This Blog post requires basic understanding of Salesforce platform. In this blog Post we will cover following topics related to Salesforce testing:

• Areas of testing
• Types of Salesforce Testing 
• Levels of Salesforce Testing

Salesforce testing ensures that Salesforce deployments operate as intended and deliver a seamless user experience. Salesforce testing includes both the testing for the changes done by platform administrator to handle the specific need of the stakeholders and the third party applications added in order to enhance the existing capabilities. This comprehensive testing process focuses on three main areas:

Custom Development Salesforce Testing

Organizations frequently customize Salesforce to cater to their unique business needs. This can be done by customizing the existing Salesforce features like Flows and triggers with the help of Salesforce Administrators or by utilizing services of Salesforce Partners (if your requirement can be met only by making changes to the code). Custom development testing ensures that these customization are reliable and meet the specified requirements. This involves:

• Functional Testing: Verifying that each custom feature works correctly according to the defined requirements. This includes validating workflows, custom objects, and fields.
• Non-Functional Testing: Assessing performance, security, and usability. For instance, checking how the system handles large data volumes or ensuring that custom features do not introduce security vulnerabilities.
• Unit Testing: Developers write unit tests for custom Apex code to ensure each unit of the code performs as expected. This helps catch issues early in the development cycle.

Integration Testing

Salesforce often integrates with numerous third-party applications, such as ERP systems, marketing automation tools, and other cloud services. A lot of features can be enhanced  using third party custom apps available on Appexchange. Integration testing ensures that these connections work seamlessly. This includes:

• API Testing: Validating that Salesforce APIs correctly handle data exchange between Salesforce and external systems.
• End-to-End Testing: Ensuring data flows correctly through the entire business process, from Salesforce to the integrated application and back.
• Error Handling: Verifying that the system gracefully handles integration errors and provides meaningful error messages.

Release Testing

Salesforce releases three major updates annually, along with several minor updates and patches. Salesforce provide timely updates and information on the upcoming changes to the stakeholders. Release testing is crucial to ensure these updates do not disrupt existing functionalities. This involves:

• Regression Testing: Checking that new updates do not negatively impact existing customization and functionalities. This often involves running a suite of automated tests.
• User Acceptance Testing (UAT): Engaging end-users to test new features and updates in a sandbox environment before they go live.
• Compatibility Testing: Ensuring the new release works correctly across different browsers and devices, especially if the organization uses Salesforce Classic and Lightning interfaces.

Salesforce testing employs various methods to address different aspects of the platform. There are 4 major aspects of it namely Native Salesforce testing, Manual testing, Exploratory testing and Automated testing :

Native Salesforce Testing

Native Salesforce testing uses built-in tools and features within the Salesforce environment. These tools are beneficial for both testing and debugging. These tools are useful for all Developers, Testers and Admins:

• Developer Console: Allows developers to write and execute tests directly in Salesforce.
• Apex Test Execution: Built-in framework for running unit tests on custom Apex code.
• Trails and Trailmixes: Guided learning paths provided by Salesforce to help users understand and implement best practices in testing.

Manual Testing

Manual testing involves human testers who set up, execute, and analyze tests. For a Salesforce tester it is required to have a deep understanding of the Platform admin role:

• Versatility: Testers can design a wide range of tests, including functional, system, and regression tests.
• Real-World Scenarios: Manual testing is effective for exploratory testing and validating user interfaces.
• Limitations: It is time-consuming, prone to human error, and not easily scalable.

Exploratory Salesforce Testing

Exploratory testing is a creative and investigative manual testing approach:

• Scenario-Based: Testers explore the system without predefined scripts, often uncovering edge cases and unexpected behavior.
• Flexibility: It allows testers to use their intuition and experience to find potential issues.
• Challenges: Requires skilled testers with deep knowledge of the system and business processes.

Automated Salesforce Testing

Automated testing is crucial for efficient and reliable Salesforce testing:

• Scalability: Automated tests can be run repeatedly across different environments and scenarios, saving time and effort.
• Tools: Various tools, such as Selenium and Provar, can automate testing. AI-driven tools offer advanced capabilities like self-healing tests and intelligent data analysis.
• Continuous Integration: Automated tests can be integrated into CI/CD pipelines to ensure rapid feedback and early detection of issues.

Salesforce testing occurs at multiple levels to ensure comprehensive coverage:

Unit Testing

• Developer Focused: Conducted by developers using Apex to test individual code units.
• Granular Testing: Ensures that each small piece of code functions correctly.
• Early Detection: Helps catch issues early in the development process.

System Testing

• End-to-End Testing: Performed by business experts to validate the complete system’s functionality.
• Functional Coverage: Ensures that all system components work together as intended.
• Use Cases: Designed based on real-world business processes and scenarios.

User Acceptance Testing (UAT)

• End-User Focused: Involves actual users testing the system to ensure it meets their needs.
• Scenario-Based: Users create real-world scenarios to validate the system’s functionality and usability.
• Final Validation: Provides confidence that the system is ready for production use.

Production Testing

• Live Environment: Testing conducted in the production environment to ensure smooth transitions.
• Configuration Checks: Verifies that code and configurations are correctly deployed from sandbox to production.
• Critical for Go-Live: Ensures the system is fully functional before it goes live to end-users.

Regression Testing

• Impact Analysis: Evaluates the impact of new code or updates on existing functionalities.
• Continuous Testing: Often automated, running regularly to catch issues introduced by new releases or fixes.
• Comprehensive Coverage: Ensures that existing features continue to work as expected after changes.

By understanding and implementing these various aspects and levels of Salesforce testing, organizations can ensure a reliable, robust, and high-performing Salesforce environment that meets their business needs and enhances user satisfaction.

This blog covers the general gist of the processes and methodologies involved. We will further document more of these in details and will also posts specifics like third party application testing in upcoming blogs.