Maximo Open Forum

Hello everyone!

Our company's been going through some big changes lately, and one of them is removing hardcoded site values from our automation scripts (250 of them). We've started using a conditional expression to check if the site is in a specific list, something like mbo.evaluateCondition("ourcondition"), and then use that in if statements and dynamic queries.

The tough part now is testing each script to make sure everything still works the same as before. We're thinking of reading through each script, setting up a scenario, and checking if the outcome matches what it should do-which honestly sounds like a pretty time-consuming process.

I tried using the "Test Script" feature in the Automation Scripts app, but it's missing some key stuff like appname or interactive.

Anyone dealt with something similar? How would you go about testing these scripts efficiently?

It's not a direct answer you are asking for, but I suggest you not to do that.

Moving a hard-coded site ID from an IF statement into an Expression Condition is still hard-coding. It just shifts the logic to a different place. It also adds another layer of complexity. Now, instead of reading the logic directly in the script, you have to jump into another application to understand what the condition does, then come back to the script to see how it fits in.

I refactoring automation script all the time. Often, it starts with refactoring one or two scripts when adding a new feature. But I've also done full system-wide refactoring a few times.

My approach usually starts with listing all automation scripts in a spreadsheet. I do a quick high-level review of each to understand what it does and whether it should be removed, refactored, or replaced. Then I prioritize the actions and tackle them one by one.

Once you start, it's often easier than you expect.

Hello everyone!

Our company's been going through some big changes lately, and one of them is removing hardcoded site values from our automation scripts (250 of them). We've started using a conditional expression to check if the site is in a specific list, something like mbo.evaluateCondition("ourcondition"), and then use that in if statements and dynamic queries.

The tough part now is testing each script to make sure everything still works the same as before. We're thinking of reading through each script, setting up a scenario, and checking if the outcome matches what it should do-which honestly sounds like a pretty time-consuming process.

I tried using the "Test Script" feature in the Automation Scripts app, but it's missing some key stuff like appname or interactive.

Anyone dealt with something similar? How would you go about testing these scripts efficiently?

I would be wary about using Excel to store the automation scripts.

I have seen cases where Excel silently truncated the script text because it breached the number of characters allowed in a cell.

Consider using a BIRT report to extract the text.

In our case we use a BIRT report to export the script so we can control the format & how it is used.

Then we have an automated process that reads the export and highlights problems etc

It's not a direct answer you are asking for, but I suggest you not to do that.

Moving a hard-coded site ID from an IF statement into an Expression Condition is still hard-coding. It just shifts the logic to a different place. It also adds another layer of complexity. Now, instead of reading the logic directly in the script, you have to jump into another application to understand what the condition does, then come back to the script to see how it fits in.

I refactoring automation script all the time. Often, it starts with refactoring one or two scripts when adding a new feature. But I've also done full system-wide refactoring a few times.

My approach usually starts with listing all automation scripts in a spreadsheet. I do a quick high-level review of each to understand what it does and whether it should be removed, refactored, or replaced. Then I prioritize the actions and tackle them one by one.

Once you start, it's often easier than you expect.

Hello everyone!

Our company's been going through some big changes lately, and one of them is removing hardcoded site values from our automation scripts (250 of them). We've started using a conditional expression to check if the site is in a specific list, something like mbo.evaluateCondition("ourcondition"), and then use that in if statements and dynamic queries.

The tough part now is testing each script to make sure everything still works the same as before. We're thinking of reading through each script, setting up a scenario, and checking if the outcome matches what it should do-which honestly sounds like a pretty time-consuming process.

I tried using the "Test Script" feature in the Automation Scripts app, but it's missing some key stuff like appname or interactive.

Anyone dealt with something similar? How would you go about testing these scripts efficiently?

It's not a direct answer you are asking for, but I suggest you not to do that.

Moving a hard-coded site ID from an IF statement into an Expression Condition is still hard-coding. It just shifts the logic to a different place. It also adds another layer of complexity. Now, instead of reading the logic directly in the script, you have to jump into another application to understand what the condition does, then come back to the script to see how it fits in.

I refactoring automation script all the time. Often, it starts with refactoring one or two scripts when adding a new feature. But I've also done full system-wide refactoring a few times.

My approach usually starts with listing all automation scripts in a spreadsheet. I do a quick high-level review of each to understand what it does and whether it should be removed, refactored, or replaced. Then I prioritize the actions and tackle them one by one.

Once you start, it's often easier than you expect.

Hello everyone!

Our company's been going through some big changes lately, and one of them is removing hardcoded site values from our automation scripts (250 of them). We've started using a conditional expression to check if the site is in a specific list, something like mbo.evaluateCondition("ourcondition"), and then use that in if statements and dynamic queries.

The tough part now is testing each script to make sure everything still works the same as before. We're thinking of reading through each script, setting up a scenario, and checking if the outcome matches what it should do-which honestly sounds like a pretty time-consuming process.

I tried using the "Test Script" feature in the Automation Scripts app, but it's missing some key stuff like appname or interactive.

Anyone dealt with something similar? How would you go about testing these scripts efficiently?

Is there something special about that site / those sites? Why not make an attribute of SITE to capture that "something special"? Then your code can test for whether the site this record belongs to has that attribute set to indicate that it needs special treatment? Then you don't have to hard-code any sites in any conditions.

It's not a direct answer you are asking for, but I suggest you not to do that.

Moving a hard-coded site ID from an IF statement into an Expression Condition is still hard-coding. It just shifts the logic to a different place. It also adds another layer of complexity. Now, instead of reading the logic directly in the script, you have to jump into another application to understand what the condition does, then come back to the script to see how it fits in.

I refactoring automation script all the time. Often, it starts with refactoring one or two scripts when adding a new feature. But I've also done full system-wide refactoring a few times.

My approach usually starts with listing all automation scripts in a spreadsheet. I do a quick high-level review of each to understand what it does and whether it should be removed, refactored, or replaced. Then I prioritize the actions and tackle them one by one.

Once you start, it's often easier than you expect.

Hello everyone!

Our company's been going through some big changes lately, and one of them is removing hardcoded site values from our automation scripts (250 of them). We've started using a conditional expression to check if the site is in a specific list, something like mbo.evaluateCondition("ourcondition"), and then use that in if statements and dynamic queries.

The tough part now is testing each script to make sure everything still works the same as before. We're thinking of reading through each script, setting up a scenario, and checking if the outcome matches what it should do-which honestly sounds like a pretty time-consuming process.

I tried using the "Test Script" feature in the Automation Scripts app, but it's missing some key stuff like appname or interactive.

Anyone dealt with something similar? How would you go about testing these scripts efficiently?

It's not a direct answer you are asking for, but I suggest you not to do that.

Moving a hard-coded site ID from an IF statement into an Expression Condition is still hard-coding. It just shifts the logic to a different place. It also adds another layer of complexity. Now, instead of reading the logic directly in the script, you have to jump into another application to understand what the condition does, then come back to the script to see how it fits in.

I refactoring automation script all the time. Often, it starts with refactoring one or two scripts when adding a new feature. But I've also done full system-wide refactoring a few times.

My approach usually starts with listing all automation scripts in a spreadsheet. I do a quick high-level review of each to understand what it does and whether it should be removed, refactored, or replaced. Then I prioritize the actions and tackle them one by one.

Once you start, it's often easier than you expect.

Hello everyone!

Our company's been going through some big changes lately, and one of them is removing hardcoded site values from our automation scripts (250 of them). We've started using a conditional expression to check if the site is in a specific list, something like mbo.evaluateCondition("ourcondition"), and then use that in if statements and dynamic queries.

The tough part now is testing each script to make sure everything still works the same as before. We're thinking of reading through each script, setting up a scenario, and checking if the outcome matches what it should do-which honestly sounds like a pretty time-consuming process.

I tried using the "Test Script" feature in the Automation Scripts app, but it's missing some key stuff like appname or interactive.

Anyone dealt with something similar? How would you go about testing these scripts efficiently?