Testing concepts

Int4 IFTT Interface Testing Tool add-on is an automated testing software dedicated to SAP application interfaces.

OVERVIEW

Int4 IFTT covers application interface testing across the complete SAP landscape: middleware platforms (SAP PI/PO, SAP Cloud integration) and SAP ABAP-based backend systems interface logic (custom code and enhancements, IDOC, AIF, PROXY, etc.). Int4 IFTT allows testing interfaces continuously. This way, you can resolve errors as soon as they arise. Common scenarios which may gain from continuous testing:

Rapid changes in the interface logic
SAP S4/HANA conversion projects
Deployment of the new sites in Rollout's projects
Merging project & maintenance landscape
Integration Platform migrations and upgrades
Quick Patching of SAP PI/PO, SAP CPI, SAP ECC, and SAP S/4HANA

Int4 IFTT is perfect for autonomous use to test SAP integration scenarios or in combination with other UI-based testing software.

KEY DIFFERENTIATIONS

Minimal effort of test case creation - thanks to Repeater functionality. Test cases are created based on existing messages and documents from the production system or documents exchanged during manual testing.

Please note that test cases downloaded from Production landscape might contain sensitive data. This data is stored in IFTT tables and might be sent to other systems during test case execution.
Sensitive data can be scrambled by appropriate rules in the automation objects.

Freedom of testing - the build SAP native service virtualization allows performing the SAP testing without 3rd party systems.
Automated execution - execution of thousands of test cases is a matter of minutes, not days.
Complete testing scope - validates all the components of the integration scenario - both SAP PI/PO/CPI and SAP S4/HANA.
Business Oriented - Compares the final results of an interface (e.g., posted accounting documents or sales orders, deliveries) in addition to checking the content of messages.
Process Oriented - allows to group test cases into sequences and pass the values between them. Easy integration with SAP eCATT, HP UFT, Worksoft Testimony, and Tricentis Tosca by Int4 IFTT API
No additional hardware and software needed - Int4 IFTT is a certified SAP Add-on deployed on SAP Solution Manager or other existing SAP Backend systems.

TEST TYPES

Integration Platform Unit Testing

This type of testing verifies the integration platform processing. The test cases contain snapshots of input and corresponding output messages. Int4 IFTT validates the receivers and current outputs during the testing by comparing them with the snapshot references. In the integration platform migration projects, it is possible to create test cases on one platform and execute them on other.

Inbound Interface from 3rd party to SAP environment

In an example of end-to-end testing of the integration scenario in an SAP environment, the inbound interface test case combines an original input message from the integration platform and the final business document created on its basis in the backend system. The original message is fetched from the SAP PI/PO, CPI, etc., stored in the Int4 IFTT repository for further reference. Int4 IFTT relates it with the appropriate interface and the automation object containing the defined assertions based on the message's header. During the Test case execution, the document's key is located using the XPath expressions and swapped inside the payload. IFTT sends the newly created message with a new document key to the integration platform. It enters the middleware in the same way as the original system would send it. Later on, the interface processing is independent of Int4 IFTT. When the new business document gets posted, Int4 IFTT will automatically compare all the fields by extracting the SAP Back-end database data.

Outbound Interface from SAP environment to 3rd party

In this scenario, SAP Backend business documents, usually entered manually, trigger interface messages. Those messages are routed and mapped in the integration platform and sent out to the receivers.

In this test type, Int4 IFTT tests all the steps until the message leaves the integration platform. An outbound test case is a combination of an action that triggers the message and the final output after its mapping - as seen by the integration platform. These two elements have to be executed together and linked by the precise ID.

During the test execution, first, the trigger is executed (which might be an SAP eCATT recording of user action). Then Int4 IFTT monitors the integration platform and searches for the expected message. Once found, the output is fetched and compared.

The triggering events (the precise ID) might be one of:

SAP eCATT test script or test configuration execution
Repeat Message Control output test case
other inbound test cases
external end to end test suite (ex. Worksoft) and the outbound test type call by API

Synchronous Interface

For synchronous interfaces, the test case is a mixture of inbound and outbound messages. During the testing, we are interested in the final response and the action in the SAP backend. For example, testing the synchronous sales order interface is not enough to say that the test passes if we receive the sales order number in the response. We need to be sure that the system created the sales order document itself correctly.

Business Process Testing

Int4 IFTT also supports testing of the whole business process. Int4 IFTT can link test cases into chains, thanks to the variable concept. In addition, it includes steps containing manual actions usually performed by the users. You can find more details in the business processes support section.