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Lesson 5 of 5

Migration planning

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Migration planning for legacy test automation is less about moving files and more about making decisions. Very little of an eCATT or CBTA library carries over mechanically into a new approach. What carries over is knowledge: which processes matter, which checks prove them, which data they need. The plan turns that knowledge into a smaller, better regression suite managed in SAP Cloud ALM.

What SAP Cloud ALM provides

SAP describes Cloud ALM test management as covering test planning and execution, with test cases built from solution process activities, test plans for cycles, defects created from failed steps, and execution that can be manual, automated through integrated test tools, or both. For automation, Cloud ALM orchestrates rather than records: it integrates test automation providers, including the SAP S/4HANA Cloud Test Automation Tool, and offers test automation APIs for other providers, with reporting and triggering of automated test cases in Cloud ALM. eCATT and CBTA scripts are not executed by Cloud ALM; plan for them either to keep running in the old world for a while or to be rebuilt in a tool that integrates with Cloud ALM.

What can be transferred

SAP's transition course describes Selective Data Transfer (SDT) as a one-time, selective migration of Solution Manager content to Cloud ALM: process hierarchies, libraries, custom solution processes and diagrams, documents, and Focused Build test cases and test steps. It is not a synchronization, changes after the transfer are not picked up, and there is no rollback after upload. SAP recommends running the SAP Readiness Check for SAP Cloud ALM first and starting with small proof-of-concept packages. Check the current lesson and notes for prerequisites and for exactly which test objects your release transfers; automated scripts are not listed.

Selective Data Transfer is a one-way, one-time move: simulate it first, because changes afterward are not synced and uploads cannot be rolled back.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-tau-205
  1. Readiness checkSAP Readiness Check for SAP Cloud ALM on Solution Manager usage.
  2. Decide per assetRetire, rebuild or keep temporarily, using the assessment matrix.
  3. Transfer what fitsSelective Data Transfer for documentation and eligible test content, after simulation.
  4. Rebuild prioritiesRecreate high-value automated tests in the target approach, linked to Cloud ALM test cases.
  5. Run in parallelKeep selected eCATT configurations running against the old or new systems until replaced.
  6. Switch offRetire legacy assets when their replacements have run green for an agreed period.
A migration plan for legacy test assets.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-tau-205

Retire, rebuild or keep temporarily

  1. Does the script test a process that exists in the S/4HANA scope?No → retire · Yes → next question
  2. Is it stable and does it check business results?No → rebuild if the process is critical, otherwise retire · Yes → next question
  3. Can it run against the new systems with only a system data container change?Yes → keep temporarily and schedule its rebuild · No → rebuild
  4. Is a replacement running green in the target approach?Yes → retire the legacy script · No → keep it running until it is
Per-script decision for an inherited eCATT library.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-tau-205

Rebuilding does not mean copying steps one to one. Use the rebuild to move checks to the right layer: FUN-style interface checks become API tests, classic-transaction scripts for processes users now run in Fiori become Fiori or API tests, and the expected results become explicit business assertions. Keep test data containers' content as a source of realistic data variants; that knowledge is often the most reusable part of an old library.

A rebuild moves each legacy check to the right layer and keeps the knowledge, not the steps.
The Sign-Off Table · thesignofftable.com/academy/sap-tau-205

People and skills

The two people who maintained Contoso's eCATT library know more about the old processes than any document. Involve them in the rebuild decisions and in the new tooling, rather than leaving them to keep an old library alive alone. A migration that loses that knowledge rebuilds the scripts but not the understanding behind them.

What would you do?

Contoso has 71 stable eCATT configurations. 25 test processes that still exist and can be pointed at CMQ with a system data container change. Go-live is in Q3 and the new suite will not be complete until Q1 next year. What should happen to those 25?

Key points
  • Cloud ALM orchestrates manual and automated testing; it integrates automation providers and offers APIs, but does not run eCATT or CBTA scripts.
  • Selective Data Transfer is one-time, selective, with no sync and no rollback; simulate first and start small.
  • Decide per script: retire, rebuild or keep temporarily, with an exit for every kept script.
  • Rebuild to the right layer with explicit business assertions; reuse test data knowledge.
  • Retire legacy scripts only when replacements have run green and process owners agree.

Check your understanding · not graded

Lesson check

  1. 1. Which statement about SAP Cloud ALM and legacy eCATT scripts is correct?

  2. 2. Which describes Selective Data Transfer from Solution Manager to Cloud ALM?

  3. 3. A legacy script tests a process that no longer exists in the S/4HANA scope. What should happen?

  4. 4. When should a kept legacy script be retired?