FAQs

Overview

Frequently Asked Questions covering common topics, capabilities, and best practices for using Test Orchestration.

❓ Common Questions Answered

Find answers to:

• How-to questions

• Capability questions

• Configuration questions

• Best practice questions

• Troubleshooting questions

---

Getting Started

Q: How do I create my first project?

A: Follow these steps:

1. Log in to Test Orchestration

2. Click "New Project" button

3. Enter project name and description

4. Click "Create"

5. Start adding workflows

See Creating a Project for detailed guide.

---

Q: What's the difference between a Project and a Workflow?

A:

• Project: Container organizing multiple workflows and settings

• Workflow: Sequence of steps/actions you want to automate

Think of it like: Project = Folder, Workflow = File

See Projects and Workflows.

---

Q: Can I organize workflows into folders?

A: Yes! Use the Folders feature to organize workflows hierarchically.

Steps:

1. Create folder structure

2. Move workflows into folders

3. Use folders for access control

4. Organize by test type or feature

See Folders for details.

---

Q: How long does it take to learn Test Orchestration?

A:

• Basic workflows: 1-2 hours

• Advanced features: 1-2 days

• Expert usage: 1-2 weeks

Start with Getting Started guide.

---

Workflow Creation

Q: How do I add steps to a workflow?

A: In workflow editor:

1. Click "Add Step" button

2. Select action type (Wait, Retry, Send Email, etc.)

3. Configure action settings

4. Connect to other steps

5. Save workflow

See Creating a Workflow.

---

Q: Can I reuse parts of workflows?

A: Yes, several approaches:

Option 1: Templates

• Create workflow template

• Reuse across projects

See Workflow Patterns.

---

Q: How do I handle errors in workflows?

A: Use error handling features:

Retry:

• Automatically retry failed steps

• Configure backoff strategy

• Set retry limits

Conditional:

• Check for error condition

• Execute alternate path

• Implement fallback logic

Error Handler:

• Catch specific errors

• Execute recovery workflow

• Log error details

See Error Handling.

---

Q: How should workflows be structured for efficiency?

A: Use Sequential Steps:

Workflow: Order Processing

├─ Step 1: Process payment
├─ Step 2: Reserve inventory
├─ Step 3: Update analytics
└─ Step 4: Aggregate results

See Workflow Patterns.

---

Q: What's the maximum workflow complexity?

A: No fixed limit, but consider:

• Readability: Keep workflows understandable

• Maintainability: Complex workflows hard to debug

• Performance: Very large workflows execute slower

• Best practice: Break into smaller workflows if needed

---

Execution

Q: How do I execute a workflow?

A: Multiple ways:

UI Method:

1. Open workflow

2. Click "Execute" button

3. Enter parameters (if needed)

4. Watch execution

CLI Method:

to-cli workflow execute WORKFLOW_ID

Scheduled:

1. Set up scheduler

2. Configure frequency (daily, hourly, etc.)

3. System automatically executes

See Executing Workflows.

---

Q: How long can a workflow run?

A:

• Default: 1 hour (3600 seconds)

• Maximum: 24 hours

• Configurable: Set custom timeout

Set timeout in workflow settings or via parameter.

---

Q: Can I stop a running workflow?

A: Yes!

In UI:

1. Click "Stop" button

2. Confirm cancellation

3. Workflow stops immediately

Via CLI:

to-cli workflow cancel EXECUTION_ID

---

Q: How do I see what happened during execution?

A: Check execution details:

1. Go to workflow execution history

2. Click on specific execution

3. View:

   • Execution logs

   • Step-by-step results

   • Variables/data

   • Artifacts generated

See Reports.

---

Q: Can I replay an execution?

A: Yes!

1. Find previous execution

2. Click "Replay" button

3. Use same parameters and data

4. Executes with original context

Useful for troubleshooting failures.

---

Data and State

Q: How do I pass data between steps?

A: Use Data Propagation:

Step 1: Get user data
  Output: user_id = 123

Step 2: Use user data
  Input: user_id (from Step 1)
  Process with data

See Data Propagation.

---

Q: Can I store data for later use?

A: Yes! Use Data Hub:

Step 1: Save data
  [Data Hub: Store {key: "user_id", value: 123}]

Step 2: Later
  [Data Hub: Retrieve {key: "user_id"}]
  value = 123 (retrieved)

Step 3: Much later (different execution)
  [Data Hub: Retrieve {key: "user_id"}]
  value = 123 (still there)

See Data Hub.

---

Q: What's the difference between Session Persistence and Data Hub?

A:

Feature	Session Persistence	Data Hub
Duration	Single execution	Multiple executions
Use case	Temporary data	Persistent data
Scope	Workflow session	Global/project
Clearing	Auto-cleared after	Manual deletion

See Session Persistence and Data Hub.

---

Q: How do I use variables?

A: Variables store values for workflow execution:

Create:

variable myVar = "Hello"
variable count = 0

Use:

Print: {myVar}
Set count = count + 1

Scope:

• Global (accessible everywhere)

• Workflow (accessible in workflow)

• Step (accessible in step)

See Custom Variables.

---

Configuration

Q: How do I configure environment-specific settings?

A: Use Environments:

1. Create environment (dev, staging, prod)

2. Set environment-specific values:

   • API URLs

   • Credentials

   • Test data

   • Timeouts

3. Select environment when executing workflow

See Environments.

---

Q: How do I manage credentials securely?

A: Best practices:

1. Don't hardcode credentials in workflows

2. Use environment variables:

   API_KEY = ${env.API_KEY}

3. Use credential store:

   • Securely store credentials

   • Reference in workflows

   • Never expose values

4. Rotate credentials regularly

See Best Practices.

---

Q: Can I set different configurations for test vs production?

A: Yes!

Option 1: Environments

• Create test and production environments

• Different settings for each

• Select at execution time

Option 2: Conditional Logic

• Check environment variable

• Execute different paths

• Same workflow, different behavior

See Conditional Execution.

---

Scheduling

Q: How do I schedule workflows to run automatically?

A: Use Scheduler feature:

1. Open workflow

2. Click "Schedule" tab

3. Set frequency:

   • Hourly

   • Daily

   • Weekly

   • Custom cron expression

4. Select time zone

5. Enable scheduler

6. System executes automatically

See Scheduler.

---

Q: Can I run workflows on specific days/times?

A: Yes, using cron expressions:

0 9 * * 1-5        (Every weekday at 9 AM)
0 0 1 * *          (First day of month at midnight)
*/30 * * * *       (Every 30 minutes)
0 9,14,19 * * *    (9 AM, 2 PM, 7 PM daily)

Configure in scheduler settings.

---

Q: Can workflows trigger other workflows?

A: Yes!

Method 1: Dependent Workflow

• Workflow A completes

• Workflow B automatically starts

• Configure dependencies

Method 2: Explicit Trigger

• Add step calling another workflow

• Pass parameters

• Wait for result

See Workflow Patterns.

---

Notifications

Q: How do I get notified when workflows complete?

A: Use Notifications feature:

1. Add notification step to workflow

2. Select notification type:

   • Email

   • Slack

   • Teams

   • Webhook

3. Configure recipients/channels

4. Set when to notify:

   • Always

   • On success

   • On failure

See Notifications.

---

Q: Can I notify different people based on results?

A: Yes!

Step: Execute workflow
  If passes → Email: [[email protected]]
  If fails → Email: [[email protected]]
           → Slack: [#critical-alerts]

Use conditional logic with notifications.

---

Troubleshooting

Q: Why is my workflow failing?

A: Check these in order:

1. Check logs: View execution logs for error message

2. Check step output: Verify previous step produced expected data

3. Check configuration: Verify settings correct

4. Check credentials: Verify API keys, passwords valid

5. Check network: Verify connectivity to services

See Troubleshooting guide.

---

Q: How do I debug a workflow?

A: Use debug features:

1. Enable debug logging: Toggle debug mode

2. Add checkpoints: Verify state at key points

3. View variables: Inspect variable values

4. Step-through: Execute step by step

5. Check artifacts: View output files/data

---

Q: My workflow is running very slowly. How do I optimize?

A: Performance tips:

1. Sequence efficiently: Structure steps logically

2. Reduce waits: Minimize delay actions

3. Optimize queries: Reduce data retrieved

4. Cache data: Reuse computed values

5. Use indexes: Speed up lookups

See Performance Optimization.

---

Q: How do I handle timeouts?

A: Prevent and handle timeouts:

1. Increase timeout: If legitimate long operation

2. Add waits: For async operations

3. Use polling: Check for completion

4. Implement retry: Temporary timeouts

timeout = 30 seconds (instead of default 10)

---

Best Practices

Q: What are best practices for workflow naming?

A: Use clear, descriptive names:

✅ Good:

• Login_And_Verify_Dashboard

• Create_Order_And_Verify_Email

• Daily_Regression_Suite

❌ Avoid:

• Test1, Test2

• Workflow123

• Single letter names

---

Q: How should I organize my workflows?

A: Organization strategies:

1. By feature: One folder per feature

2. By test type: Smoke tests, regression, E2E

3. By priority: Critical, important, nice-to-have

4. By frequency: Daily, weekly, nightly

Use consistent naming convention throughout.

---

Q: Should I make workflows reusable or specific?

A: Balance both:

Reusable:

• General-purpose workflows

• Parameters for customization

• Can be used by multiple teams

• Longer learning curve

Specific:

• Purpose-built workflows

• Easy to understand

• Harder to repurpose

• Faster to create

Recommendation: Mix both approaches.

---

Q: How often should I review workflows?

A: Regular maintenance:

• Quarterly: Review all workflows

• Monthly: Review recently changed

• Weekly: Review failing workflows

• As needed: Fix issues

Check for:

• Obsolete workflows (delete)

• Failed tests (investigate)

• Performance issues (optimize)

• Outdated documentation

---

Integration

Q: How do I integrate with CI/CD pipeline?

A: Use CI/CD integration:

1. GitHub Actions:

- name: Execute Tests
  run: to-cli workflow execute wf_id

1. Jenkins:

sh 'to-cli workflow execute wf_id'

1. GitLab CI:

test:
  script:
    - to-cli workflow execute wf_id

See CLI Reference for integration examples.

---

Q: Can I integrate with my issue tracking system?

A: Yes!

Method 1: Webhook

• Configure webhook to issue tracker

• On workflow completion, create/update issue

Method 2: API Call

• Add step calling issue tracker API

• Pass workflow results

• Create/update issues programmatically

Supported: Jira, Azure DevOps, GitHub Issues, etc.

---

Q: How do I export workflow results?

A: Multiple export options:

Report Export:

• PDF report

• HTML report

• CSV data

Artifact Export:

• Generated files

• Screenshots

• Logs

API Export:

• JSON format

• Programmatic access

• Integration

to-cli workflow export WORKFLOW_ID --format json

---

Advanced

Q: Can I create custom actions?

A: Partially:

Native actions available:

• Wait

• Retry

• Stop

• Send Email

• Data Hub

• Comment

Workarounds:

• Use API calls

• Call external scripts

• Combine existing actions

Future: Plugin system coming for custom actions.

---

Q: How do I implement complex conditional logic?

A: Use decision blocks and conditional execution:

Decision: Is user admin?
├─ Yes → Execute admin workflow
├─ No → Check user role
│   ├─ Manager → Execute manager workflow
│   └─ User → Execute user workflow
└─ Else → Execute default workflow

See Conditional Execution.

---

Q: Can I access workflow from external systems?

A: Yes, multiple ways:

API:

curl -X POST https://api.test-orchestration.com/workflows/execute \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -d '{"workflow_id": "wf_123"}'

Webhook:

• Configure webhook endpoint

• External system POSTs to webhook

• Workflow executes

CLI:

to-cli workflow execute WORKFLOW_ID

---

Q: What's maximum workflow size?

A: No strict limit, but:

• Practical limit: 1000+ steps

• Beyond that: Hard to manage/debug

• Recommendation: Break into smaller workflows

---

Support

Q: Where can I get help?

A: Multiple support channels:

1. Documentation: docs.test-orchestration.com

2. Support Portal: support.test-orchestration.com

3. Community Forum: community.test-orchestration.com

4. Email: [email protected]

Q: How do I report a bug?

A: Report bugs:

1. Check Troubleshooting first

2. Verify bug still occurs

3. Collect:

   • Workflow details

   • Execution logs

   • Steps to reproduce

   • Expected vs actual

4. Submit via support portal

---

Pricing and Licensing

Q: Is there a free version?

A: Yes! Free tier includes:

• 1 project

• 10 workflows

• 100 executions/month

• Community support

Upgrade for more features.

---

Q: What's included in paid plans?

A: See pricing page for details.

Typical features:

• Unlimited projects

• Unlimited workflows

• Priority support

• Advanced features

• SLA

---

Related Topics

• Glossary - Term definitions

• Troubleshooting - Problem solving

• Getting Started - Beginner guide

• Best Practices - Recommendations

---

Summary

• FAQs answers common questions

• Organized by topic for easy navigation

• Includes examples for practical guidance

• Links to detailed docs for more information

• Getting Started: Create project, add workflows, execute

---

Next: Check Troubleshooting for problem solving.