Recently, a lot of our customers are asking why they should move to SAP Solution Manager 7.2 Test Suite and what are the benefits of adopting Test Suite instead of their existing solutions. In this blog entry, we will explain the whys and the benefits of using SAP Solution Manager 7.2 Test Suite for managing, testing SAP projects and how to build a Testing Center of Excellence (TCoE) .

SAP Solution Manager 7.2 covers the entire lifecycle and capabilities of Test Management for SAP and Non-SAP solutions. Below are some of the key areas you can use SAP Solution Manager 7.2 Test Suite for:

• Manual and Automation Testing
• Test Plan, Test Execution and Analytics
• Test Defect Management
• Test Automation Framework using Component Based Test Automation (CBTA)
• Test Data Management and SAP TDMS
• Business Process Change Analyzer (BPCA)
• Scope and Effort Analyzer (SEA)
• SAP Solution Manager integration with HP Quality Center/Application Lifecycle

Why Test Suite 7.2?

So what has changed with Solution Manager and Test Suite that provide tremendous value to SAP customers?

Firstly, the pain points of Test Workbench due to the user experience and architecture limitations were addressed in Solution Manager and has resulted in easier navigation and enhanced functionality that users have been asking for. Recent releases are also built upon customer’s needs and feedback as a result of the SAP Test Suite and Process Management (formally Solution Documentation) product teams engaging with users through “Customer Influence and Innovation”. This collaboration created a new architecture and enhanced functionality for SP03 (first major SolMan Test Suite release) and has been followed quickly with new functionalities with SP04, SP05 and just recently with SP06.

These changes and enhanced functionalities include:

• Integration of Change Impact Analysis and Automated Testing internally within Solution Manager versus external third party tools reduces large volumes of needed data transfers.
• SAP TAO and the SAP Solution Manager Adapter key components of the SAP and HP Test Management for over a decade are now in maintenance mode (“sunset”) and have been removed from the SAP Portfolio.
• With the enhancements in Test Suite 7.2 of the Test Management module, integration setup and data replication with third party tools is not needed for test results, requirements and change impact analysis. All of this is available in Test Suite 7.2.
• Test Suite 7.2 includes tests for SAP Business Suite, S/4HANA, Concur, Ariba Success Factors and non-SAP solutions.

Major rebuild of the manual Testing Functionality was completed in new releases this year.

What are the benefits and value proposition of using SAP Test Suite 7.2?

With the new functionalities, SAP Test Suite 7.2 has evolved into a full blown application for manual / automated testing and change impact analysis. Test Suite builds a better framework for testing, a systematic approach to functional testing and creates a structured methodology to support successful testing initiatives. Utilizing ITIL based disciplines for testing best practices, Test Suite delivers scalable and faster test procedures, eliminating errors that would otherwise make it into production.

Together with Solution Manager 7.2, Test Suite offers the following value:

• Seamless Integration with all Solution Manager 7.2 applications – Change and Release, Portfolio, Project, etc.
• Identification of Test Scope and significant reduction of test effort with Change Impact Analysis (BPCA, SEA)
• Risk-based testing approach with Test Scope Optimization (TSO) for large change events
• Test Suite and SAP Solution Manager 7.2 are built to support S/4 Hana implementations.
• Improved testing efficiency by knowing what to test when and managing test cases and test progress efficiency
• State of the art test automation with low maintenance for automated test scripts

At CoreALM we help our SAP customer review the current and future test management requirements and develop a road map and strategy for transitioning to Test Suite 7.2 or improving test management capabilities by getting the most of SAP Solution Manager 7.2 Test Suite. If you’d like to learn more about Test Suite or how you can benefit from the adoption of Solution Manager in your organization, we have a series of workshops you can view.