Unit testing a when rule

You can test a when rule individually before testing it in the context of the application that you are developing. Additionally, you can convert the test into a Pega unit test case to validate application data by comparing expected property values to the actual values that are returned by the test.

In a continuous delivery environment, Pega unit testing provides you with feedback on the quality of your applications, so that you can quickly identify issues and correct them.

By default, when you run the when rule, the result assertion uses the input value that you enter and the result that is returned. The assertion is generated when you convert this test to a test case.

  1. In the navigation pane of Dev Studio, click Records > Decision > When, and then select the when rule that you want to test.
  2. Click Actions > Run.
  3. In the Run context pane, select the thread, test page, and data transform you want to use for the test.
    1. In the Thread list, select the thread in which you want to run the rule.
    2. In the Page list, select whether to copy parameter values from an existing page or to create an empty page:

      • To use parameter values from an existing clipboard page in the selected thread, click Copy existing page, and then select the page you want to copy.

      • To start from a page containing no parameter values, click Empty test page.

    3. Optional: To apply a data transform, select the Apply data transform check box, and then select the transform to apply.
      Note: The system always runs the rule instance on the RunRecordPrimaryPage, regardless of the page that you select from this list. If you convert this test run to a test case and the RunRecordPrimaryPage requires initial values, then configure the clipboard so that it populates the page with initial values. For more information, see Setting up your test environment.
  4. Optional: To change the values that are passed to the rule, provide the new values on the main test page.
  5. Click Run to run the test.
  6. To convert the test run into a Pega unit test case, click Convert to test, and then configure the test case. For more information, see Creating unit test cases for rules.
  7. To view the pages that are generated by the unit test, click Clipboard. For more information, see Clipboard pages created by the Run Rule feature.
  8. If the rule has errors, then debug it using the Tracer tool. For more information, see Application debugging using the Tracer tool.