Page History

While we don’t recommend using Expected Results as Parameters, the approach can have merits. This article will explore options & tradeoffs.

We generally suggest drawing a line between system inputs & expected outcomes, and then handling the latter ones in the scripts or even after export.

That approach would be preferable in the majority of situations, and you are likely well aware of how the data-driven Expected Results in Manual auto- scripts facilitate it. However, there are a couple of alternatives to keep in mind.

...

TCD Automate

If you are scripting in Automate, there are two primary ways to address the difference in outcomes: 1) conditional steps and 2) subsetting.

...

Side note: for the avoidance of doubt, these two methods are not limited to ”Then” statements and can be used for any steps.

Forced Interactions

Another feature is the internal variable (at the bottom of the dropdown list) which comes from the Forced Interactions tab. First, you can specify the conditions (even one).

...

• For complex dependencies, extra intervention in the algorithm could reduce the efficiency and unnecessarily increase the number of scenarios.
• If the whole column is not populated, the script will get the value “No expected outcome” for blanks, which a) could cause confusion; b) would need to be treated as “skip the step” by the automation framework.
  • You could side-step this challenge with the freeze/reimport combination.
• This does not support differences in multiple steps, only in 1 line.

Expected Results as Parameters

Finally, let’s talk about why & how we can deviate from the training recommendation.

...