Testing hotfixes with automation scripts

Body

When a PMR is submitted by the customer to the IBM support team, it usually comes with a scenario description that the IBM support professional can use to try to reproduce the issue in an internal environment.

This same scenario can be used to create an automation script (in this case, in IBM Rational Functional Tester or Google Selenium, which has a framework tuned to work with Maximo, developed by Maximo development team) that will be used to test the hotfix when it is installed in a non-production environment for validation purposes (IBM side and/or customer side).

Both tools are not included with Maximo. IBM Rational Functional Tester is a separate tool that must be purchased separately. On the other hand, Google Selenium is a free tool and is also not included with Maximo.

You can also use different automation scripts to test other possible issues, in the same execution, without the need of human interaction.  For example, you want to make sure that a specific process continues to work the way it always did after you install an upgrade or another patch in the application. You can compile all these tests in the same script (or suite), start the execution and go do another thing (go lunch, go home, etc).

It is possible to use a set of scripts (or a suite) that can be triggered once, that will execute all the kinds of tests you want to execute before the update goes live in production.

IBM Maximo best practices include testing all hot fixes or upgrades or anything that is installed in a client environment in a separate environment -  before it goes to production. These tests take time, resources (people) and precision in order of taking the maximum potential of a testing session. All this work can be done by one or more computers, or cloud(s), in a controlled environment, automatically.

At the end of the execution a detailed report is generated and all the steps executed by the script(s) are compiled and registered with a status (pass/fail) and actions can be taken more easily, based on a reliable source.