SAP UI Test Automation is Dead as it’s Too Slow - Part Two

[MichalKrawczyk]

In the first part of my article series Was SAP UI Test Automation just killed by SAP API Hub and Solace?, we explored the key factors making SAP UI Test Automation increasingly obsolete. The combination of SAP Business Accelerator Hub and Solace’s event-driven architecture (EDA) introduced powerful alternatives to UI testing by leveraging APIs and real-time event messages. The benefits were clear:

1. Stability Over Changing Interfaces: Unlike SAP UI testing, API interfaces remain consistent and unaffected by frequent UI updates, making them a more reliable choice.
2. Broad Participation: API testing enables functional teams, developers, and business users to participate in testing, breaking the dependency on specialized test automation teams.
3. Simplified Setup: API testing eliminates the need for complex, screen-based test setups.
4. Cost-Effectiveness: Resource demands for API testing are far lower, leading to significant savings.

However, one major factor we didn’t delve into before was speed. While SAP UI test automation is resource-intensive and complex to set up, it’s also extremely slow in execution, especially when dealing with end-to-end processes across platforms connected to SAP S/4HANA. Let’s explore why SAP UI testing lags so far behind and how API testing has revolutionized speed and efficiency in SAP testing that allows testing a complex SAP Business Processes one hundred times in a matter of 129 seconds only as shown in the Figure 1. 

Figure 1 - testing a complete E2E SAP S/4HANA process 100 times in 129 seconds 

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The Drawbacks of SAP UI Test Automation: Setup and Execution Speed

Beyond the challenges we’ve already discussed, SAP UI testing is inefficient by design. Here’s why it slows down both testing and deployment cycles:

1. Complex Setup: SAP UI test automation requires recording screens across various UI technologies, whether SAP GUI, SAP Fiori, or Web Dynpro. This is labor-intensive and needs to be redone with every update to the UI or business process, making setup slow and costly.

2. Resource-Heavy Execution: Running a full suite of SAP UI tests demands significant computational resources, often requiring multiple virtual servers to simulate user interactions across different screens. This complexity makes it nearly impossible to run large-scale tests efficiently, limiting how often organizations can execute these tests in agile deployment cycles.

3. Slow Processing Time: UI-based testing involves replicating user actions, which must wait for each screen to load, process inputs, and complete transitions. This means that even basic tests take longer to execute compared to API-based processes, which bypass the UI entirely.

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Speed Advantage of SAP API Testing

In contrast, API testing introduces an entirely different experience when it comes to speed. With API and event-driven architecture, testing bypasses the SAP UI and interacts directly with the business logic and data processing. This shift eliminates many of the inefficiencies inherent in UI testing. Here’s how:

1. Rapid Execution Without Extra Hardware: Unlike UI testing, which often requires virtual servers and other costly infrastructure, API testing runs smoothly on standard hardware, removing a significant financial and logistical burden.

2. Blazing-Fast Test Cycles: For example, running an end-to-end SAP Ariba and SAP S/4HANA process 100 times with API testing can take just 129 seconds—an astonishingly short time that UI test automation cannot compete with. This speed enables organizations to test thoroughly and frequently, supporting agile development and faster deployment cycles.

3. Efficient Resource Utilization: Since API tests only communicate with the business logic layer, they can execute in parallel with minimal resource strain. This allows organizations to maximize testing without overloading their infrastructure, unlike SAP UI tests, which are confined by server availability and loading times.

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The End of SAP UI Test Automation?

The clear advantage in setup, resource efficiency, and speed makes SAP API testing the superior approach for SAP S/4HANA and SAP Ariba transformations. The continued reliance on UI testing is becoming increasingly difficult to justify when API testing offers:

• Incredible Speed: API testing can handle processes in seconds, allowing full-scale testing to occur in the time it would take a single UI test to load.
• Reliability: API testing bypasses the inconsistencies of changing UI interfaces, enabling a stable and consistent testing environment.
• Lower Costs: By reducing the need for virtual servers and specialized hardware, API testing frees up valuable resources for other business initiatives.
• Greater Scalability: With no need for multiple servers or specialized hardware, API tests scale easily across large data sets and complex business processes.

The move towards API and event-driven testing isn’t just an upgrade; it’s a paradigm shift that addresses the limitations of UI-based testing and aligns testing capabilities with modern, agile business needs. By embracing API and EDA-driven testing, organizations can look forward to faster, more efficient, and more cost-effective SAP testing, ensuring their systems meet high standards without sacrificing speed.

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Conclusion

As SAP landscapes become more composable and connected, the need for efficient testing methodologies becomes paramount. SAP UI test automation, once a necessary part of testing, now stands in the way of speed and agility. SAP API testing, with its remarkable execution time, efficient resource usage, and low-cost infrastructure, has emerged as the clear replacement.

The time has come for organizations to transition fully from SAP UI to SAP API testing to keep pace with the demands of the modern ERP landscape. The shift not only streamlines testing but ensures that testing supports rather than hinders business agility and innovation.

Further Reference: 

Avoid SAP S/4HANA Project Delays with Third-Party Systems Service Virtualization

[zfiori]

Hi Community,

" As SAP landscapes become more composable and connected, the need for efficient testing methodologies becomes paramount. SAP UI test automation, once a necessary part of testing, now stands in the way of speed and agility. SAP API testing, with its remarkable execution time, efficient resource usage, and low-cost infrastructure, has emerged as the clear replacement. "

Nice sharing, it really help us a lot.

🙂

Regards,

ZFiori.