I worked on a project for a bank that involved mortgage facilities for leasing motor vehicles. Clients approach the bank for financing, providing details about their needs. The process is divided into groups, with each group handling specific tasks. I implemented UiPath test cases to simulate the process, including customer registration, bank response, mortgage eligibility, and more. These test cases are executed in a long-running fashion and are currently operational.
In UiPath Test Suite, we create test cases in Studio and then publish them to Orchestrator. The publishing process allows us to disable unnecessary test cases, reducing the overall project size. After publishing, test cases are organized into Test Suites in Orchestrator. These suites can be executed in batches, allowing for daily testing and monitoring.
The Test Suite manager in Orchestrator provides a dashboard with a pie chart showing test case success and failure rates. This tool helps analyze test results and identify areas for improvement. While the Test Suite manager is primarily for checking and inspection, it also allows for editing, reading, and running test cases.
By dividing large processes into smaller parts, UiPath Test Suite becomes a valuable tool for testing and quality assurance.
UiPath Test Suite has helped automate various applications, including Microsoft Office, web applications, Citrix environments, and PDF documents. I used Microsoft Office primarily for the bank to send and receive client emails. For web testing, I employed JavaScript-based web applications. For Citrix automation, I executed tasks like logging in, logging out, and navigating to Java-based applications within the Citrix environment. Additionally, I incorporated PDF automation into application loops. Beyond these, I utilized Microsoft Active Directory to retrieve recipient names, such as customer names, within the Citrix environment. This involved recalling and obtaining the customer retail ID in a loop.
If I create a process in RE Framework within UiPath, which is typically used for complex processes, I find it beneficial for large-scale applications, especially in banking. Previously used for smaller processes, RE Framework now excels at breaking down complex processes into stages. In UiPath Test Suite, we can easily move the steps from our RE Framework process into tasks or test cases. While the RE Framework is larger, it offers a structured approach, making it ideal for processes that require frequent updates due to market changes, which often occur in the banking domain.
The UiPath Test Suite Manager in Orchestrator provides a dedicated dashboard for tracking and analyzing process success rates. This eliminates the need for end users to contact developers or team leads for status updates. By accessing the dashboard through the Orchestrator tenant URL, users can easily view the success rate for their processes and identify any failed steps or exceptions. This saves time and facilitates long-term process reviews and performance analysis.
In my experience, when we work in the office, we utilize a Microsoft Azure dashboard if the company has the license to track incidents and tasks. Daily, we review these items on the dashboard. UiPath Test Suite is a valuable tool that allows us to pre-categorize and plan our work. For instance, a large project might be divided into three-month phases, with the first month dedicated to creating test cases. This structured approach helps streamline our daily tasks. Additionally, UiPath's reusable components can significantly reduce development time. While the Azure dashboard is essential for daily task management, UiPath Test Suite provides a more strategic overview, ensuring our efforts align with the project's timeline. This saves us 75 percent of the time.
UiPath Test Suite integrates seamlessly with other solutions like ServiceNow and Microsoft Azure. ServiceNow primarily handles incident management. While UI automation might not be ideal for end-users in this context, API integration provides a more effective solution. To integrate with ServiceNow, I used a dedicated API endpoint, which I received with credentials. I employed Postman as a manual step to verify the correct retrieval of API data. Unlike the UI-based details in ServiceNow, API integration directly accesses backend data. I also integrated with Microsoft Azure using API calls for most applications. Similarly, integrating UiPath Test Suite with AI and ML solutions often relies on API calls.
As a success metric, I'm unsure how to present this best. Each month, we report on test case execution. Given a specific number of test cases, we track the bot's execution time. If a test case takes longer than expected, we investigate ways to optimize it. This is a regular process. While I'm not directly involved in development, I understand that UiPath's default execution time is 30 seconds, but actual times may vary. By running tests repeatedly, we can determine the actual time and identify areas for improvement. We aim to reduce complexity by addressing technical, application, and business exceptions. When presenting to clients, we demonstrate how we've reduced test case execution time from, for example, ten seconds to five or even two seconds. This is a crucial indicator of our success.
We swiftly recognize the advantages of the UiPath Test Suite. If we're executing a business process in Orchestrator, similar to how we run Test Suite, the latter operates in sets. For example, considering mortgage as a process name would encompass ten test cases. Once we align this process with our modern folder and proceed to the test tools, aligning and running it ensures all test cases are grouped under a single test set. This allows for immediate results, minimizing the time required. It will depend on our coding approach and development methodology. UI-based processes might take longer, while background automation generally requires less time. Within half an hour, we can anticipate receiving the answer. In fact, for minimal processes, results can be obtained within seconds.
UiPath's data management features provide a convenient way to store and manage credentials, files, and data. Credentials are securely stored in the UiPath storage bucket and can be accessed by the orchestrator as needed. This eliminates the need for large-scale data storage solutions like OneDrive or Gmail Drive. Additionally, data management allows us to upload and store various file types, including Excel, text, and credential-based files. For output data, we can leverage the orchestrator queue to track and manage its status. While Excel and queues are commonly used, we can also store data in shared paths or as standard text files or credentials files. In summary, UiPath offers a cloud-based storage solution, along with queue management, to efficiently handle data storage and management within our automation processes.
Recently, I completed an automation project using RPA to create a coded workflow. I entered a prompt into UiPath Autopilot, which automatically generated all necessary tests in the studio as coded elements using AI. I then executed and tested these tests, significantly reducing the time required for manual processes. By becoming proficient in prompt engineering and refining our approach, we can streamline automation and achieve greater efficiency.
