation and delivering exceptional service experiences. Start integrating automated testing today and witness the transformative impact on your ServiceNow environment.

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Video Links

• Official ServiceNow: Getting started with Automated Test Framework: ATF Walkthrough #1

NOW Learning Courses

• ATF: Run Tests and Test Suites
• ATF: Create and Schedule Tests and Test Suites
• ATF: Additional Tips, Techniques, and Resources
• ATF: Administration

Developer Portal

• DEVELOPER: What is the Automated Test Framework