AI + ‘automation’: The smarter way to run regression testing
As ERP systems become more complex and releases and updates more extensive, regression testing also turns into a more time-consuming and demanding process. This makes automated regression testing important to consider. With tools like Fortest, you can enable faster scripting, around-the-clock monitoring, and ensure more reliable releases (you’ll learn more about its capabilities later in this blog). But technology is evolving fast, and AI is ready to take over regression testing.
Still, not everyone is ready to hand over the reins. Many teams remain cautious about trusting AI with such a critical part of the release process. In this blog, we’ll explore how regression testing evolved from manual to automation, what’s driving the resistance to AI, and discuss the AI capabilities introduced to Fortest.
The journey from manual testing to automation
Let’s start with a question: Are you still testing your ERP system manually? If so, it might be time to reconsider.
Whether you are on-premise or on CloudSuite, regression testing remains essential. Cloud releases, on-prem MCP updates, OS upgrades, and custom developments and changes to existing processes all require thorough testing to ensure stability and performance.
Here’s how automated regression testing tools like Fortest help you make the transition from manual to automation.
| Area of comparison | Manual | Fortest automated regression testing |
|---|---|---|
| Support for system updates | System updates often disrupt ERP, workflows, and integrations, requiring significant manual effort to re-test and stabilize. | Provides support during long testing cycles and system updates that bring changes across Cloud and on-prem environments, affecting workflows and integrations. |
| Testing cycle speed | Slower testing cycles, resulting in longer time-to-market for go-lives. | Faster testing cycles, ensuring quicker and smoother go-lives. (Achieving a 90% reduction in test cycle time.) |
| Critical process protection | Operations are vulnerable to human error and difficult to comprehensively safeguard across ERP and third-party systems. | Protects critical processes and safeguards business-critical operations across ERP and third-party systems. |
| Scripting time | Requires substantial time for initial setup and maintenance of test scripts. | Reduces the effort needed for script creation and maintenance. (Achieving a 50% reduction in scripting time.) |
| Execution capability | Limited test execution hours (typically business hours), impacting business continuity. | Provides 24/7 test execution capability for business continuity. |
However, while automation has made regression testing faster and more consistent, it still requires significant setup and maintenance. Test scripts need to be updated whenever the UI or workflows change, and teams often spend time maintaining the automation suite itself. That’s where AI is now starting to make a difference helping not just to run tests, but to adapt, optimize, and even predict what needs to be tested next.
Resistance to AI in regression testing
Although most businesses understand the importance of automating regression testing, they are not ready to explore the possibilities of AI in regression testing. A common concern among teams is that AI doesn’t understand the business and system well enough to operate independently.
Teams are also concerned about maintaining AI-supported regression testing because, with the evolving nature of systems, they would have to retrain the AI and also ensure the data it’s trained on is updated, often leading to more work.
But, with any type of technology, change is constant, and evolving to accommodate the benefits it holds can help you future-proof your operations.
Fortest: Powered by AI and automation
While the journey toward fully AI-powered regression testing is still underway, here are a few AI-driven use cases we’ve already introduced into our own automated regression testing tool, Fortest, that you might want to consider.
1. Self-healing capabilities
One area that QA teams really struggle with is when scripts fail due to minor UI (renamed fields, changed locators, altered layouts). This would mean the test case breaks, leading to delays and rework. With AI-driven self-healing, Fortest can detect, analyze, and most importantly, adjust to these changes.
Here’s how it works:
- The system uses machine learning to detect mismatches during test execution.
- When a test step fails, Fortest identifies whether the failure is due to an actual defect or a UI change.
- It then automatically updates the affected locator or data reference using contextual understanding, effectively “healing” itself.
- The corrected script continues execution without manual intervention.
Why it matters:
This capability dramatically reduces maintenance effort, ensuring test stability even in changing environments. QA teams spend less time fixing scripts and more time focusing on strategic testing, while ensuring that test results clearly indicate a pass or actual functional failures, rather than flagging minor element changes on pages.
2. Auto script generation
Another hurdle in regression testing is scripting. Business analysts/ ERP Functional Consultants describe workflows in plain English, but QA teams still have to translate those into executable test cases, a process that takes time, coordination, and often leads to gaps or rework.
That’s where Fortest’s Auto Script Generation changes the game. It uses AI to understand business logic written in natural language and automatically turns it into executable test scripts.
Here’s how it works:
Using Natural Language Processing (NLP), Fortest interprets process descriptions, identifies relevant M3 transactions, input parameters, and expected outcomes, and generates test scripts ready to run with minimal manual effort.
The result?
You get faster test coverage, fewer human errors, and a setup where business analysts, QA teams, and consultants can all contribute to automation, without needing to code. It’s smarter, faster, and far more collaborative.
3. Release Management
Another area where teams often lose valuable time is managing system releases. Think about it, every time there’s a new system update, consultants have to go through lengthy release notes, compare them against each client’s configuration and custom code, and then figure out what’s affected. It’s a meticulous, manual process that can easily eat up hours (or days).
That’s exactly what Foresight in Action automates. Using a multi-agent framework, it takes over the release analysis process, reading the release, identifying impacted areas, and generating pre-assessed Jira tickets that are ready for consultants to act on.
This capability is particularly built for Infor releases.
Here’s what it can do:
- Automatically parse M3 release reports
- Compare updates with each client’s configurations and custom code
- Auto-generate standardized Jira tickets
- Assign tickets to the right consultants based on client mappings
Automation teams can focus on updating any scripts based on functional changes prior to execution of scripts (Script Maintenance)
And the impact?
You’re looking at an 80–90% reduction in manual release analysis time, zero missed impact areas or compliance gaps, and audit-ready tickets created automatically. The result, faster client responses, smoother updates, and truly proactive issue handling.
If the thought of AI in regression testing has been something you have not been comfortable trying out, we hope this blog gave you more confidence in the target areas that can launch your journey.
Fortest is supporting many global businesses with regression testing, and they too, are en route to using AI for regression testing. If this is something that interests you, and you are keen to see a demo of any of these AI capabilities, speak to our automation specialists today.
Talk to our automation experts today.
FAQs
Manual regression testing can be slow, repetitive, and prone to human error—especially as ERP systems grow more complex. Automation accelerates testing cycles, improves accuracy, and supports 24/7 execution. It also frees QA teams from tedious tasks, allowing them to focus on strategic improvements and ensuring faster, more reliable system releases.
Many QA teams hesitate to adopt AI because they fear it won’t fully understand the business context or ERP configurations. Others worry about retraining models or maintaining AI systems as environments evolve. However, as AI becomes more adaptive, its benefits like predictive insights and self-healing automation—are proving these concerns outdated.
Fortest is an intelligent, purpose-built test automation platform that supports any ERP system. It streamlines testing across system releases by minimizing manual effort and reducing scripting time. Designed for QA teams, business analysts, and consultants, Fortest enables end-to-end functional testing with minimal coding and ensures faster, more stable, and error-free ERP releases.
Fortest integrates AI to make testing smarter and more adaptive. Its self-healing feature automatically fixes broken scripts when UIs or data change. Auto Script Generation converts natural language workflows into executable test cases. And Foresight in Action uses AI agents to analyze Infor M3 releases, detect impact areas, and create pre-assessed Jira tickets for faster response times.
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