AEM QA Testing Roadmap: From Development to Deployment

AEM is a growing CMS suite for enormous types of businesses on the digital landscape. It is designed to help organizations as well as users. Do you know almost 10,500 organizations are utilizing this suite globally? The AEM suite is compatible & consistent with all content types. Before you integrate this system with content management, it’s necessary to go through its features to verify whether it works smoothly or not. Experts should always perform AEM testing. This blog contains a successful AEM QA Testing Roadmap from development to deployment.

What is AEM and what is its role in digital experiences?

So, let’s start with what is AEM testing. Adobe designs AEM, an intuitive CMS that is used for the management of content on websites, digital forms & mobile apps. Moreover, it is a suite that contains the tool for the creation, delivery & management. Furthermore, it is easy to integrate with the marketing workflows & enhance team workflow.

The tool is gaining popularity among digital marketing experts and content management teams. This tool successfully works for a diverse range of industries, from start-up to enterprise levels. The broad range of features & tools it contains are helpful for various content management. Now, after knowing what is AEM testing, let’s move on to learn about its importance.

Why a Roadmap for AEM QA Testing Matters?

AEM QA testing is crucial for integrating AEM into the workflow so that the testing team can test the features & functionalities. The roadmap for testing is necessary to ensure that each step is performed in a flexible way. The testing team checks for every feature to verify its productivity.

The AEM QA testing procedure ensures that there are no internal bugs & issues are identified. The testing team will then identify & resolve the errors so that the AEM tool works seamlessly with the type of content. In the following testing, the workflows & integrations are tested.

Furthermore, developing an AEM roadmap limits performance errors and makes it run smoothly. Furthermore, testing of AEM makes its UI better. The compatibility of the AEM suite was also tested to verify it meets the digital compliance requirements. It gives software validation for future users. Now, understand the step-by-step process of what is AEM testing roadmap.

Understanding AEM QA Testing

AEM QA testing is necessary to make the content high-quality. AEM suite adapts to various requirements in the organization’s landscape. This is an important step of SDLC. To ensure the AEM components are working seamlessly, it’s necessary to have well-planned testing methodologies.

Key Features and Functionalities of AEM That Need Testing

Content authoring and management

Users may create, edit, and handle content with Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), a CMS. Non-technical individuals may easily produce and administer content with AEM’s user-friendly interface. Adding text, photos, and layouts are examples of basic authoring works that don’t require HTML expertise. With AEM’s CMS, users may manage keywords, metadata, and other details to improve content for search engines.

Component development and reusability

In AEM, the modular & reusable components can assist in enhancing the development effectiveness & consistency. The best practices for component development are identifying the basic patterns and designing a well-defined interface & component hierarchy. Furthermore, it has some additional features that enable users to reuse the components & contents. Reusability lowers the possibility of human mistakes while also saving time and money.

Integrations with other systems

AEM systems can easily integrate with CRM, analytics, and e-commerce. The integration can be done in multiple ways, and some of them are- 3rd party tools, API-based integration, custom integration & connector-based integration, etc.

Types of Testing in AEM

1. Functional Testing

In the AEM testing procedure, the testing team plans to test the complete functions of AEM suites. The components & functions of AEM software are thoroughly tested by the functional testing services. The AEM software testing teams assess the condition management function suites. Through functional testing, businesses can validate the performance & functions prior to use.

2. Integration Testing

The following QA Testing for AEM verifies all the software modules are integrated & work together as expected. Furthermore, it also verifies the app functionality doesn’t break after smaller units are integrated.

3. Regression Testing

AEM regression testing verifies that the AEM suite is working smoothly after any customization is made. In regression testing, the authoring actions & management testing are performed. The QA Testing for AEM ensures the AEM suite is working seamlessly.

4. Performance Testing

To verify the performance, the Performance testing in the AEM team runs performance testing. AEM testing includes running tests for the performance level on various loads. The AEM suite works in real life under various conditions & loads. The performance testing team runs a load test to verify the consistent performance. Throughout the load testing methodology, various users make an effort to access the AEM platform to check how the features respond & how it works in extended load. It is performed to track how it behaves in extreme user activity.

5. Security Testing

This testing is designed to test the errors & potential risks that present around the AEM suite. QA Testing for the AEM suite isn’t completed without security tests & assessment of risks. To safeguard the media & content you share on the platform, you need to check the security layers. Furthermore, it also verifies the access controlling system around the AEM suite. The testing team tracks and addresses the code injection & malicious activities to make the AEM free of errors.

Building the AEM QA Testing Roadmap

Step 1: Planning and Strategy

Performing AEM testing involves giving validation that the AEM-based web & app functions match the requirements of the organization & end users. There are general steps required for building the AEM testing. The initial method is deciding goals, & testing scope. Evaluate the specific areas that are required to be tested.

Furthermore, measure the key stakeholders such as the QA team, project management team, and developers. Ensure they have enough knowledge & specialization in this field. Now, select the tools for AEM testing that best matches your objectives and scope. Mostly, the testing team prefers to use Selenium, BrowserStack & JMeter for testing AEM. Above all, be straightforward with the deliverables & timelines.

Step 2: Setting Up the Testing Environment

In this phase, the testing team set up a testing environment based on your requirements. The team replicates the production environment to safeguard the data against hardware failures & outages. In this, the testing team configures the AEM instance through run mode, which includes Author, Publisher, and Dispatcher. For setting up the test data & mock integrations, the experts use tools such as Postman and MockServer.

Step 3: Test Design and Development

The following phase contains test case designing & development of every phase of the website that requires to be tested. Test cases must include the list of methods to be taken, expected results & prerequisites. Furthermore, the testing team creates detailed test cases & scripts for Authoring & Publishing workflows, Content, and component validation. The team prioritizes reusable testing scripts for effectiveness.

Step 4: Execution and Reporting

This phase involves the execution of a test case by utilizing manual & automated testing tools. The execution of test cases must be done by the QA engineers, developers & other testers. The testing team executes function & non-functional tests & then monitors the results by evaluating the errors. Most testing experts leverage automated testing tools to avoid repetitive tasks.

Step 5: Regression Testing

The retesting is performed by the team to verify that every time a new code is submitted, the system is still running in the best way. It is necessary to validate that the system is still running in the best term after bud fixing & implementation of new features. The team also manages a regression test suite for future updates.

Step 6: Pre-Deployment Testing

The following step covers the performance testing under the peak loads. It is necessary to conduct end-to-end integration testing with the external systems. The testing team also aims to test the cross-device & cross-browser compatibility. The pre-deployment testing involves various activities such as reviewing the releasing notes, running functional & UI tests, Code scanning, etc.

What are the Key Focus Areas in AEM QA Testing?

1. Component Testing

Software testing that involves examining individual system components using separate test cases to see how they behave when integrated with other components is referred to as component testing. This type of testing is done at the SDLC process. It delivers better consistency of the product.

Techniques include performance assessments, integration tests, runtime checks, and static analysis. Objectives, scope, timing, roles and responsibilities, types of tests, tools, and techniques are all essential components of a successful AEM component testing strategy. The goals and methodology for efficient testing must be involved in the test strategy.

2. Authoring and Workflow Testing

In this, the testers focus on testing the authoring & management actions. They test whether the drag & drop, organizing & editing are working well or not. The testing team tests the existing & customized AEM elements to verify they operate perfectly. The author’s permission & the publishing workflows are tested under this category.

3. Personalization Testing

Personalization offers users a significant environment in which to display dynamic content chosen based on specifications. In personalization testing, the team measures the environment to check whether the system works in the best condition or not. Personalization testing in AEM can be done by utilizing the multiple tools that include Adobe Target, offers & experience fragments. Adobe Target is the most used tool by the testing team to measure the right experience, content & offers. Furthermore, it validates the dynamic content and targeting rules.

4. Dispatcher Testing

AEM uses the dispatcher as a load management & caching mechanism. Because it uses cached pages, it may assist the Adobe Experience Manager server from attacks. In order to avoid using the layout engine, the dispatcher aims to cache as much material as possible. In AEM QA testing, testers focus on these areas.

5. SEO and Accessibility Testing

AEM is the most authoritative CMS, which comes with the full suite of features & tools. SEO drives the traffic to the website & makes it visible on SERP. Organizations can enhance their ranking in search results & then drive qualified leads by adhering to SEO practices.

The testing team focuses on this area to enable the AEM suite to leverage advanced features for optimal SEO practices. The AEM system contains various SEO techniques for smoother optimization. The testing team verifies to validate the metadata, WCAG compliance & page performance.

The Deployment Phase: QA’s Role in a Successful Go-Live

Final Pre-Launch Testing

This is the final phase of Performance testing in the AEM content management system. Once the testing team tests the complete AEM module & passes each testing phase, the project is ready to go live. However, in the AEM deployment phase, the testing team performs the smoke testing to verify critical workflows are working seamlessly. It ensures the pipelines are configured to utilize the available resources. In the following step, final content validation & page rendering is done.

Monitoring Post-Deployment

Once the AEM is deployed, it’s time to monitor & maintain the operation, integrity & performance. In this phase, the log files are validated & the runtime issues (if available) are addressed. Conducting the post-launch review is the key factor to address the significant errors so that the system can run seamlessly. In the following phase, log files are monitored, AEM performance is monitored, and file system and system monitoring is done.

Ready for Flawless AEM Performance? Let’s Build Your QA Testing Plan!

When differentiating other content management systems from AEM, there is no doubt that AEM wins the race in popularity! Since AEM is a component of Adobe Experience Cloud, integrating it with other Adobe tools is simple. AEM is a flexible, scalable, and reliable enterprise-level solution that works well with intricate, dynamic websites and digital advertising initiatives.

Large organizations with several teams benefit from its strong user management system. One popular online content management system is AEM. AEM is used by businesses in a variety of sectors, such as medical care, technology, retailing, and finance, to administer their online presence. For the following reasons, the requirement for continuous Performance testing in AEM and monitoring is in demand.