Business components overview

A business component is a reusable unit that performs a specific task in a business process, and describes the condition or state of the application before and after the task.

In this topic:

Business component shell and content

A business components is composed of the shell and content. You can use a component in multiple business process tests and flows. When you modify a component or its content, all business process tests or flows containing that component reflect that modification.

Shell

General information such as component name and status. For task details on creating components and providing the shell, see Create business components in ALM.

Content

Steps or scripts. Low-level, detailed information, such as the component's manual steps and/or automation. The content provides detailed instructions for performing business process tasks in the application. Business component content can be manual, automated, or both—depending on whether you create a manual implementation and/or automation for the component. For task details on creating manual components, see Work with manual business components. For task details on creating automated components, see Work with keyword GUI automation and Work with scripted GUI and API Automation.

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Manual business component

Use the Manual Implementation tab in the Business Components module to create or modify manual business component content in the form of manual steps and expected results.

Manual steps represent operations that should be performed on your application when you run the component in a business process test or flow. Each step comprises a step name, a textual description of the procedure to be performed on the application, and the expected result (if any), of performing that step. When a business process test or flow with a manual component runs in ALM, the tester performs the steps defined in the manual component.

For task details, see Work with manual business components.

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Automated business component

You use the Automation tab in the Business Components module to create or modify automated business component content either as scripts or in the form of keyword-driven steps and expected results.

Create or modify automated business component content as scripts

Implemented in a testing tool such as UFT One (scripted GUI or API automation) or UFT Developer (UFT Developer automation).

Create or modify automated business component content in the form of keyword-driven steps and expected results

Keyword GUI automation. Steps represent operations that should be performed on your application when you run the component in a business process test or flow. Each step is made up of an item (an object in the application or an operation), and an operation. The available items and operations are defined by the automation engineer in the object repository and the function libraries. These objects and operations can be saved in ALM, making them available for insertion into steps by the subject matter expert. Note: Most of the information, examples, and images in this help focus specifically on working with keyword GUI automated components. However, much of the information also applies to scripted components (either scripted GUI or API).

When using the automated runner to run a business process test or flow in ALM, the steps or script defined in an automated component are performed.

Automation phases

Creating automated components consists of the following phases:

Phase	Description
Automation Type Selection	You create automation for a component when you select the automation type. After this phase, the component is accessible in the corresponding testing tool, such as UFT One. Creating the automated component within ALM is typically done by the subject matter expert.
Content Automation Preparation	You prepare a component's content for automation, for example, by selecting an application area. Preparing the automated component within ALM is typically done by the subject matter expert.
Content Automation	You create steps. The steps represent the operations that are performed automatically on your application when you run the component using a testing tool. After this phase, the steps are fully automated, and the automated component can run in an automatic runner without pausing. Automating steps within ALM is typically done by the subject matter expert in conjunction with the automation engineer.

Automation types

Business Process Testing provides the following types of automation.

Automation Type	Description
Keyword GUI automation	Enables you to create and modify automated keyword GUI steps in a Keyword view from within ALM. For task details, see Work with keyword GUI automation. Note: The Keyword view in ALM provides similar functionality to the Business Component Keyword View in UFT One. For a full description of the functionality provided in UFT One, see the Unified Functional Testing User Guide.
Scripted GUI automation	Enables you to launch UFT One to view and modify the automated scripted GUI and API steps. For task details, see Work with scripted GUI and API Automation.
API automation	Enables you to launch UFT One to view and modify the automated API steps. For task details, see Work with scripted GUI and API Automation.
UFT Developer automation	Enables you to view and modify UFT Developer automation implementation. For task details, see Work with UFT Developer automation.

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Application area

An application area provides all settings and resources required to automate content. When you create a business component and choose an associated application area, the settings and resources that are defined in the associated application area are embedded in the component. Therefore, any changes made to the application area in UFT One at a later time are applied directly to the component. You cannot delete an application area that is associated with a business component.

About creating application areas

You can create multiple application areas, each representing a different area or aspect in your application. It is important that you select the correct application area on which to base your business component. Each application area should have a detailed description to help you to make the correct choice.

You can start to create an automated component, even if its application area has not yet been created or fully-defined. Create the automated component by adding comments describing the steps you need to create when the application area is available. However, if the application area has not yet been created, you cannot add keyword GUI steps to your component yet.

Who creates application areas

The following users can create application areas:

Automation engineers in UFT One

For details on working with and creating application areas in UFT One, see the UFT One help.

Subject matter experts or automation engineers in the Test Resources module in ALM

You can create basic application areas based on a default template in the ALM Test Resources module. For details, see : Test Resources. When creating an application area resource in the Test Resources module, you can use the Assign as Default Application Area button to define a specific application area as the default one used for all components in the ALM project. However, most application area functionality is provided by the subject matter expert in UFT One.

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BPT Resources folder

The business component resources for the project are created automatically in the Test Resources module by the UFT One Add-in for Business Process Testing.

The resources are stored in the BPT Resources folder. The automatic creation occurs:

• The first time you click Business Components module > Automation tab in a new project.
• When you create a UFT One automated component for the first time.
• When UFT One connects to ALM for the first time.

For business process tests or flows to perform properly, the BPT Resources folder and its subfolders should not be renamed or deleted.

The BPT Resources folder contains all the UFT One resources available for business components in the project, and includes the following subfolders.

Folder	Resource Description
Application Areas	Provides all of the settings and resources required to create the automated content for a particular application or part of an application. The application area typically contains all the items contained in the folders listed below.
Function Libraries	Contains all the function libraries available for business components in the UFT One project. Function libraries provide customized operations (keyword GUIs) for components (VBScript functions, subroutines, and so on). The Libraries folder contains the default function library containing operations that can be used when creating steps. The automation engineer can store additional function libraries in this folder.
Object Repositories	Contains all the shared object repository files available for components in the UFT One project. Object repository files define the test objects that can be used in the component steps.
Recovery Scenarios	Contains all the recovery scenario files available for components in the UFT One project. Recovery scenarios define special operations to recover from errors and unexpected events during the component run. By default, the Recovery Scenarios folder contains the DefaultWeb.qrs file, which is a recovery scenario file that can be used in the Web environment.

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Business component examples

Business components examples:

Business component content example:

You can use run conditions to enable components to run selectively, based on earlier stages within the test or flow. For task details, see Set run conditions for flows and business process tests.

When BPT Packaged Apps Kit learns a flow or test, it creates a new business component for each screen or tab through which you navigate in your applications. BPT Packaged Apps Kit also enables you to identify and reuse learned components instead of creating new components in your flow/test. For task details on learning, see Learn business process tests and flows.

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