If you are working with Microsoft Dynamics 365, you have probably asked yourself this question or heard it raised in planning meetings. Testing is always part of the process, but identifying when automated testing should become a core strategy is not always straightforward.
The Dynamics 365 environment is built around constant change. New features are released in public preview, platform upgrades are scheduled regularly, and monthly quality updates introduce improvements that require validation. For many teams, the challenge is not deciding whether automation will help, but recognizing the point at which waiting becomes the riskier path forward.
A Constant Stream of Change
Microsoft Dynamics 365 is designed for continuous evolution. Updates arrive on a fixed schedule, bringing feature enhancements, bug fixes, and performance improvements. These are valuable, but they also require organizations to consistently validate customizations, integrations, and business-critical workflows.
Over time, the burden of testing every change manually becomes unsustainable. It is not just about confirming if something works in isolation. It is about ensuring it continues to work in combination with everything else already in place.
This is where automated testing becomes essential. At TheTestMart, we have seen teams succeed when they shift from a reactive approach to one that builds automation into their delivery rhythm.
The Early Signs It Is Time to Start
Most teams do not wait until testing breaks entirely. The shift tends to happen gradually. A regression bug surfaces late in the cycle. A last-minute fix pushes a deployment. QA capacity starts to feel thin with every new release. These are not failures, but they are signals.
Teams that respond to those signals early can start small. They focus on workflows that are high risk or frequently touched. Over time, they build a foundation that scales as the product matures.
TheTestMart has profiled organizations that did just that. By identifying repeatable test cases and introducing automation early, they gained efficiency without disrupting their delivery cadence.
Automated Testing Is Not a Project. It Is a Foundation.
There is often a misconception that automated testing must be fully scoped and deployed all at once. In practice, the most successful implementations begin incrementally. Teams may start by automating login processes, pricing rules, or approval paths, and then expand as the value becomes clearer.
The benefits show up quickly. Test time is reduced. Defects are caught earlier. Confidence increases across development and QA.
Automated testing becomes more than a tool. It becomes the way a team keeps pace with a platform that does not slow down.
Manual Testing Still Matters
As much as automation improves efficiency, manual testing continues to play a critical role in a complete quality strategy. There are scenarios where human input is essential. Exploratory testing, usability reviews, and domain-specific edge cases all benefit from the intuition and perspective of experienced testers.
The goal is not to eliminate manual testing. It is to make sure that manual effort is spent where it matters most. When automation covers the repetitive and the routine, manual testing becomes more focused, strategic, and impactful.
A blended approach gives teams both scale and insight.
Ready to Start? Here Is Where to Focus
If your team is already discussing testing bottlenecks, stretching QA resources, or bracing for the next update, it may be time to take a closer look at where automation fits. But knowing where to begin can be just as important as the decision to start.
Teams that succeed in high-change environments like Dynamics 365 are not the ones who try to automate everything. They are the ones who start early, scale gradually, and invest in a process that grows with their platform.
Take the Next Step
If you are ready to explore what automated testing could look like for your team, get in touch with us or schedule a quick consultation. We are here to help you move from interest to action with a practical, tailored approach.
We are excited to announce a new partnership between TheTestMart and Cittros, a Microsoft-accredited consultancy specializing in solution architecture, delivery, and optimization for Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations (D365 F&O).
Why Cittros?
Cittros is known for its ability to guide organizations through the full D365 F&O delivery lifecycle. From requirement definition and solution design to implementation, rollout, and ongoing enhancement, they support enterprise and mid-sized businesses across industries including manufacturing, retail, and professional services. Their focus is on creating ERP systems that align with how businesses actually operate, built for both today’s needs and tomorrow’s changes.
Their work results in scalable, maintainable platforms that are ready for continuous improvement and built with a strong foundation in governance and execution.
Dan Diefendorf, CEO of The TestMart, underscores the strategic value of this partnership:
“Partnering with Cittros means D365 F&O customers no longer have to choose between speed and quality—together, we’re delivering both.”
Where TheTestMart Fits In
TheTestMart does not implement D365 F&O. We ensure it is implemented correctly. Our platform helps delivery teams test faster, uncover issues earlier, and go live with more confidence.
Through our automated, no-code testing platform, we’ll be supporting Cittros projects by:
Reducing Testing Burden Customers can validate business-critical processes without placing the load on internal teams.
Keeping Pace with Microsoft’s Update Cadence Microsoft releases four updates for D365 F&O each year. While only two are mandatory, each update brings change. Our library of version-aligned automated tests helps teams stay ready without the last-minute scramble.
Minimizing Business Disruption By shifting testing from manual to automated, teams reduce release-week stress and avoid late-stage defects.
Accelerating ROI With faster and safer releases, customers benefit sooner from new functionality and more stable systems.
A Stronger Delivery Model for D365 F&O Teams
This partnership reflects a shared commitment to helping customers adopt and evolve D365 F&O with fewer roadblocks. By pairing Cittros’ delivery expertise with TheTestMart’s automated testing capabilities, clients gain an integrated approach to implementation and quality assurance.
Special thanks to Thomas Meede and Thomas Jensen of Cittros for their leadership and collaboration in bringing this partnership to life.
Together, we are enabling delivery teams to move faster without compromising on quality. As organizations continue to modernize and rely on D365 F&O, this partnership ensures that stability, scalability, and confidence are built into every stage of the ERP lifecycle.
Automated testing is becoming essential for businesses using Microsoft Dynamics 365. But with growing interest comes a lot of misinformation. Misconceptions about cost, complexity, and who can use it often hold teams back from realizing the true value of test automation.
In this blog post, we address nine common myths about automated testing and explain what the reality looks like for modern ERP environments like Microsoft Dynamics 365.
Myth 1: Automated Testing Costs Too Much
Reality: While there is an upfront investment, the long-term savings are significant. According to Forbes, IT downtime can cost as much as $9,000 dollars per minute. Avoiding even a single outage can quickly justify the cost of automation.
Automated testing helps teams catch issues early, reduce risk, and increase test coverage over time. The return on investment grows as more processes are automated and less time is spent pulling business users away from their roles to manually assist with testing efforts.
Myth 2: Automated Tests Do Not Require Maintenance
Reality: Test automation is not a one-time setup. As Dynamics 365 continues to evolve, your test scripts need to evolve with it.
TheTestMart handles platform-level changes by automatically updating your scripts after each Microsoft release. For your custom workflows, once they are scripted they will continue to be tested, but if those workflows change between releases the scripts will need to be updated so the automation reflects the new process accurately.
Myth 3: If You Automate Testing You Do Not Need Manual Testing
Reality: Automated and manual testing both have important roles to play. Automation is great for repetitive tasks and regression testing, while manual testing is essential for exploratory scenarios and usability evaluation.
A complete test strategy combines both approaches to ensure high-quality releases.
Myth 4: Automated Testing Is Only for Developers
Reality: You do not need to be a developer to use automated testing. Low-code and no-code platforms make it easy for business users, analysts, and QA professionals to contribute to testing without writing complex scripts.
Collaboration across technical and non-technical teams leads to more accurate and useful test coverage.
Myth 5: You Must Automate Everything From the Start
Reality: The best approach is to start small and scale gradually. Begin with repeatable and high-impact test cases like login flows or core financial processes.
Over time, expand your automation to cover more complex workflows, prioritizing areas with the highest business risk and return.
Myth 6: Only Large Enterprises Can Use Test Automation
Reality: Test automation is accessible to businesses of all sizes. Small and medium-sized teams can benefit just as much, especially when using no-code solutions that reduce the need for specialized staff.
By focusing on the right areas, even small teams can improve quality and efficiency while saving time.
Myth 7: Test Automation Is Too Rigid to Handle Change
Reality: With modern tools, automated testing is flexible and designed to keep pace with change. Updating test scripts is faster and more reliable than redoing manual test cycles.
Platforms like TheTestMart make it easy to adapt tests as your D365 environment grows and changes.
Myth 8: Manual Testing Is Good Enough for Dynamics 365
Reality: Monthly updates from Microsoft and the need for speed make manual testing alone insufficient. It is slow, prone to errors, and hard to scale.
Automated testing provides the most scalable and reliable way to maintain coverage and confidence in fast-moving ERP environments.
Myth 9: Automation Replaces the QA Team
Reality: Automation does not replace QA professionals. It frees them from repetitive tasks so they can focus on more strategic work like risk analysis and exploratory testing.
With automation in place, QA teams have more time and headspace to add real value throughout the testing lifecycle.
Final Thoughts
Getting the most out of automated testing starts with understanding what it is and what it is not. By moving past these nine myths, your team can build a smarter, more sustainable approach to testing in Dynamics 365.
Whether you are just getting started or expanding your test automation strategy, TheTestMart is here to help you reduce risk, boost efficiency, and scale with confidence.
Get in touch today to learn more about how TheTestMart can transform your Dynamics 365 testing and help you gain confidence in every release through smarter automation.
Last week Microsoft released a preview of the 10.0.44 version for Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management. This update brings significant changes that focus on quality management, process automation, and enhanced analytics to improve overall operational efficiency.
For organizations managing the testing and validation of these updates, planning is key to avoiding disruptions. Here is an overview of the most important changes in this release and what testing teams should prioritize before the update rolls out.
Key Updates in 10.0.44
Enhanced Quality Management in Supply Chain
One of the standout features in 10.0.44 is the expansion of Quality Management in Supply Chain Management. Updates include the ability to easily record defect reasons, manage quality orders with greater flexibility, and perform trending analysis more robustly over time.
Testing teams should focus on validating the new workflows for defect recording, quality orders, and trending reports. It’s also important to ensure that output generated from these changes integrates properly with existing reporting and analytics processes.
The update introduces broader automation across procurement, finance, and inventory management:
Post the inventory close adjustment to the fixed assets subledger: Inventory adjustments now automatically update the fixed assets subledger, reducing manual work for finance teams.
Enable process automation for bank foreign currency revaluation: Bank currency revaluations can now be fully automated, minimizing the risk of human error.
Collection process automation includes project invoices and general journals: Teams can now automate collections beyond just sales orders, covering more transaction types.
Testing should prioritize workflow approvals, automation triggers, and any customizations related to procurement and financial operations.
Finance Enhancements
Several important finance-specific features are arriving with this release:
Budget depreciation proposal running in the background across multiple legal entities: Users no longer need to manually run depreciation budgets for each company—this is now processed automatically in the background.
Add financial tags to inventory-to-fixed asset journals: Improves traceability and categorization of assets during posting.
Key testing areas include vendor collaboration updates, financial reporting accuracy, and ensuring that newly automated background processes align with company-specific workflows.
User Experience and Analytics Improvements
While visual changes are minimal, some enhancements that affect analytics and reporting include:
Performance improvements for subscription billing consumption updates: Enhances the speed and accuracy of subscription billing processes.
Modern bank reconciliation: Prevents duplicate bank statement imports by adding smarter validation during reconciliation.
Testing should verify that any embedded dashboards, Power BI reports, and financial reconciliations perform correctly after the update — especially in highly customized environments.
Preview Release and General Availability
The 10.0.44 update is currently in public preview as of April 2025. Organizations are encouraged to begin testing in sandbox environments ahead of time.
1. Review and Update Your Test Scripts Early Focus especially on workflows tied to modules or feature areas tied to this release.
2. Prioritize Regression Testing Around Core Business Processes With updates impacting financial close, vendor settlements, and order fulfillment, prioritize end-to-end regression testing across Finance and Supply Chain.
3. Validate Role-Based Access and Security New automation and workflow enhancements mean it’s critical to revalidate security roles and custom permissions.
Final Thoughts
Microsoft’s 10.0.44 release brings powerful new capabilities for Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management. However, these changes can also have ripple effects across integrated processes.
Organizations that prepare by updating their test coverage, prioritizing regression testing, and validating key business processes will be better positioned to adopt the new features smoothly.
As the general availability rolls out in the coming months, teams should be ready to take full advantage of the new automation, quality improvements, and reporting enhancements.
At TheTestMart, we help businesses stay ahead of Microsoft’s update cycle with flexible, no-code test automation for Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations. If you need help preparing and testing for your D365 updates, reach out to us for a quick consultation.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365) has become a cornerstone for digital transformation in modern enterprises, but the shift to cloud and Microsoft’s rapid update cadence have made robust, proactive testing more critical than ever.
The Pace and Complexity of D365 Updates
Microsoft has moved Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations to a One Version update model, releasing four major updates each year—in February, April, July, and October. Each update comes with a preview period, so organizations can test changes before they go live.
While this new schedule gives businesses more flexibility and time to prepare, it also means environments are always evolving. Even though Microsoft thoroughly tests these updates, every company’s setup is unique. That’s why it’s crucial for organizations to test updates in their own environments to catch any issues before they reach production.
Why Testing Can’t Be an Afterthought
Frequent, Automatic Updates: In the cloud era, updates are pushed automatically and frequently, sometimes with little lead time. This means organizations must be ready to validate new features, bug fixes, and security enhancements on a regular basis.
Customization and Integration Risks: While Microsoft tests standard features, every organization customizes D365 to fit unique processes and integrates it with other systems. Updates can inadvertently break custom workflows, disrupt integrations, or impact data flows—issues Microsoft’s own testing won’t catch.
Business Continuity at Stake: Poorly tested updates can cause operational disruptions, data issues, and frustrated users, harming business continuity and ROI. Many ERP implementations fall short of expectations, often due to insufficient testing. This makes thorough validation essential to avoid costly problems.
Regulatory and Data Integrity Concerns: Updates can affect compliance-related features or data handling. Without proper validation, organizations risk falling out of regulatory compliance or suffering data integrity issues.
Best Practices for D365 Testing in the Cloud Era
Practice
Why It Matters
Shift Left Testing
Start testing early in the development/update cycle to catch issues before they escalate.
Automated Testing
Ensures every update is vetted quickly and thoroughly, reducing manual effort and human error.
End-to-End Scenario Validation
Validates that all integrated workflows and customizations function as intended post-update.
Clear Testing Objectives
Define what needs to be validated (core processes, compliance, integrations) for each update.
Continuous Testing in CI/CD
Integrate testing into DevOps pipelines for ongoing quality assurance with every change.
The Bottom Line
Testing is not just a technical checkbox—it is a business safeguard. In the cloud era of D365, where updates are frequent and automatic, treating testing as an afterthought exposes organizations to unnecessary risk. Proactive, automated, and comprehensive testing strategies are essential to ensure that every update enhances your business rather than disrupts it.
Testing is your safety net, ensuring your Dynamics 365 deployment is robust, reliable, and ready for action.
Don’t let your next D365 update be the one that breaks your business. Make testing a core capability, not a last-minute checkbox.
Smart Test Automation Strategies for Microsoft D365
Imagine your company has just invested in a test automation platform for Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365). You’re eager to leverage automation to enhance your testing efforts and ensure high-quality results. With a vast array of modules and processes within D365, however, it can be overwhelming to determine where automation should be applied for testing purposes.
This blog will help you identify the best areas within D365 to prioritize for automated testing, ensuring a smooth setup and maximizing the efficiency of your test automation strategy.
What Makes a Good Candidate for Automated Testing in Microsoft D365?
Before diving into automation, it’s crucial to identify which areas of testing within D365 offer the most value when automated. Certain types of tests, processes, and workflows are more suited for automation, enabling you to maximize testing efficiency and accuracy while reducing manual effort.
Repetitive and Time-Consuming Tests
Automated testing is ideal for processes that are run repeatedly, such as regression tests, smoke tests, and data-driven tests. These tests are frequently executed after each new D365 release, making them the perfect candidates for automation.
By automating these tests, you reduce the time spent on repetitive tasks, minimize human error, and ensure consistency across test cycles.
High-Risk and Critical Business Functions
Testing the core business functions that are critical to your organization is essential. This includes areas such as financial transactions, order processing, and inventory management.
Automated testing in these areas ensures that any issues are identified quickly, reducing the risk of operational disruptions and ensuring a stable environment for your business processes.
Stable and Predictable Functionalities
It’s beneficial to automate testing for functions within D365 that are unlikely to change frequently. For instance, testing for financial compliance or accounting processes can be automated because they are stable over time.
Automating these tests reduces maintenance efforts and keeps your test suite effective longer without requiring frequent updates.
Data-Intensive Workflows
D365 handles large volumes of data, making it important to test data consistency, integrity, and accuracy across various modules.
Automated testing can be applied to data validation, integration testing, and data migration tests, ensuring that data flows properly between modules and that critical data points remain accurate.
D365 Areas to Prioritize for Automated Testing
To maximize the benefits of your test automation tool, it’s crucial to focus on testing the areas of D365 that have the greatest business impact and are most conducive to automation. Below are the core areas of D365 to prioritize for automated testing:
1. D365 Finance
Financial Transaction Testing – Automate the testing of transactions like invoicing, payment processing, and general ledger entries to ensure accuracy and compliance.
Accounts Payable & Receivable Testing – Automate the verification of transactions, including invoice matching and payment schedules, to reduce errors and improve efficiency.
Tax Compliance Testing – Automate tax calculations and reporting processes to ensure compliance with regional and international tax regulations.
2. D365 Supply Chain Management
Inventory Management Testing – Automate tests to verify stock levels, order fulfillment, and inventory tracking to ensure smooth supply chain operations and prevent discrepancies.
Procurement Testing – Automate the testing of purchasing workflows, including vendor selection, order creation, and supplier communications, to improve the efficiency of procurement processes.
Logistics & Delivery Testing – Ensure automated testing of logistics processes, such as order tracking and shipping updates, to improve delivery reliability and customer satisfaction.
3. D365 Sales & Customer Service
Order Management Testing – Automate the verification of order entry, invoicing, and fulfillment notifications to reduce errors and speed up order processing.
Customer Interaction Testing – Automate the testing of case management, service requests, and customer communication workflows to improve responsiveness and support quality.
Sales Process Testing – Automate tests for lead management, opportunity tracking, and sales forecasts to improve sales pipeline accuracy and team productivity.
4. D365 Integration & API Testing
Third-Party Integrations – Automate testing for integrations between D365 and other enterprise systems, such as CRM tools or external databases, to ensure seamless communication and prevent data discrepancies.
API Testing – Automate the testing of APIs to ensure the proper flow of data between D365 and external systems, minimizing the risk of integration failures.
Developing a Sustainable Test Automation Strategy for D365
Once you have selected your test automation candidates, it’s essential to develop a sustainable strategy for long-term success. A well-planned strategy ensures your automation efforts remain effective and scalable as your D365 environment evolves.
Test Prioritization
When developing your automation strategy, prioritize the tests based on their business impact. High-risk tests, such as those in Finance and Supply Chain Management, should be automated first. By focusing on critical workflows and frequent tests, you ensure the most valuable processes are covered while minimizing potential errors that could disrupt business operations.
Ongoing Maintenance and Governance
Automation isn’t a one-time project—it requires ongoing maintenance. D365 regularly updates its features, which may result in changes to workflows and processes. Ensure you have a governance strategy in place to update and adapt your automated tests as D365 evolves, minimizing the need for constant manual intervention.
Collaboration Between IT & Business Teams
Test automation in D365 should be a collaborative effort between IT teams and business units. Business users understand the core workflows that are crucial to the organization, while IT can ensure the technical side of test automation is implemented efficiently. This collaboration ensures that automation is aligned with the actual business needs and objectives.
Manual vs. Automated Testing – Where to Draw the Line
While automation brings numerous benefits, it’s important to understand that not all testing should be automated. Certain types of tests require human insight and judgment and are better left for manual testing.
Tests Best Left for Manual Execution
Exploratory Testing – These tests are conducted without pre-defined scripts and require creativity and human judgment. Automated tests cannot mimic this approach, so it’s important to perform this type of testing manually.
Usability Testing – Evaluating the user experience and interface requires subjective human feedback and is best performed manually.
Ad-Hoc Testing – These are one-off tests that do not occur regularly, making them less suited for automation.
Localization Testing – Verifying translations and regional settings often involves cultural nuances and is better handled manually.
Why Identifying Test Automation Candidates is Important
Prioritizing which tests to automate is essential to maximizing the return on investment (ROI) from your test automation tool. By focusing on high-impact, repetitive, and stable tests, you ensure that your efforts are directed toward the areas that will provide the greatest benefit. This also helps prevent unnecessary maintenance costs associated with automating tests that are infrequently used or subject to constant change.
Conclusion
Automating tests within Microsoft D365 helps improve the efficiency, accuracy, and reliability of your ERP testing efforts. By focusing on high-impact modules such as Finance, Supply Chain Management, and Sales & Customer Service, you can ensure that your automated testing efforts are aligned with your organization’s most critical workflows.
Remember, automation is a powerful tool, but manual testing still plays an important role in areas where human creativity and judgment are required. By identifying the right candidates for automation and continuously maintaining your automation suite, you can build a robust and efficient testing process that scales with your organization.
Ready to streamline your D365 testing? With TheTestMart, you can automate high-impact areas quickly and effectively, ensuring smoother releases and better quality assurance. Get in touch today and see how our platform can simplify your test automation strategy!
