What makes the security layer in testing so important?

When it comes to testing and the significance related to having security layers, we can say with confidence that considering security in testing is not only crucial but is globally becoming an accepted must-have.

When you are testing the system with specific security roles, you see the system – the entire user interface – in a specific way. You have access to certain patterns and functionalities, which are required by the test cases themselves. You see the actual buttons that can be pushed.

You might pass all the happy paths or negative tests if your security role is admin.?

Security roles?

But at the end of the day, the end-users who are working in the system are not all admins. They either already have security roles, or they should have security roles defined well. This means security roles that are created or tailored to their responsibilities.

We always recommend providing users with the exact combination of the roles the users need because this saves licenses – i.e., money as well as time as it shortens the time spent on figuring out what to do and, consequently, the learning curve looks better.

This is because people are not distracted by the buttons or options that they will simply never use.?

Testing personas?

If you have already got security rules, it is good to test with these roles.

What you are doing in tests is using testing personas. Especially when you are running an end-to-end testing cycle, it is good to have a workflow that is carefully selected for a specific person.

This persona recreates the real environment, the real situation, and how the users interact. So, this is the ideal situation – the one you want to recreate in tests – the holy grail of testing.

You want to be as close as possible to the production environment, the situation where a user will find themselves on prod.??

Problems with an admin security role?

A system admin has access to every possible functionality, so they can potentially pass every single test case.

While a non-admin in a specific role will not pass most test cases.

They will pass only the ones they have access to. Things get complicated when a new functionality that has just been developed may be outside the scope of a certain user’s role, so they will not be able to pass the test case.

Incidentally, this is one of the assorted options for verification of a developer’s work.

A new functionality needs to be assigned to a role – an entry point needs to be added to a user role. The admin of course has access to it, as they have enterprise access, but this is not obvious in non-admin roles.?

Testing workflows?

From the perspective of testing, security roles and positions are also important when it comes to workflows. If security roles have been set correctly workflows will not be interrupted and this itself is their test.??

WEBINAR | How to Automate Testing of Workflows, Security Setup & Updates in Dynamics 365 FSCM

Modified security roles?

It is not widely known on the market that Microsoft sometimes modifies security roles, if you use the standard security package on your application, you may feel secure, but one day Microsoft may modify some security roles and there is an unexpected event.

After an update, a user will see something they ought not to be seeing – a user may obtain an unexpected extension of access. This could be a potential source of fraud.

To prevent this, you need to sort out security roles well from the very beginning. You need to create custom security roles tailored to the organization’s needs and fulfill the global strategy of rollouts. If defined well at the beginning, the subsequent rollouts will look the same.?

The sharpest pencil in the box?

And all the above is not complicated with the right toolset. Using the Security Setup from Executive Automats allows you to set security roles in Microsoft Dynamics 365 FSCM right from the get-go. Learn more here: https://xplusglobal.com/security-setup-wizard/