Does Cycle have a way to test the Integration Layer of my WMS?
Problem
System communications while critical can be overlooked in the testing Cycle. Especially when the integration layer is run by different groups within an organization, trying to get valid data coordinated is often difficult.
Solution
Cycle includes steps that interact directly JDA WMS Integration layer. Inbound transactions, both standard and custom, can be initiated within a Cycle Feature. The benefits of this direct integration are twofold:
Testing
New and existing inbound transactions can be tested for system communication, file processing, data delivery and data accuracy.
Unit, Regression and Volume testing methods for inbound transactions are all possible using Cycle’s direct integration.
Data Loading
With the ability to process inbound transactions in Cycle, actual host system files and therefor host system data can be used in functional area testing (real inbound receipts and orders for example).
Usage
To utilize this functionality a MOCA connection within the Cycle Feature is required.
The steps to execute MOCA integrator transactions are:
I log MOCA integrator event "<EVENT_ID>" with value "<COMMA_SEPARATED_VALUE_ASSIGNMENTS>"
This step logs the transaction for the given event id with the arguments defined in the step itself. The arguments follow the format “parameter = value” and are separated by commas. All arguments required by the event would need to be defined in the step in for the step to pass. This step provides the user the ability to dictate the exact values sent. This step is highly useful in the Unit testing phase of development, as well as for loading data into the WMS.
Examples
Example 1:
I log MOCA integrator event "VC_TX" with value "lodnum=L123,stoloc=B456"
I log MOCA inbound integration transaction "<TRANSACTION_NAME>" on system "<SYSTEM_NAME>" with file "<REMOTE_FILE_PATH>"
This step logs the transaction for the given event id on the defined system with the file name provided. This would process the file through the appropriate system and system communication method just as if sent from the host system. This step is highly useful in all phases of testing, as well as for loading data into the WMS.
Example2:
I log MOCA inbound integration transaction "ORD_INB_IFD" on system "HOST" with file "$LESDIR/files/ord_123.xml"
Validation:
When testing, validations are critical to ensure test success. When loading data, it is necessary to make sure the data that is expected in the system is in fact loaded before trying to use it for the functional test.
When using either Cycle step to test inbound Integration it is important to include validations that the transaction was sent successfully and that the data processed as expected. This could include GUI screen validations for example opening Event Query or Download viewer and any other supporting screens an End User would use to validate information.
In-line MOCA commands or MSQL scripts can also be used within Cycle to perform validations.
An example in Cycle of a typical way validating communication and data success would be constructed:
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