Automated testing is a key aspect of the world that we live in today. As your business evolves, so does the complexity of the system. Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations is a powerful platform that supports finance, supply chain, manufacturing and HR operations in one ecosystem.
Every time you customize a form, extend a class or integrate a new update there is a potential risk of regression. Microsoft alone releases regular platform updates that may have a huge impact on your functionality and may cause downtime or data inconsistencies in your code.
That’s where automated testing steps in. It transforms quality assurance from a bottleneck into a competitive advantage.
Why Automated Testing for D365 F&O
Manual testing alone can’t keep up with the speed of the business. It’s labor-intensive, inconsistent and doesn’t scale well. On the other hand, automated testing provides repeatable and reliable test coverage across your entire D365 F&O landscape.
Whether you’re managing financial consolidations or orchestrating a global supply chain, automated testing helps you validate that your systems behave as expected before changes hit production.
Types of Automated Tests
A strong automated testing strategy doesn’t rely on one type of test. It’s a layered approach that includes:
- Unit Tests: This type of tests ensures that your smallest components work as intended with testing individual methods. Unit tests are built using the SysTestFramework from the TestEssentials module, allowing developers to validate business logic in isolation.
- Component Tests: Help verify the interaction between multiple related classes or services.
- Integration Tests: Ensures that end-to-end processes involving multiple modules and external systems work together as expected.
- Regression Tests: Essential for D365 F&O environments because frequent updates from Microsoft can introduce unintended side effects. Ensures that new updates or changes haven’t broken existing functionality.
Regression Suite Automation Tool (RSAT)
The RSAT tool is specifically designed for D365 F&O and enables users to automate business process testing using task recordings (built-in feature in every F&O extension for Visual Studio) created in the user interface.
RSAT helps to automatically convert task recordings into test scripts that can run across environments without manual effort. With RSAT, regressions can be identified even before they hit production, which makes it easier to validate business processes after each platform update.
RSAT tests are data-driven, so you can reuse the same test logic with different datasets. This is especially useful for complex financial scenarios or supply chain variations. Also, RSAT tests can be integrated directly with Azure DevOps, enabling you to schedule test runs, track results and manage test artifacts from one centralized place. This makes it easier to adopt a CI/CD pipeline and embrace a DevOps culture within your organization.
Empower your system with SysTestFramework
While RSAT focuses on business process validation through the UI, there is also a need for a more code-centric approach to ensure logical integrity. That’s where SysTestFramwork comes into play.
SysTestFramework is part of the TestEssentials model which is available in every D365 F&O environment by default. Writing AT’s with SysTestFramework is ideal for validating business rules, financial calculations or integration logic. You can implement unit, component, integration and services tests with the SysTestFramework.
SysTest-based tests run quickly and require no UI interaction, making them ideal for fast feedback. Like RSAT tests, they can also be executed within Azure DevOps pipelines, making them a key component of the automated build and release process.
Conclusion
Microsoft regularly releases platform updates for D365 F&O throughout the whole year. Without automated tests in place, teams often discover issues after going live, leading to delayed operations and not satisfied uses. With proper test coverage through RSAT and SysTestFramework, you can validate your critical scenarios ahead of time and apply updates confidently.
Automated testing in D365 F&O is not just about avoiding bugs. It’s about accelerating delivery, reducing downtime and ensuring that your ERP system scales with your business.
At Solutionade, we help businesses integrate automated testing into their Dynamics 365 F&O journey. Whether you’re just starting with RSAT, building unit tests with SysTest, or setting up a full Azure DevOps testing pipeline, we’re here to support your path to quality and innovation.