Skip to main content

Error Management & Self-Healing

Overview

When a test step encounters an unexpected result in SAP — a validation error, a missing document, a blocking popup — AI@Test does not simply fail the test. Instead, it reads the situation, understands what went wrong, and tries to correct it. This capability is called self-healing.

The process works in four layers, from the simplest and fastest check to the most thorough visual analysis. Most errors are resolved at layer 1 or 2 without ever needing a screenshot.


The Four-Layer Error Detection Model

🔍 CLICK TO ENLARGE

AI@Test — Error Detection & Self-Healing
Four layers from instant text-based detection to visual fallback
1
📊Status Bar — Instant text detectionFastest · No screenshot needed
Primary · Runs after every single action
SAP always shows a message in the status bar after any operation. AI@Test reads this message as text: the type (Success / Error / Warning / Info) and the message content. Most errors — wrong value, missing field, authorisation issue — appear here immediately.
Example: "Customer 99999 does not exist" → AI corrects the customer number and retries
2
💬Popup Detection — Structured dialog readingText-based · No screenshot needed
Secondary · Triggered when a dialog appears
SAP often shows error details in a modal popup window. AI@Test reads the popup as structured text: its title, the full message content, and the list of available buttons. The agent decides how to handle it — confirm, cancel, or fill additional information before closing.
Example: "Enter a valid material group" → AI reads popup, fills the missing field, confirms
3
🔍Screen Re-observation — Full state analysisScreen-level · No screenshot needed
Tertiary · After navigation or submission
After any action that changes the screen, AI@Test reads the full new screen state: which transaction is active, what screen number it is on, which fields are present and editable. This catches silent failures — cases where SAP did not show an error but navigated to an unexpected screen.
Example: Expected to land on sales order confirmation but stayed on entry screen → AI re-evaluates and corrects
4
📸Screenshot — Visual fallback analysisVisual fallback · ~200KB context
Last resort · Used only when text data is insufficient
When the structured screen data does not explain the situation — unusual layout, custom screen, unexpected visual state — AI@Test captures a screenshot and sends it directly to the AI vision model for analysis. This is the most thorough check but also the least frequently needed.
Example: Non-standard popup with image-based error indicator → AI reads screenshot visually, identifies issue
AFTER RESOLUTION →
Retry succeeds
Next step proceeds
🔁
Further iterations
Up to configured max retries
🐛
Defect created
Cannot self-heal → logged
📄
Report generated
AI explains what failed and why

What This Means in Practice

For functional testers and business analysts, AI@Test self-healing means:

  • A test does not fail just because a field label changed after a transport
  • A test does not fail just because a confirmation popup appeared unexpectedly
  • A test does not fail just because the system added leading zeros to a number you entered

The agent handles these common SAP behaviours automatically. You see results, not noise.

For test managers, this means fewer false positives in your test results. When AI@Test does log a defect, it is because the system genuinely behaved incorrectly — not because the test script was too rigid.

For auditors and sign-off, every step — including every error encountered and every correction applied — is logged with a timestamp, the message text read from SAP, and a screenshot if captured. The audit trail is complete.


Defect Creation

When a test step cannot be resolved after all self-healing attempts, AI@Test creates a defect record automatically. The defect includes:

FieldContent
TitleTest case name + step description
Status bar messageExact SAP error text as read from the screen
Popup contentFull popup message if one was present
ScreenshotVisual evidence of the failing screen state
Test data usedThe exact values entered at the point of failure
RecommendationsAI-generated analysis of likely cause and suggested fix

Defects are pushed to Jira Xray or qTest via their standard APIs, or exported as a structured JSON file for integration with other tools.