ATF - When Is Manual Testing Faster?

[kkrushkov]

Hi everyone,

I'm currently learning ATF in ServiceNow and have a question. Are there specific scenarios where manual testing would actually be faster than automated testing? For instance, when testing Service Catalog functionality, wouldn't it be quicker to run the test manually rather than building multiple and complex test steps? I'd love to hear your thoughts or experiences on this!

[abhi159]

Yes sometimes manual testing is faster but if you develop something and you have to test again and again after each update in code for example you made something related to incident and to test every time you have to create incident and perform every step to test so for that if we have ATF you can enjoy ATF will do that thing but you have to create ATF steps also so its completely  depend on situations.

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[Aniket Chavan · Accepted solution]

Hello @kkrushkov ,

Great question! While Automated Testing Framework (ATF) in ServiceNow is powerful and efficient, there are indeed scenarios where manual testing may be faster, especially in specific contexts like Service Catalog functionality.

Here are a few points to consider:

1. Simple, one-off tests: If you're performing quick, ad-hoc tests or checking small changes, it might be faster to test manually. Setting up ATF test cases can take time if the tests are complex and involve multiple steps or conditions.

2. Low-frequency changes: When you're dealing with features or functionalities that don’t change often, creating automated tests may not justify the initial effort of building and maintaining the test cases. Manual testing is sufficient in such cases.

3. UI-based validation: While ATF excels at functional and regression testing, it may not be necessary to automate minor UI component testing. For instance, testing a simple change in layout or verifying the placement of UI elements can be done manually more quickly.

4. Complex test steps: When a feature requires multiple steps or scenarios (like testing workflows with various conditions), manual testing may seem quicker at first glance. However, the real benefit of ATF comes from reusability—once you set up the test, you can run it automatically with every instance change or upgrade, saving you a lot of time in the long run.

Why use ATF anyway?
- Reusability: Once set up, tests can be reused for upgrades, eliminating repetitive manual tests.
- Reduced errors: Automated tests eliminate human error, ensuring consistent results.
- Batch testing: ATF allows running large test suites on-demand or during off-hours, which speeds up the process overall.

So, in summary, while manual testing may seem faster for quick, isolated cases or small-scale UI checks, **ATF shines for regression testing, large test suites, or when you need consistency across multiple updates.** If you're testing something repeatedly (like Service Catalog changes after every upgrade), investing time in building ATF tests will save you effort in the long run.

Also you can go through this in detailed youtube video for in depth information - ServiceNow Automated Test Framework Crash Course | Learn ServiceNow ATF in 2.5 Hours

Hope this helps! 😊

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Regards,
Aniket