Validate app functionality

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Validate App Functionality

    Validating app functionality is essential to ensure that applications work as intended throughout their development. This involves a series of testing phases, including unit testing, system testing, automated testing, and user acceptance testing (UAT).

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    Key Features

    • Unit Testing: Focuses on validating requirements specified in individual stories. Developers should test features within the context of their stories and related components, ensuring they meet expected outcomes before story closure.
    • System Testing: Conducted upon completion of development to evaluate the interaction of all components and integrations. This requires collaboration between developers and the QA/testing team.
    • Automated Test Framework (ATF): Utilized for automating functional and system testing to enhance efficiency and reduce costs. Developers are encouraged to use parameterized testing, maintain test naming standards, and create self-contained tests.
    • User Acceptance Testing (UAT): Involves stakeholders evaluating the application against business requirements to confirm its readiness for delivery. Developers will address issues identified during this phase.

    Key Outcomes

    By following these testing practices, ServiceNow customers can ensure their applications are reliable, meet user expectations, and are ready for production deployment. Effective validation reduces the risk of issues in live environments and enhances overall application quality.

    As the application is built, validate that it works as expected.

    Unit testing

    Unit/Story testing ensures requirements specified in a story are validated before closing the story. A Story/Unit is a smallest testable portion of system or application that can be configured and executed.

    When the configuration of the story is complete, developers need to unit test the features not only in the context of that particular story, but also other related stories that share components with the current story.

    As a good practice, developers need to assign the story to process owner or designated stakeholder to validate the story configuration meets expected outcomes before closing the story.

    ServiceNow’s Automated Test Framework (ATF) is primarily meant for automating functional testing of applications but in few cases can be used to automate unit testing of configurations that involve Script Includes and Business Rules.

    System testing

    System testing is performed on a complete system when development is completed. Test the overall interaction of components and integrations with other applications within scope. System testing is performed by the QA/Testing team, but developers need to collaborate with the QA team and process owners to ensure test cases provide comprehensive coverage. Developers will be responsible for remediation of issues found during System Testing.

    Automated Test Framework

    Automated Test Framework (ATF) should be leveraged for automating functional system testing of ServiceNow applications to reduce testing time and costs and make testing repeatable and UI independent. When creating test cases, follow these guidelines.

    When creating tests:

    • Use parameterized testing to avoid duplicate test cases.
    • Follow a Test naming standard.
      • <app initial>: <functionality that is being tested>
      • CSM: Resolve case
    • Describe each test’s use case in its description. For example: Sample that tests use case.
    • Develop tests on a Development instance and promote/run the test on a Test instance.
    • Clones wipe out tests. Use one of these options to preserve tests:
      • Bundle tests in a scoped app and upload the app to GIT.
      • Save tests before the clone.
      • Promote tests to prod instance, but DO NOT EXECUTE THE TESTS IN PROD.
    • Create self-contained tests.
    • Create new server-side or REST test steps any test steps are missing. For example: Email body verification.
    • Use server-side test step whenever possible and when screenshots are not important.
    • Start with the Impersonatestep.
    • Be aware of browser throttling.
    • Use the Test Logs and Test Transactions to troubleshoot test errors.

    When creating test suites:

    • Follow a test suite naming standard. For example: ITSM INT: Use cases.
    • Describe the suite.
      • Test suite description: "This is a sample test suite to test plugin/application".
      • Provide any additional information possible in the description.
    • Organize test suites by feature areas.

    User acceptance testing

    User Acceptance Testing (UAT) is a test conducted to evaluate the application’s compliance with the business requirements and assess whether the application is acceptable for delivery. Users, customers, or other authorized stakeholders perform acceptance testing. Developers will be responsible for remediation of issues found during System Testing.