Tricentis Test Automation for SAP integrated with SAP Cloud ALM*

[Delia_Barabasy]

Learning, Integration, and the Shared agent

Upon starting with TTA for SAP integrated with SAP Cloud ALM, one of the initial observations that caught my attention was the absence of an official course or certification dedicated to TTA. Additionally, I noticed that the available documentation wasn't as extensive as what I had encountered while exploring Tosca. I have selected the topics based on both my personal experiences and the inquiries of colleagues and clients. In light of this, the blog post aims to offer few steps with screenshots and practical tips to ease your path upon exploring TTA for SAP integrated with SAP Cloud ALM.

Topics:

• Learning – where to start.


• Integration from TTA to SAP Cloud ALM


• The shared Agent: how and why to install it.

Learning – where to start

While it might not be the most thrilling initial step – it's a necessary one. Even though there isn't a formal course or as comprehensive documentation as with Tosca, I must acknowledge that you can find the answers you need on the documentation provided. So take the time to go through it and read it thoroughly, following the steps from beginning to end. Furthermore, the new feature “Rapid Test Creator” will change how we create test providing a more easy way.

Currently, there is no official training available, but you can access the documentation directly from the TTA tenant. Regardless of the button you click, you will be directed to the same documentation. However, if you click on the question mark buttons, you will be taken to the SAP help portal which contains the same documentation.

Additionally, you can find helpful videos on the Tricentis Academy YouTube account to get you started. Currently, there are four "how to" videos available.

If you're looking to create test cases, the documentation mentioned earlier should be sufficient. However, for who is interested in delving deeper, I found that the “Tricentis Tosca Fundamentals − Automating web application testing (AS1)” training was particularly helpful in enhancing my understanding. I have completed several other trainings from them as well, but this one should suffice as a better foundation.

Integration between TTA and SAP Cloud ALM

As best practice you need to first create the test case in SAP Cloud ALM and continue creating it in TTA and not the other way around. But, if you've already created your test case in TTA, don't worry - you can still integrate it.

There are two ways to integrate your Test Case from TTA to SAP Cloud ALM:

1. Import


2. Synchronizing

Import

As best best practice, its suggested to use Import functionality to bring your test case from TTA Cloud to SAP Cloud ALM. It is also the fastest and easiest way to do it.

1. On the Test Preparation tile in SAP Cloud ALM click on Import

2. Add the name of your test case and click Go

Synchronize

This functionality requires more steps. At the beginning, the import functionality was not available so that’s how we used to synchronize the test cases. I will not go into details as it has been already explained in the SAP documentation. Here, I want to focus on the Tags and their importance.

1. Assigning the tags


2. Synchronize test case in SAP Cloud ALM: SAP documentation.

 

Assign the tags

This is a mandatory step to be able to synchronize the test case in SAP Cloud ALM.
To link your test cases with the appropriate section in SAP Cloud ALM, they need to have specific tags and attributes. After creating your test case in TTA go to Test cases by clicking on the icon, select your test case and click on the 3 dots as marked below to enter edit mode.

In the details mode you can add the necessary tags. You can add, project scope, business process for example. As best practice the status should be set to ready but it’s not mandatory.

Tip: The tags are important also for managing your scanned modules better. Today, we still don’t have folders and tags can be a good way to organize the modules.

The tags are managed by administrators but an easy way to bring the necessary Tag to TTA Cloud is to create e test case in SAP Cloud ALM with that new business process/project/scope and open it in the TTA Cloud tenant. Once you open the test case in your TTA Cloud tenant the attributes will be saved and ready to use. To see if it was saved you can check it under Settings-> Tags->Attributes. Now you are ready to synchronize your test case, all the steps are already here SAP documentation.

The shared agent

In my previous blog post, I introduced the concept of agents. For those venturing into multiple test scenarios or considering running test cases via SAP Cloud ALM, utilizing shared agents becomes indispensable.

Users don’t go through all the documentation and because of excitement to quickly run their first case from SAP Cloud ALM come to the surprise that it doesn’t work. When you trigger a test case from SAP Cloud ALM, it's the shared agent that jumps into action. These agents can be set up either on local systems or virtual machines. Excitingly, Tricentis is charting a roadmap to launch cloud-hosted agents by the end of the year, simplifying the installation process. However, for the time being, the onus is on users to install these agents on-premises.

A best practice tip: Allocate a dedicated machine for installing these agents, especially if you anticipate a lot of tests. This ensures that the testing process doesn't disrupt other operations on the machine. Plus, with the live view feature, you can seamlessly monitor the testing progress right from your workstation.

 

Installation Guide: Shared Agent Setup (For Admins Only)

Step 1: Installation and Prerequisites

• Ensure that you have successfully installed the launcher and that your machine meets the necessary requirements.


• Navigate to your Tricentis Tenant.


• Click on the "Agents" icon and then select "Add new."

Step 2: Configuring the Agent

• A configuration window will appear.


• Here, you can assign a name to your shared agent and customize its settings.


• For demonstration purposes, I have enabled the “Keep the display…” option to prevent my machine from entering sleep mode. If you're okay with your machine sleeping (note: tests cannot be run during sleep mode), you can disable this feature.


• I've also activated the “Turn on LiveView…” feature. This lets me observe the test run without directly connecting to the machine. It provides a live feed of the machine where the shared agent is operating, which is particularly useful for users without machine access. This feature captures screenshots every 2 seconds.


• After finalizing your settings and naming your agent, click "Next."

Step 3: Define Agent Characteristics

• Here, you can specify characteristics for the agent. Remember to press "Enter" after inputting each characteristic.


• Click “Next”

Note: You can also leave this step empty and it will take the default characteristics. I added Google Chrome as an example but its not mandatory.

The agent runs today with Chrome and Edge (carefully read the system requirements). Also, make sure to set the standard Browser on your machine to the same Browser.

 

Step 4: Command Line Configuration

• In the following screen, you'll see two lines of command. Start with copying the first line.

• Open the command prompt by typing “cmd” in the search bar of your Windows machine.


• Paste the first line into the command prompt and when prompted also paste the 2^nd line (the client secret). Once its ready press done. Now your shared agent is installed and connected

Note: Upon completion, you'll notice two command prompt windows open. Closing these will disconnect the shared agent. To reconnect, simply open the command prompt and re-enter the initial command line.

• Follow this link to configure your shared agent to launch on startup.

Conclusion

In wrapping up, the journey of using TTA with SAP Cloud ALM may seem challenging initially. However, with the insights provided by the available documentation, blogs, videos you can navigate this integration with confidence. A game changer for those that don’t have experience with Tosca will be the Rapid Test Creator.

Always remember that hands-on experience often provides the richest learning. As both platforms evolve, we can expect more streamlined guides and resources. I am looking forward to use the Rapid Test Creator which is planned for the end of the year

Should you have any queries or insights to share, I encourage you to comment below. Together, as a community, we can enrich our collective understanding and pave the way for more seamless integrations.

Happy testing everyone!

 

*Given the tool's lengthy name, I'll refer to it as "TTA Cloud" throughout this blog post.