Salesforce Test Automation (Tools included)

Salesforce test automation is essential for maintaining the integrity of applications on the Salesforce platform. With regular updates and customizations, automating testing saves time and enhances accuracy, ensuring everything functions smoothly.

This article explores various tools available for Salesforce test automation, including BrowserStack, Selenium, Provar, and Cypress. Each of these tools offers unique strengths to help your teams.

What is Salesforce Test Automation?

Salesforce test automation involves using specialized tools to automatically validate the functionality, performance, and user experience of Salesforce applications. It ensures that updates and customizations don’t introduce bugs or break existing features.

Automating these tests saves time, reduces manual effort, and improves test coverage, allowing teams to focus on higher-value tasks.

For instance, BrowserStack enables teams to run automated tests across multiple browsers and devices. You can use BrowserStack to test a Salesforce application on various platforms, ensuring the user interface looks and functions correctly for all users. This helps catch compatibility issues early, improving the application’s overall quality and user experience.

What are Salesforce Automated Testing Tools?

Salesforce automated testing tools are platforms or frameworks designed to streamline the testing of Salesforce applications by automating repetitive test cases. These tools help verify that Salesforce customizations, workflows, and integrations function correctly after updates or deployments.

They support various types of testing, such as UI, API, regression, and cross-browser testing, and often integrate with CI/CD pipelines to enable faster, more reliable releases. Tools like BrowserStack, Provar, and Selenium are commonly used to ensure consistent performance and user experience across different environments.

Top 10 Test Automation Tools for Salesforce

Here are 10 top test automation tools that help ensure reliable and efficient testing of Salesforce applications:

1. BrowserStack

BrowserStack is a cloud-based testing platform that lets you run automated tests on real devices and browsers. It is a powerful and user-friendly tool that simplifies cross-platform testing for Salesforce applications and provides seamless integration with Selenium making it easier to ensure a seamless user experience across all devices and browsers.

Features:

• Real device and browser testing
• Integrates with Selenium and other frameworks
• Run tests on a wide range of browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and more.
• Supports parallel test execution to speed up the process.
• Detailed logs and screenshots for debugging
• Easily integrate with popular CI/CD tools like Jenkins, CircleCI, and GitHub Actions.

Pros:

• Ensures your Salesforce app works on real user devices, not emulators.
• Automate tests on multiple platforms without setting up complex infrastructure.
• Works with Selenium, Cypress, and other frameworks, making it easy to incorporate into existing workflows.
• Test on a variety of devices and browsers instantly via the cloud.

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2. Selenium

Selenium is an open-source tool for automating web browsers. It allows you to simulate user interactions with Salesforce applications, for testing web-based functionality.

Features:

• It supports multiple languages (Java, Python, etc.).
• Browser compatibility with Chrome, Firefox, etc.
• Extensive community support

Pros:

• Free and open-source
• Highly customizable
• Large user community

Cons:

• Requires setting up your own infrastructure
• Can be slow for large, complex tests
• Steeper learning curve for beginners

3. Cypress

Cypress is a modern testing framework designed for fast, reliable testing of web applications. It works directly inside the browser, making it quick for debugging.

Features:

• Fast test execution
• Real-time browser interaction
• Easy debugging with video recordings

Pros:

• Fast and reliable
• Excellent for end-to-end testing
• Great developer tools

Cons:

• Limited browser support (Chrome, Electron, Firefox)
• Does not support multiple tabs or windows

4. Leapwork

Leapwork is a no-code automation testing platform, designed to make test automation accessible without coding knowledge. Used for Salesforce users who need quick automation without complex setup.

Features:

• No-code test automation
• Visual flowcharts for test cases
• Supports web, desktop, and mobile apps

Pros:

• Easy for non-developers
• Quick setup with visual workflows
• Scalable across teams

Cons:

• Limited integration options compared to code-based tools
• Can be expensive for smaller teams

5. Provar

Provar is a Salesforce-specific test automation tool that allows users to easily automate functional and regression testing without writing code.

Features:

• Salesforce-native tool
• Supports end-to-end testing
• No-code test creation

Pros:

• Deep integration with Salesforce
• No-code interface for fast automation
• Quick to set up and scale

Cons:

• Limited support for non-Salesforce applications
• Can be pricey for smaller teams

6. Copado

Copado is a DevOps platform tailored for Salesforce, with features for automated testing, deployment, and monitoring.

Features:

• Salesforce-specific
• Supports continuous integration and delivery
• Automated test execution

Pros:

• Tailored for Salesforce environments
• Great for teams using DevOps practices
• Integrates easily with Salesforce orgs

Cons:

• Primarily focused on Salesforce, not suitable for general automation
• Can be complex to configure initially

7. ACCELQ

ACCELQ is a low-code test automation tool that offers AI-driven testing for Salesforce apps, designed to improve test creation and maintenance.

Features:

• Low-code test automation
• AI-powered test generation
• Integrates with CI/CD pipelines

Pros:

• Easy for non-technical users
• AI-driven for faster test creation
• Scalable for large teams

Cons:

• Not fully free
• Involves learning curve for advanced features

8. Tricentis Tosca

Tricentis Tosca is a comprehensive test automation tool known for its model-based approach, ideal for large enterprises, including Salesforce apps.

Features:

• Model-based test automation
• Supports continuous integration
• Integrates with various platforms

Pros:

• Powerful test modeling features
• Scalable for large organizations
• Integrates well with CI/CD

Cons:

• High cost
• Can be complex for smaller teams to implement

9. OpKey

OpKey is an intelligent test automation platform designed for cloud applications like Salesforce. It features AI and machine learning to optimize test execution.

Features:

• AI-powered test automation
• Cross-platform compatibility
• Supports SAP, Oracle, Salesforce, and more

Pros:

• Smart test execution with AI
• Quick setup for teams
• Supports a wide range of applications

Cons:

• Limited open-source support
• Complex setup for beginners

10. Avo Assure

Avo Assure is a no-code test automation solution that supports end-to-end testing across multiple technologies, including Salesforce. It enables seamless automation without requiring programming expertise, making it accessible to all team members.

Features:

• 100% no-code test automation
• Supports over 200 technologies, including Salesforce
• End-to-end testing for UI, API, and database
• Parallel execution for faster testing

Pros:

• User-friendly, no coding required
• Broad technology compatibility
• Scalable for large enterprise needs

Cons:

• May have a steeper learning curve for advanced customization
• Limited pre-built templates for specific Salesforce workflows

Why is Salesforce Test Automation important?

Salesforce test automation is important because it improves the efficiency and reliability of testing, ensuring applications work properly after updates and new features.

By automating tests, you and your teams can quickly spot and fix bugs, reduce manual effort, and maintain consistent quality. This leads to faster deployment cycles and a better overall user experience.

Below are some key pointers to help you understand the importance of Salesforce automation tool:

• Efficiency: Saves time and manual effort in testing.
• Reliability: Minimizes human error for greater accuracy.
• Faster Feedback: Quickly identifies and resolves issues.
• Consistency: Provides uniform testing across various environments.
• Improved Quality: Boosts application performance and user satisfaction.

Types of Salesforce Testing

Salesforce testing includes different methods to make sure applications work well and meet user needs. Each type of testing looks at specific parts of the application, helping teams find and fix problems during development. Below is a list of types of salesforce testing.

1. Unit Testing: Verifies each component to ensure it functions properly.
2. Integration Testing: Tests how different systems or components interact with each other.
3. Functional Testing: Verifies that the application meets specific requirements and performs as expected.
4. UI Testing: Makes sure the user interface is easy to use and looks good.
5. Performance Testing: Evaluate the application’s speed and stability under various loads.
6. Regression Testing: Confirms that new changes haven’t disrupted existing functionality.

These testing types are essential for delivering high-quality Salesforce applications.

Salesforce Automated Testing with Selenium

Selenium is a powerful tool for automating web applications, including Salesforce. It allows for testing UI interactions, validating workflows, and ensuring overall functionality.

Prerequisites:

1. Selenium WebDriver: Make sure you have the most recent version set up.
2. Java/Python: Use a programming language supported by Selenium.
3. Salesforce Credentials: Access to a Salesforce instance for testing.
4. WebDriver for Browser: ChromeDriver, GeckoDriver, etc.

Setup:

Step 1. Install Selenium:

• For Python:

pip install selenium

• For Java: Add Maven dependency.

Step 2. Configure WebDriver: python:

from selenium import webdriver

from selenium.webdriver.chrome.service import Service

from webdriver_manager.chrome import ChromeDriverManager



# Configure WebDriver (automatically installs the correct chromedriver version)

service = Service(ChromeDriverManager().install())  # Automatically installs chromedriver

driver = webdriver.Chrome(service=service)

Step 3. Login to Salesforce:python:

driver.get("https://login.salesforce.com")

from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By



# Open Salesforce login page

driver.get("https://login.salesforce.com")



# Enter username and password, then click the login button

driver.find_element(By.ID, "username").send_keys("your_username")

driver.find_element(By.ID, "password").send_keys("your_password")

driver.find_element(By.ID, "Login").click()

Writing Tests:

Step 1. Locators: Use XPath or CSS selectors to find elements.

element = driver.find_element_by_xpath("//input[@name='search']")

Step 2. Assertions: Validate expected outcomes.

assert "Home" in driver.title

Step 3. Test Example:

def test_create_lead():

    driver.get("https://yourInstance.salesforce.com/lead/new")

    driver.find_element(By.ID, "name").send_keys("Test Lead")

    driver.find_element(By.ID, "save").click()

    assert "Lead created" in driver.page_source

Best Practices:

• Use Page Object Model (POM) to organize your code for better test maintainability.
• Explicit Waits: Implement waits for elements to load:

from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By

from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait

from selenium.webdriver.support import expected_conditions as EC

WebDriverWait(driver, 10).until(EC.visibility_of_element_located((By.ID, "element_id")))

• Data-Driven Testing: Use external files for test data.

Selenium is an effective tool for automating Salesforce testing, ensuring efficient validation of UI components and business logic. Always maintain your tests and adapt to Salesforce updates.

How to choose the best Salesforce Automated Testing Tool?

It can be tricky to pick the right tool in this competitive market, but this article will guide you in finding the best option for your needs.

For a reliable and efficient Salesforce automated testing experience, consider tools like BrowserStack that excel in compatibility, ease of use, and comprehensive testing features.

• Compatibility: Ensure the tool integrates seamlessly with Salesforce.
• Ease of Use: Look for a user-friendly interface that requires minimal setup.
• Cross-Browser Testing: Verify that the tool supports multiple browsers and devices.
• Scalability: Choose a tool that can handle large test suites and scale to meet your needs.
• Real Device Testing: Ensure the tool provides access to real devices for accurate results.
• Integration Capabilities: Check for compatibility with CI/CD tools for streamlined workflows.
• Support and Community: Look for tools with robust customer support and an active community.

Key Challenges in Salesforce Test Automation

Automating tests in Salesforce can be rewarding, but it comes with its own set of challenges. Here are some of the key obstacles you might face while automating Salesforce test scripts:

• Dynamic UI Elements: Salesforce often has elements that change frequently, making it hard to create stable test scripts. To address this, strategies like explicit waits, relative locators, or robust XPath/CSS selectors can help ensure the reliability of your tests.
• Complex User Interfaces: Salesforce’s intricate design can complicate how you identify and interact with different elements, leading to more complex automation scripts.
• Frequent Updates: Salesforce regularly updates its platform, which can break existing tests and require constant maintenance to keep everything running smoothly.
• Data Management: Ensuring your test data is consistent and relevant is crucial, but it can be challenging to maintain.
• Integration Testing: Testing how Salesforce works with other apps and third-party tools can add complexity, as you need to ensure everything functions seamlessly.
• Performance Issues: Automated tests may slow down with large data sets or complex workflows, so optimizing performance is key.
• Cross-Browser Compatibility: Making sure your tests work well across different browsers can be tricky, especially with dynamic content involved.

Best Practices for Salesforce Test Automation

Salesforce test automation helps keep your apps running smoothly and ensures they work correctly. It’s important to follow key practices to get the best results, like using stable test scripts, managing data well, and keeping tests updated.

Below are some best practices to help you optimize your Salesforce test automation efforts.

• Stable Element Locators: Use unique and reliable locators (like custom IDs) to avoid test failures from UI changes.
• Use Salesforce APIs: Automate data setup and verification through Salesforce APIs instead of UI for faster and more reliable tests.
• Modular Scripts: Break tests into smaller, reusable parts for easier maintenance and scalability.
• Focus on Key Flows: Automate the most important business processes to get the most value from your tests.
• Handle Dynamic Data: Use waits and dynamic locators to manage elements that change or load unpredictably.
• Test Data Consistency: Ensure you use test-specific data to avoid interference with live data.
• Parallel Testing: Run tests in parallel to speed up execution, especially with large datasets.
• Keep Tests Updated: Regularly update tests to align with Salesforce platform updates and changes.
• Cross-Browser Testing: Ensure your tests work across multiple browsers, especially for dynamic content.
• CI/CD Integration: Set up Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment to run tests automatically and catch issues early.

Benefits of Performing Cross-Platform Testing for a Salesforce Application

Cross-platform testing ensures your Salesforce app works flawlessly on different browsers and devices, providing a consistent user experience. Key benefits include:

1. Broader Compatibility: Test across various browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.) and OS platforms (Windows, macOS, iOS, Android) to catch compatibility issues early.
2. Real-World Accuracy: Use real devices for testing, ensuring more reliable results than simulators.
3. Faster Bug Tracking: Quickly identify and fix compatibility problems, improving app performance.
4. Efficiency: Automate tests across multiple platforms at once, saving time and resources.

With BrowserStack Automate, you can run tests on real devices in the cloud, ensuring smooth Salesforce functionality across all platforms. BrowserStack’s cloud-based solution offers easy scalability, enabling you to run multiple tests simultaneously and speed up the testing process.

By using BrowserStack, you eliminate the need for manual testing on different devices. You can also access detailed logs, screenshots, and videos for each test session, making it easier to debug issues and improve test accuracy.

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How to Perform Salesforce Test Automation Using BrowserStack

Testing Salesforce applications can be tricky, but with BrowserStack, you can easily automate tests across different browsers and devices. Follow these steps to use BrowserStack for Salesforce testing and ensure your apps work smoothly.

Step 1. Create a Test Plan

Identify key features and user flows in your Salesforce app that need testing. Focus on the most important areas to ensure thorough coverage.

Step 2. Create Test Scripts Using Selenium (Example: in Python)

Write automated test scripts using Selenium. Here’s a simple Python example:

from selenium import webdriver



driver = webdriver.Remote(

    command_executor='https://<username>:<access_key>@hub-cloud.browserstack.com/wd/hub',

    desired_capabilities={

        'browser': 'Chrome',

        'browser_version': 'latest',

        'os': 'Windows',

        'os_version': '10'

    }

)



driver.get('https://your.salesforce.app')

assert 'Salesforce' in driver.title

driver.quit()

Step 3. Configure BrowserStack SDK for Python: Install the BrowserStack SDK to run tests on their cloud:

python3 -m pip install browserstack-sdk

Step 4. Execute Scripts

Run your Selenium scripts on BrowserStack’s cloud, which will handle the execution across different browsers and devices.

Step 5. Monitor in Automate Dashboard

Track your test results in the BrowserStack Automate dashboard. View logs, screenshots, and videos to easily debug and analyze test runs.

This process streamlines your Salesforce test automation, ensuring extensive cross-platform testing with minimal setup.

Conclusion

Salesforce test automation ensures your app works perfectly across all browsers and devices. BrowserStack Automate, stands out with its real devices in the cloud, saving you time and effort.

It’s easy to set up, runs tests quickly, and gives you detailed results to spot issues fast. While other tools like Selenium and Cypress offer great flexibility, they may require more setup and infrastructure. Provar and Leapwork are ideal for no-code automation, but for deep Salesforce integration, with BrowserStack you can deliver a smooth, bug-free experience to all users every time.