By Tomasz Teodorowicz — 14 Dec 2025

02.03 - Test Objectives Creation

Test Objectives Creation

02.03 — Test Objectives Creation
Creating strong, meaningful, and accurate test objectives is a critical skill for every Salesforce QA Consultant.
A well-written test objective reduces ambiguity, clarifies scope, aligns testing with business value, and accelerates every later stage of test design.

This module teaches you how to turn requirement analysis into precise, measurable, business-aligned test objectives.

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🎯 Learning Goals

By the end of this module, you will understand:

what a test objective is — and what it is NOT
how to derive objectives from identified test conditions
how to link objectives directly to business value and stakeholder expectations
how to recognise good vs bad objectives
how to transform raw analysis notes into structured, review-ready objectives

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📌 Structure of the Module

02.03.01 — What Is a Test Objective (and what is NOT)

Definition of a test objective in Salesforce projects
Differences vs test cases, acceptance criteria, and expected results
Why objectives define scope, not step-by-step execution
Role of objectives in communication with PM, BA, Dev, and client

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02.03.02 — How to Derive Objectives From Conditions

Turning test conditions (from Data, Security, Logic, UI, Apex categories) into objectives
Grouping and merging conditions for clarity
Avoiding over-granularity and under-granularity
Examples from real Salesforce requirements

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02.03.03 — Linking Test Objectives to Business Value

Why business value is the “north star” of every test objective
How to translate business requirements into measurable QA goals
Ensuring objectives support UAT, stakeholder expectations, and project KPIs
Example mapping: condition → objective → business value

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02.03.04 — Good vs Bad Test Objectives (Examples)

Most common mistakes in writing objectives
Weak vs strong objectives — rewritten pairs
Templates for clear, concise, measurable objectives
Real Salesforce examples: flows, validation rules, permissions, automation

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02.03.05 — Short Exercise: Transforming Raw Notes Into Objectives

A practical transformation demo:

raw requirements → identification of conditions → grouping → objectives
sample notes from analysis
expected outputs for comparison
mini-assignment for students

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🧩 How This Module Fits Into the Course

builds directly on 02.01 — Requirements Analysis
prepares the foundation for
02.04 — Risk-based Testing & Prioritisation
03.00+ — Test Case Construction
ensures consistency between requirement → analysis → condition → objective → test case

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✔️ Summary

This module gives you the methodology and mental framework required to create clear, useful, business-aligned test objectives — the core of Salesforce QA analysis.

Once mastered, it significantly increases testing efficiency, reduces ambiguity, and improves communication across the entire project team.

02.03.01 — What Is a Test Objective (and what is NOT)

02.03.01 — What Test Objectives Are (and Why Salesforce Needs Them)

Introduction

Before you can design effective test cases, you need clarity on what exactly you are testing.
Not in the form of step-by-step actions.
Not in the form of test data.
Not even in the form of user behaviour flows.

You first need Test Objectives — the strategic, high-level goals that define what the testing effort must accomplish for a requirement, feature, or process.

In Salesforce projects, Test Objectives (TOs) are far more important than in traditional software projects.
Why?
Because Salesforce projects combine:

complex business logic,
declarative and programmatic tools,
strict platform limits,
intertwined security layers,
multi-tenant constraints,
multiple actors and permission contexts.

Without well-defined Test Objectives, Salesforce testing becomes chaotic, incomplete, or heavily redundant.

Test Objectives give structure to complexity.

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What Test Objectives Are

A Test Objective is a concise statement describing what needs to be verified, not how it will be tested.

A Test Objective:

expresses the intent of the test,
captures behaviour or business value we must validate,
groups multiple test conditions into meaningful chunks,
provides direction for writing efficient test cases later,
supports effort estimation, risk assessment, and prioritisation.

A simple comparison:

Element	Purpose	Level of Detail
Requirement	Describes expected system change	Vague, business-oriented
Test Condition	Atomic element of behaviour	Very detailed, granular
Test Objective	Groups conditions into testable goals	Medium detail, strategic
Test Case	Steps, data, expected result	Fully detailed

Test Objectives bridge the gap between analysis and execution.

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Why Salesforce Needs Test Objectives More Than Traditional Projects

In many classical software projects, requirements map cleanly to functionalities.
A small requirement → a small set of tests → simple test cases.

Salesforce doesn’t work this way.

The same requirement can affect:

data model,
permissions,
flows,
Apex logic,
UI visibility,
record access,
automation entry points,
integrations,
reporting.

A tester must see the entire landscape, not just the requirement text.

This is why Test Objectives act as the backbone of the testing process.

Key reasons Salesforce requires explicit TOs:

1. High configuration density

Small changes may affect multiple layers (e.g., field visibility, sharing, automation).

2. Multiple user contexts

Salesforce behaviours differ dramatically depending on profile, permission sets, and record access.

3. Declarative + programmatic interactions

Flows, Apex, validation rules, assignment rules — all interacting in ways invisible in requirement descriptions.

4. Platform limits and constraints

Governor limits, automation recursion, field history limits — all introduce hidden test conditions.

5. Frequent cross-requirement impacts

A single change may break behaviour in completely different parts of the application.

Test Objectives help catch these impacts before you even start writing a test case.

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What a Good Test Objective Looks Like

A Test Objective must:

be clear,
be testable,
focus on behaviour, not actions,
represent value, not steps,
be written in business-meaningful language,
group related test conditions logically,
ignore specific users, buttons, or UI paths.

Example (poor vs good):

❌ Poor Test Objective:
"Test the validation rule on Opportunity Stage."

(too vague, not testable, no context)

✔️ Good Test Objective:
"Verify that Opportunity records cannot progress to ‘Closed Won’ unless all mandatory commercial fields are completed."

(behavioural, meaningful, actionable)

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Test Objectives in the Salesforce Testing Process

In Salesforce testing, Test Objectives serve four major functions:

1. Structuring Test Design

They prevent duplication of test cases and ensure every condition is covered.

2. Enabling Efficient Planning

PMs, architects, and QA leads can understand the scope at a strategic level.

3. Supporting Risk Assessment (SRA)

Each TO receives a risk class — low/medium/high — enabling realistic workload estimation.

4. Linking Requirements to Testing Quadrants

TOs naturally map into Q1–Q4, shaping the testing strategy:

quick checks (Q1),
functional flows (Q2),
deep exploratory tests (Q3),
edge cases and limits (Q4).

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What Test Objectives Are Not

To avoid confusion, Test Objectives:

are not test steps,
are not user stories rewritten in your own words,
are not acceptance criteria,
are not instructions,
are not bound to specific test users,
are not specific to one tool or flow.

They sit above the details.

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Summary

Test Objectives are one of the most powerful tools in Salesforce QA.
They allow testers to:

translate complexity into clarity,
group over-detailed conditions into meaningful categories,
communicate risk and scope effectively,
build efficient test cases,
avoid redundancy and missed scenarios,
handle Salesforce’s multi-layered architecture properly.

They form the foundation of all subsequent work in Modules 02.03 and 02.04.

In the next lesson, we’ll move from what Test Objectives are to how to turn your test conditions into Test Objectives with precision and structure.

02.03.02 — How to Derive Objectives From Conditions

02.03.02 — How to Convert Test Conditions into Test Objectives

Introduction

Now that you understand what Test Objectives (TOs) are and why Salesforce projects absolutely need them, it’s time to learn how to build them.

Most testers struggle here.

They do one of two things:

either they write TOs that are too detailed (basically steps),
or they write TOs that are too vague (basically summaries).

The real skill — and a critical skill for Salesforce QA — lies in transforming dozens of scattered test conditions into a small, organised set of meaningful, testable, strategic Test Objectives.

This lesson teaches you that process step by step.

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Step 1 — Start From Your Test Conditions

Test Conditions (TCnds) are the smallest, atomic elements of behaviour.
You extract them from requirements using:

requirement reading (5-read method),
requirement categorisation (data → security → logic → UI → Apex),
hidden condition discovery,
quadrants of testing.

A single requirement often contains 10–50 conditions.
A complex one can exceed 100.

Before you convert anything, list all conditions first.

Example set of raw Test Conditions:

Field X must be visible to Profile A.
Field X must not be visible to Profile B.
Field X must be editable by Role Manager.
Field X must be read-only for Role Representative.
When Field X = “Yes”, automation Y must run.
When Field X = “No”, automation Y must not run.
When automation Y runs, it must create Record Z.
Record Z must inherit User A as owner.
Record Z must not inherit User B as owner.

This is too granular for planning or reporting.
But perfect for building TOs.

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Step 2 — Identify Behavioural Themes

Test Objectives must reflect behaviour, not configuration items.

Look at your list of conditions and ask:

“What behaviour is this requirement really introducing or enforcing?”

You’ll almost always find natural themes:

permission behaviour
automation behaviour
business rule behaviour
data handling behaviour
user interface behaviour

Returning to the example:

Your conditions show:

Access/visibility behaviour
Editability behaviour
Conditional automation behaviour
Record creation behaviour

These themes become the skeleton of your TOs.

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Step 3 — Group the Conditions Into Behavioural Buckets

Take the raw list and cluster them according to the themes from Step 2.

Example grouping:

Bucket 1 — Field access & visibility
- Field X visible for Profile A
- Field X not visible for Profile B
- Field X editable for Role Manager
- Field X read-only for Role Representative

Bucket 2 — Conditional business logic
- When X = “Yes”, run automation Y
- When X = “No”, do not run automation Y

Bucket 3 — Automation outcomes
- Automation Y creates Record Z
- Record Z inherits owner from User A
- Record Z must not inherit owner from User B

Each bucket will typically yield one Test Objective.

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Step 4 — Write the Test Objective in Behavioural Language

Remember:

NOT step-based
NOT tool-based
NOT UI-path-based
NOT tied to a specific test user
NOT overly technical

Use business-facing language.

Example TO translations:

TO1 — Validate access behaviour

“Verify that the new field behaves according to the defined security model, ensuring correct visibility and editability across specified profiles and roles.”

TO2 — Validate conditional automation behaviour

“Verify that the system triggers or suppresses the automation based on the value selected in Field X.”

TO3 — Validate automation results

“Verify that the automation produces the correct record with the expected ownership logic.”

Suddenly, your 10+ conditions become three clean Test Objectives.

This is the magic of the conversion process.

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Step 5 — Check That Each Test Objective Is Testable

Each TO must:

represent behaviour that can be tested,
be broad enough to group multiple conditions,
be narrow enough to keep test cases focused,
describe what the system must do, not how,
be valuable for planning, risk assessment, and allocation.

If a TO feels too big, split it.
If a TO feels too small, merge it.

A typical requirement yields:
➡️ 3–7 Test Objectives

This keeps analysis manageable.

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Step 6 — Link Test Objectives to Testing Quadrants

Every Test Objective naturally fits into one or more quadrants:

Q1 — Technical / quick checks (data model, security, UI config)
Q2 — Business-facing functional flows
Q3 — Exploratory behaviour, business critique
Q4 — Limits & break-tests (performance, edge cases)

This helps:

prioritise,
estimate,
report,
and plan your strategy.

Example mapping:

TO	Description	Quadrants
TO1	Access behaviour	Q1, Q2
TO2	Conditional automation	Q1, Q2
TO3	Automation outcomes	Q2, Q3, Q4

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Step 7 — (Optional) Assign Salesforce Risk Assessment (SRA) Values

You’ll cover the full SRA method later, but at this stage:

Each TO receives a risk class:

Low — simple configuration
Medium — moderate logic, multi-actor behaviour
High — Apex, complex flows, security changes, recursion sensitivity

Risk classes support:

effort estimation,
workload planning,
reporting,
sprint forecasting.

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Practical Example (Full)

Requirement:

“When a Manager approves a request, a custom validation rule enforces that all required compliance fields must be filled before the record can progress.”

Derived raw conditions:

Field A is required for progression.
Field B is required for progression.
Validation rule prevents progression without both fields.
Validation fires only for Managers.
Validation does not fire for Clerks.
Validation fires only on Status = “Submitted”.
Validation must display correct message.

Behaviour buckets → TOs:

TO1 — Field requirements validation

“Verify that required fields must be filled for the record to progress.”

TO2 — Conditional validation behaviour

“Verify that the validation rule fires only for managers and only when status is ‘Submitted’.”

TO3 — User experience behaviour

“Verify that the correct error message is presented upon failed validation.”

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Summary

Converting Test Conditions into Test Objectives is a structured process:

Extract all raw test conditions.
Identify behavioural themes.
Group conditions into behavioural buckets.
Write clean, testable Test Objectives.
Validate scope and usefulness.
Map to testing quadrants.
(Optional) Add risk class for SRA.

This process ensures:

no conditions are missed,
no redundant test cases are created,
testing effort is focused and organised,
communication with architects, PMs, and developers is clear,
planning and estimation become predictable.

In the next lesson (02.03.03), we will build on this and discuss how to structure Test Objectives into a hierarchy that scales across large Salesforce implementations.

02.03.03 — Linking Test Objectives to Business Value

02.03.03 — Linking Test Objectives to Business Value

Why Test Objectives Must Reflect What the Business Actually Cares About

Introduction

Test Objectives (TOs) are not only an internal QA tool.
In Salesforce projects — where timelines are short, requirements vague, dependencies complex, and budgets tight — Test Objectives become one of the most powerful communication tools between testers, consultants, architects, and business stakeholders.

A Test Objective is only useful when it answers a critical question:

“Why does this test matter for the business?”

In this lesson you’ll learn how to ensure that every Test Objective
— whether technical, functional, or exploratory —
is directly connected to business value.

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1. Why Business Value Matters in Test Objectives

In a traditional software project, a tester can afford to write TOs that focus on “system behaviour.”

In Salesforce, this fails immediately.

Salesforce testing must reflect:

user permissions,
real business processes,
automation chains,
revenue flows,
compliance rules,
customer experience,
SLA obligations,
integrations.

Because Salesforce is not custom software — it is a business platform.
If your Test Objectives do not reflect business priorities, you will inevitably:

test the wrong things,
test low-value things too deeply,
miss high-risk behaviours,
waste time on redundant scenarios,
fail to explain your work to PMs or architects.

Linking TOs to business value prevents all of that.

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2. How to Identify Business Value in a Requirement

Every requirement carries an implied business intention, even when not stated.
Your job is to extract it.

Ask yourself:

What is the real reason the business wants this change?

Examples:

prevent users from making mistakes,
reduce time spent on manual work,
enforce compliance rules,
protect data quality,
support cross-department processes,
improve reporting accuracy,
improve customer service.

Who loses money or time if this fails?

Examples:

sales teams,
service agents,
billing,
management,
customers.

What downstream processes depend on this working correctly?

Examples:

invoice generation,
opportunity forecasting,
entitlement logic,
escalation routing,
analytics dashboards.

The answer is your “business value anchor.”

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3. Converting Business Value Into Strong Test Objectives

A Test Objective should express:

what behaviour must be validated,
why that behaviour matters to the business.

❌ Weak Test Objective:

“Validate that the validation rule works.”

✔️ Strong Test Objective (business-linked):

“Validate that records cannot be progressed without mandatory compliance fields, ensuring that downstream processes remain accurate and audit-ready.”

Both test the same feature
— but the strong TO explains why it matters.

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4. A Practical Formula for Business-Focused Test Objectives

A simple and extremely effective structure:

Verify that works correctly

so that is protected/enabled.

Examples:

Example 1 — Access & Permissions

Verify that only authorized profiles can modify credit terms

so that financial risk and customer commitments remain controlled.

Example 2 — Automation Logic

Verify that renewal opportunities are generated automatically

so that account managers do not miss revenue-critical renewal windows.

Example 3 — Data Quality

Verify that validation rules prevent incomplete case closures

so that customer satisfaction metrics remain accurate.

This makes your Test Objectives meaningful, defensible, and easy to prioritise.

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5. Business Value Links Improve All Later Steps

Linking TOs with business outcomes enhances:

Prioritisation

High-value behaviour → tested earlier, deeper, more broadly.

SRA (Salesforce Risk Assessment)

Business impact becomes part of the risk score.

Quadrant Assignment

Process-heavy objectives → Q2, Q3
Negative-path / risk objectives → Q4
Setup-level validation → Q1

Stakeholder Communication

PMs understand what they are paying for.
Architects understand what dependencies they must review.
Business users understand why certain cases exist.

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6. Consultant Note #1

Business Value ≠ Business Process

A common mistake:

Testers confuse “business value” with “process steps.”

Linking Test Objectives to business value is one of the most impactful skills in Salesforce QA.
A strong TO:

expresses system behaviour,
explains why that behaviour matters,
clarifies risk,
supports prioritisation,
enhances SRA and quadrant planning,
improves communication with the entire project team.

This lesson bridges the gap between “tester” and “consultant.”
From now on, every Test Objective you write must include a business perspective.

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Next Lesson
02.03.04 — Good vs Bad Test Objectives (Examples)
You’ll see real transformations of poor TOs into strong ones, and learn patterns you can reuse instantly.

02.03.04 — Good vs Bad Test Objectives (Examples)

02.03.04 — Good vs Bad Test Objectives (Examples)

Introduction

Test Objectives (TOs) are only useful if they are written clearly, consistently, and in a way that reflects real system behaviour and business value.

Most testers get this wrong at the beginning.

Bad Test Objectives create:

confusion,
redundant test cases,
gaps in coverage,
misaligned expectations with PM/BA/PO,
weak SRA scoring,
and unnecessary time waste.

Good Test Objectives:

guide the creation of clean, efficient test cases,
communicate behaviour and value,
reflect risk,
and scale across the entire project.

❌ Mistake 3 — Describing UI interactions
TOs describe behaviour, not steps.

❌ Mistake 4 — Being too technical
E.g. “Verify that Apex class executes without exception.”

❌ Mistake 5 — Missing business value
Leaves TOs defenseless during planning.

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11. Consultant Note #1

A good Test Objective can be understood by:

a developer,
a BA,
a PM,
a Salesforce architect,
and a business stakeholder

even if they never saw the requirement.

If a TO requires more explanation → rewrite it.

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12. Consultant Note #2

Every bad TO leads to a bad test case.

Every good TO leads to a reusable, flexible, scalable test case.

Invest here — it pays dividends later.

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13. Consultant Note #3

Good objectives allow you to explain your work in under 30 seconds

Example:

“This objective ensures that closing an Opportunity follows commercial rules and prevents revenue forecast errors.”

This is why PMs love strong Test Objectives — and why juniors become seniors faster.

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Summary

Good Test Objectives:

describe behaviour,
include business value,
reflect system expectations clearly,
support planning and SRA,
remove ambiguity,
reduce unnecessary test cases.

Bad Test Objectives:

waste time,
confuse stakeholders,
hide risk,
produce incorrect testing.

The next lesson (02.03.05) will let you put this knowledge into practice through a hands-on exercise:
Transforming a messy, real-world requirement into clean, structured, business-focused Test Objectives.

02.03.05 — Exercise: Transforming Raw Notes Into Objectives

02.03.05 — Exercise: Transforming Raw Notes Into Test Objectives

A Practical Workshop for Turning Messy Notes Into Clear, Business-Driven Test Objectives

Introduction

This exercise simulates the real environment you will experience on Salesforce projects:

incomplete requirements,
inconsistent notes from refinement sessions,
comments from devs,
Slack messages from the BA,
screenshots,
contradictory verbal explanations.

Your job as a Salesforce QA Consultant is to turn this chaos into:

Test Conditions →
Behaviour Groups →
Test Objectives (TOs).

This exercise will show you exactly how.

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1. The Raw Notes (Realistic Scenario)

Below is a deliberately messy, unfiltered set of notes — similar to what testers often receive before refinement:

•	When Opportunity is Closed Won → create a Renewal Opportunity automatically
•	Only applies to accounts with Subscription Type = “Premium”
•	Renewal Opp needs same owner as parent Opp
•	Renewal amount = last subscription value (but BA said new pricing model coming soon??)
•	Dev mentioned flow may run twice in bulk updates
•	Contract End Date might be empty for legacy customers → PO says treat as edge case
•	Need validation so Sales rep cannot modify Renewal Opp amount manually
•	Renewal should be visible in custom “Renewals Dashboard”
•	Integration team asked if new Opp requires API field “billingTrigger = true”
•	System should not create Renewal if primary subscription is cancelled
•	Manager wants error message when automation fails
•	Business said: “Renewals = main revenue source, cannot fail mid-quarter.”

Your task:
Turn this into clear, grouped, business-value-driven Test Objectives.

Let’s go step by step.

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2. Step 1 — Extract Raw Test Conditions

We do not polish the notes yet — only extract behaviour.

Raw Test Conditions:

Automation must create Renewal Opp on Closed Won.
Only for Subscription Type = Premium.
Renewal Opp owner must match Opportunity owner.
Renewal amount is copied from last subscription value.
Pricing model may change (risk / unknown).
Flow may execute twice in bulk operations (risk).
Contract End Date might be empty → must not break renewal logic.
Validation: Sales rep cannot edit Renewal Opp amount.
Renewal Opp must appear in Renewals Dashboard.
API field “billingTrigger = true” must be included.
No Renewal if primary subscription is cancelled.
Error message must appear when automation fails.
Renewals are critical for revenue (business value).

This already shows:
➡️ 13 test conditions for a single requirement.

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3. Step 2 — Group Conditions Into Behaviour Buckets

Bucket A — Eligibility Behaviour
- Only Premium subscriptions trigger renewal
- No renewal if primary subscription is cancelled
- Contract End Date edge cases must be handled

Bucket B — Renewal Creation Logic
- Create renewal on Closed Won
- Copy subscription amount
- Owner inheritance
- Risk: flow executing twice

Bucket C — Data Protection & Validation
- Sales reps cannot modify Renewal Opp amount

Bucket D — Reporting / Visibility Behaviour
- Renewal must appear in Renewals Dashboard

Bucket E — Integration Behaviour
- billingTrigger = true field required
- Must not break downstream processes

Bucket F — Error Handling
- Error message when automation fails

Bucket G — Business Value
- Renewals = main revenue stream
- High financial impact if incorrect

Great — now we can structure this into proper TOs.

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4. Step 3 — Convert Buckets Into Test Objectives

We want clear, behaviour-based, business-linked objectives.

TO1 — Eligibility & Preconditions

“Verify that renewal opportunities are generated only when valid premium subscriptions are active and eligible, ensuring that renewals are initiated exclusively for accounts contributing to recurring revenue.”

TO2 — Renewal Creation Behaviour

“Verify that renewal opportunities created upon Closed Won inherit the correct owner and subscription value, guaranteeing accurate forecasting and preventing revenue leakage.”

TO3 — Protection Against Incorrect Data

“Verify that renewal amounts cannot be manually modified by Sales Representatives, ensuring consistency with contractual pricing rules.”

TO4 — Dashboard Visibility

“Verify that generated renewal opportunities appear correctly on the Renewals Dashboard, supporting accurate operational reporting.”

TO5 — Integration Consistency

“Verify that renewal opportunities include the required API field billingTrigger = true, ensuring downstream billing systems can process renewal events.”

TO6 — Error Handling

“Verify that users receive a clear error message when the renewal automation fails, ensuring support teams can diagnose and resolve renewal interruptions quickly.”

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5. Step 4 — Add Consultant-Level Notes (Optional)

These elevate the TO for senior QA / Test Lead perspective.

Consultant Note A — Handling Future Pricing Model Changes
Pricing model uncertainty means TO2 must remain high-level and not tied to current formula specifics.
This prevents rework when pricing logic evolves.

Consultant Note B — Bulk Update Risks
Flow execution twice is a known Salesforce issue in certain configurations.
This risk must appear in Quadrant 4 tests (technical stress/boundary tests).

Consultant Note C — SRA Risk Class Suggestions
- TO1 → High (critical revenue logic)
- TO2 → High (data correctness drives billing accuracy)
- TO3 → Medium
- TO4 → Medium
- TO5 → High
- TO6 → Medium

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6. Final Output — Clean Test Objectives (Copy/Paste Ready)

TO1 — Eligibility & Preconditions
Verify that renewal opportunities are created only for eligible premium subscriptions, ensuring correct revenue coverage and preventing accidental renewals for cancelled or invalid accounts.

TO2 — Renewal Creation Behaviour
Verify that renewal opportunities created upon Closed Won inherit the correct owner and subscription amount, ensuring accurate forecasting and protecting renewal revenue.

TO3 — Pricing Data Protection
Verify that Sales Representatives cannot modify renewal amounts, maintaining contractual pricing integrity.

TO4 — Dashboard Visibility
Verify that renewal opportunities appear correctly on the Renewals Dashboard to support operational reporting and pipeline visibility.

TO5 — Integration Readiness
Verify that renewal opportunities include the required API field `billingTrigger = true`, enabling downstream billing systems to process the renewal correctly.

TO6 — Error Handling
Verify that meaningful error messages are displayed when renewal automation fails, helping support teams ensure continuity of renewal processes.

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Summary

This exercise demonstrated how a Salesforce QA Consultant transforms:

chaotic refinement notes,
contradictory information,
incomplete requirements,
hidden risks,
unclear dependencies,

into a clean, structured, business-aligned Test Objective set.

This is the skill that distinguishes a tester from a consultant.

In the next module (02.04), we will take your Test Objectives further by mapping them to Risk-Based Testing and Prioritisation.

Test Objectives Creation

02.03 — Test Objectives CreationCreating strong, meaningful, and accurate test objectives is a critical skill for every Salesforce QA Consultant.A well-written test objective reduces ambiguity, clarifies scope, aligns testing with business value, and accelerates every later stage of test design.

🎯 Learning Goals

📌 Structure of the Module

02.03.01 — What Is a Test Objective (and what is NOT)

02.03.02 — How to Derive Objectives From Conditions

02.03.03 — Linking Test Objectives to Business Value

02.03.04 — Good vs Bad Test Objectives (Examples)

02.03.05 — Short Exercise: Transforming Raw Notes Into Objectives

🧩 How This Module Fits Into the Course

✔️ Summary

02.03.01 — What Test Objectives Are (and Why Salesforce Needs Them)

Introduction

What Test Objectives Are

A simple comparison:

Why Salesforce Needs Test Objectives More Than Traditional Projects

Key reasons Salesforce requires explicit TOs:

1. High configuration density

2. Multiple user contexts

3. Declarative + programmatic interactions

4. Platform limits and constraints

5. Frequent cross-requirement impacts

What a Good Test Objective Looks Like

Example (poor vs good):

Test Objectives in the Salesforce Testing Process

1. Structuring Test Design

2. Enabling Efficient Planning

3. Supporting Risk Assessment (SRA)

4. Linking Requirements to Testing Quadrants

What Test Objectives Are Not

Summary

02.03.02 — How to Convert Test Conditions into Test Objectives

Introduction

Step 1 — Start From Your Test Conditions

Example set of raw Test Conditions:

Step 2 — Identify Behavioural Themes

Returning to the example:

Step 3 — Group the Conditions Into Behavioural Buckets

Example grouping:

Bucket 1 — Field access & visibility- Field X visible for Profile A- Field X not visible for Profile B- Field X editable for Role Manager- Field X read-only for Role Representative

Bucket 2 — Conditional business logic- When X = “Yes”, run automation Y- When X = “No”, do not run automation Y

Bucket 3 — Automation outcomes- Automation Y creates Record Z- Record Z inherits owner from User A- Record Z must not inherit owner from User B

Step 4 — Write the Test Objective in Behavioural Language

Example TO translations:

TO1 — Validate access behaviour

TO2 — Validate conditional automation behaviour

TO3 — Validate automation results

Step 5 — Check That Each Test Objective Is Testable

Step 6 — Link Test Objectives to Testing Quadrants

Example mapping:

Step 7 — (Optional) Assign Salesforce Risk Assessment (SRA) Values

Practical Example (Full)

Requirement:

Derived raw conditions:

Behaviour buckets → TOs:

TO1 — Field requirements validation

TO2 — Conditional validation behaviour

TO3 — User experience behaviour

Summary

02.03.03 — Linking Test Objectives to Business Value

Why Test Objectives Must Reflect What the Business Actually Cares About

Introduction

1. Why Business Value Matters in Test Objectives

2. How to Identify Business Value in a Requirement

What is the real reason the business wants this change?

Who loses money or time if this fails?

What downstream processes depend on this working correctly?

3. Converting Business Value Into Strong Test Objectives

❌ Weak Test Objective:

✔️ Strong Test Objective (business-linked):

4. A Practical Formula for Business-Focused Test Objectives

Example 1 — Access & Permissions

Example 2 — Automation Logic

Example 3 — Data Quality

5. Business Value Links Improve All Later Steps

Prioritisation

SRA (Salesforce Risk Assessment)

Quadrant Assignment

Stakeholder Communication

6. Consultant Note #1

Bucket 1 — Field access & visibility
- Field X visible for Profile A
- Field X not visible for Profile B
- Field X editable for Role Manager
- Field X read-only for Role Representative

Bucket 2 — Conditional business logic
- When X = “Yes”, run automation Y
- When X = “No”, do not run automation Y

Bucket 3 — Automation outcomes
- Automation Y creates Record Z
- Record Z inherits owner from User A
- Record Z must not inherit owner from User B

Next Lesson
02.03.04 — Good vs Bad Test Objectives (Examples)
You’ll see real transformations of poor TOs into strong ones, and learn patterns you can reuse instantly.

❌ Mistake 1 — Writing Steps Instead of Objectives
“Click here → open this → check that”

❌ Mistake 2 — Rewriting the requirement
Adds no analytical value.

❌ Mistake 3 — Describing UI interactions
TOs describe behaviour, not steps.

❌ Mistake 4 — Being too technical
E.g. “Verify that Apex class executes without exception.”

❌ Mistake 5 — Missing business value
Leaves TOs defenseless during planning.

Bucket A — Eligibility Behaviour
- Only Premium subscriptions trigger renewal
- No renewal if primary subscription is cancelled
- Contract End Date edge cases must be handled

Bucket B — Renewal Creation Logic
- Create renewal on Closed Won
- Copy subscription amount
- Owner inheritance
- Risk: flow executing twice

Bucket C — Data Protection & Validation
- Sales reps cannot modify Renewal Opp amount

Bucket D — Reporting / Visibility Behaviour
- Renewal must appear in Renewals Dashboard

Bucket E — Integration Behaviour
- billingTrigger = true field required
- Must not break downstream processes

Bucket F — Error Handling
- Error message when automation fails

Bucket G — Business Value
- Renewals = main revenue stream
- High financial impact if incorrect