Lesson 1 of 5
Test management in Cloud ALM
9 min
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Test management in SAP Cloud ALM is built around one idea: tests come from the business processes in scope. You do not start with an empty test library and fill it. You start with the project's scope and solution processes, and you build test cases on top of them. Get that order right and traceability, coverage and readiness reporting come almost for free. Get it wrong and you end up with a pile of test cases the analytics cannot see.
- Scope and requirementsSolution processes in scope; requirements and user stories approved
- Test PreparationManual or automated test cases, related to processes, requirements and user stories
- Test PlansTest cases grouped for a cycle, sequenced, with one tester per test case
- Test ExecutionTest runs with a status per action and evidence
- Defects and analyticsDefects from failed runs, retest, and readiness by requirement and process
The four test apps
| App | Purpose | Main users |
|---|---|---|
| Test Preparation | Create, upload and maintain test cases; set them to Prepared | Test authors, functional consultants, test lead |
| Test Plans | Group test cases for a cycle, set dates, sequence and testers | Test lead |
| Test Execution | Run assigned test cases, rate actions, attach evidence | Testers and key users |
| Defects | Record and process failures found in test runs | Testers, developers, consultants, test lead |
Cloud ALM test management apps.
Cloud ALM has two test case types. A manual test case is made of activities, and each activity contains actions with instructions and an expected result. An automated test case is authored and executed in a connected test automation tool; Cloud ALM holds its general information and relations, triggers it and stores the results. Both types can sit in the same test plan, so a regression cycle can mix the two.
Who does what
At Contoso, Priya (test lead) owns the test approach and the test plans. Functional consultants write and maintain test cases for the processes they configured. Key users such as Maria (order to cash) review test cases for business correctness and later execute them in user acceptance testing. The Cloud ALM roles reflect this: project leads and members can manage test cases, while the Tester role can view and execute test cases and create defects but not redesign the tests.
Where test management fits in SAP Activate
Test planning starts in the Explore phase, once Fit-to-Standard has settled the scope. Test cases are prepared during Realize as configuration finishes, and SAP's guidance for S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition expects formal tests, such as end-to-end, integration, data migration and user acceptance tests, to be documented in Cloud ALM test management. Regression test plans are reused in Run for each upgrade or feature pack.
- ExploreScope settledProcesses in scope and requirements captured in Fit-to-Standard; test strategy written
- Early RealizeTest cases builtTest cases created from processes and refined by consultants; reviewed by key users
- RealizeIntegration and UAT plansTest plans per cycle; test cases Prepared; testers assigned
- RunRegression reusedThe same test cases reused in regression plans for upgrades
SAP has also documented AI assistance with Joule for proposing test scope and drafting manual test cases from a process and its linked requirements, offered at the time of writing through an early adopter program. Treat any generated test case as a draft: a person reviews it before it is set to Prepared, exactly as for one a consultant wrote.
Public Edition customers also have SAP's own test automation tool for SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, which ships standard automated tests for SAP Best Practices processes. For Private Edition and on-premise programs like Contoso's, manual test cases in Cloud ALM are the baseline, and automation is added through a connected provider.
What would you do?
Contoso's consultants want to start writing test cases in Cloud ALM during the Prepare phase, before Fit-to-Standard. Priya has to decide. What is the best response?
- Cloud ALM test management is process-based: test cases are built on scoped solution processes.
- The test apps are Test Preparation, Test Plans, Test Execution and Defects, with analytics on top.
- Manual test cases have activities and actions; automated test cases run in a connected provider.
- Test planning starts in Explore; test cases are prepared in Realize and reused for regression in Run.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. What is a test case in Cloud ALM built on?
2. What are the building blocks of a manual test case?
3. Which app groups test cases for a cycle and assigns testers?
4. In which Activate phase does test planning start?