Salesforce is the largest Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool in the world. Over the years, it has evolved into a beast that can do everything your Sales & Marketing teams need it to do (and more!). Its size means it’s a great addition to your company but also makes it tricky to test. 

In this article, we will give you some actionable Salesforce integration testing tips. We hope to make your time testing Salesforce integrations as painless as possible from day one. 

Salesforce Integration Testing Tips

#1 – Finish Your Unit Tests First

The goal of integration testing is to see how different Salesforce modules and 3rd party apps interact to find any bugs. You can only do this successfully if you know that each of the modules works as intended on its own. Thus, you must complete all your unit tests before you start integration testing. 

#2 – Use the Sandbox Environment

Salesforce comes with a built-in test environment called the Sandbox. Your developers should be using it already. You can test code in the Sandbox and deploy it into production from there. Working within the Sandbox reduces friction between you and the developers and is the place Salesforce recommends you perform all your tests. Don’t waste time testing anywhere else; make the Sandbox your friend.

#3 – Pick Your Testing Strategy

You can use several methods to perform integration testing, each with its own pros and cons. 

You could use Big Bang testing and check all the modules at once, but this is only advised if you have a small number of modules. In reality, you will probably choose one of the incremental testing methods and test two or more components simultaneously. 

You could choose Bottom-Up and test the lower-level modules first. This method makes fault localization easier but leaves the more critical modules (those at the top) to be tested last, which can cause delays if there are bugs. 

On the other hand, you could choose Top-Down and check the higher-level components first. This method also makes fault localization easy, gives you the chance to create early-stage prototypes, and ensures the more critical modules are tested first. But it can lead to lower-level components not being tested adequately. 

Lastly, you could combine the two incremental approaches above via Sandwich testing and get the best of both worlds. 

One method is not necessarily the best for all organizations. Sit down and figure out which aspects of integration testing you want to prioritize as you choose your testing strategy.

#4 – Identify Critical Modules

There are many integrations you need to test. But, some are more important than others. This includes any integrations that directly impact your company’s bottom line such as customer contracts, accounts receivable, or license management.

Make sure you prioritize the essential modules first. These modules are mission-critical and, should they fail, will lead to a cascade of problems for Salesforce down the road. Moreover, they may contain more bugs that are harder to fix.

Thus, it is vital to get the development team to fix them as soon as possible rather than waiting until the end. You might be able to live with a minor, rare bug in a nondescript module. But you cannot live with any in your critical modules. Work on them first to ensure development is rapid and effective.

#5 – Create Test Data Before You Start

Test data is essential to perform integration tests with Salesforce. You could create it on the fly, but this will lead to problems and slow your whole process down. Create your test data in advance to make sure you cover real-world scenarios such as different currencies, small or large data, or empty values. Make sure you have test data ready beforehand to ensure the maximum speed and efficiency for your integration tests.

#6 – Arrange – Act – Assert

Having a framework to follow will significantly improve your efficiency when writing tests and ensure consistent and high-quality output for the long term. First, arrange everything you need for your test—create objects, give appropriate names and prepare your test data.

Put this all in a separate method to enhance code readability. Then act—run the logic or business rules you need to test on the objects you arranged. Finally, make sure you assert the results of your tests and check the result. A test that doesn’t assert the result isn’t really a test.

#7 – Automate Your Functional Salesforce Tests

Writing and maintaining all your tests by hand slows you down and makes your tests error-prone. Using testing tools fixes this problem. One such salesforce integration testing tool is Functionize.

They use AI-powered low-code automation to make it easy for all teams across your business. Non-technical users, including Salesforce subject matter experts, can participate in the lightning-fast test creation process.

That’s why so many companies trust Functionize to help scale their end-to-end automation suite. In fact, teams at Salesforce use it to test their own product! If you’re using Salesforce for your CRM, using the test suite they prefer makes sense.

Conclusion

So there you have it, seven actionable tips to improve your integration testing in Salesforce. But tips are no good unless you implement them. So get out there and start taking action. Every suggestion you implement will improve your company’s Salesforce workflow, which will only enhance your sales and marketing pipeline and lead to more growth for your business.