Criteria for Determining if a Component Can Be Reused

Available for BPT Packaged Apps Kit Users

When BPT Packaged Apps Kit learns a flow, it analyzes the learned components to see if there exists within the project one or more components that are similar to, or identical to, the learned components. If such a component exists, BPT Packaged Apps Kit enables you to reuse the existing component instead of creating a new component in your flow.

Only components in the project that were created through the Learn Flow process are analyzed for similarity with the learned component. If components are similar to the learned component, it can be reused, and a new learned component is not created.

Note: A component that is substituted with a reused component is not listed in the flow folder of the Business Components module. A flow folder is not created in the Business Components module for flows that use only reused components. To find the location of a reused component, right-click the component in the Test Script tab of the Test Plan module and select Go to Component. The Business Component module opens and displays the selected component.

Existing learned components in the project are compared to the learned component using the following criteria:

  1. Both components represent the same screen.
  2. Both components represent the same screen with exactly the same objects. Checkpoints and Output objects must also be identical for this criterion to match.
  3. Both components contain the same steps. Steps are considered identical when they perform the same action, and refer to the same objects.
  4. Both components contain the same steps in the same order.

Percentage similarity is defined as follows, based on the criteria specified in Criteria for Comparison :

Percentage Definition

100

All four criteria are met.

75

Criteria 1, 2, and 3 are met.

50

Criteria 1 and 2, or 1 and 3, are met.

25

Criterion 1 is met.

The following entities also determine if the currently-learned component can be substituted with an existing learned component:

Entity Similarity

Checkpoints and Output objects

Are considered identical when they refer to the same properties.

Steps that reference table parameters

Are considered identical when they reference the same table object and use the Input operation. The structure of the table parameter (columns, rows) and the contents of individual cells within the tables are not compared.

Steps that reference methods

Are considered identical when they refer to the same objects and methods, have the same comments, and contain the same number of arguments. The values of the arguments are not compared.