Pavan Kumar Adabala

Running Acceptance Tests with the Page Scripting Tool & bc-replay

Abstract:

User acceptance testing in Business Central has long consumed multiple working days of consultant time per release cycle, and that cost repeats with every hotfix, wave update, and customisation change. For partners managing portfolios of clients on the twice-yearly evergreen SaaS update model, the manual testing bottleneck is not occasional; it is structural.

This session examines how two tools introduced across Business Central 2024 Wave 1 and Wave 2, the Page Scripting Tool and the bc‑replay npm package, combine to make automated, repeatable UI-level acceptance testing a practical reality. Unlike AL-based test frameworks that operate at the code level, these tools record and replay real user interactions through the browser client, capturing every action from page navigation and field entry to lookup selections and confirmation dialogs in a human-readable YAML format.

Attendees will see how a full acceptance test suite spanning finance, purchasing, sales, and inventory scenarios can be executed automatically inside a GitHub Actions pipeline, triggered on every deployment, with pass/fail results published to a dashboard without any manual intervention. The session covers the full lifecycle: recording with the Page Scripting Tool, structuring scripts with conditional branches and validation steps, integrating bc‑replay with GitHub Actions and Azure DevOps using service principal authentication, and managing the maintenance burden that wave updates introduce.

Real-world outcomes from adoption include the elimination of optional scenario skipping under release pressure, same-day defect detection rather than discovery during manual UAT cycles, and meaningful participation by functional consultants without programming backgrounds in script review and authorship. The session concludes with a look at the planned AL-Go integration and AI-assisted script generation on the roadmap.

Profile:

Pavan Kumar Adabala is a hands-on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Senior Developer with extensive expertise in both Finance & Operations and Business Central platforms. Currently based in Charlotte, North Carolina, he leads end-to-end solution design and development at Inspire Medical Systems, where he oversees regulated CI/CD processes, custom development initiatives including reports, APIs, and Azure web jobs, and stakeholder-driven architecture. His role encompasses technical governance, license and security management, and integration strategies aligned with enterprise systems.

With a strong foundation in ERP optimization and integration, Pavan serves as a principal solution architect, translating strategic business goals into scalable technical solutions. He has established architectural standards and development workflows that meet SOX compliance requirements while ensuring high-quality code delivery. His technical expertise spans custom API development, SSRS and Docentric reporting, Azure Functions, and integration workflows with third-party platforms such as Concur, Blackline, and Acterys. He also maintains governance around user access, licensing, and environment management across D365 instances.

Before his current role, Pavan worked as a Technical Solutions Engineer at MCA Connect in Greensboro, where he implemented and supported Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations for external clients. He led technical discovery, solution design, and development efforts while directing teams through full-cycle implementations. His earlier experience at Teksoft Systems in Troy, Michigan, provided him with foundational expertise in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009/2012, where he participated in successful implementation projects form notable clients, including Gilbarco Veeder-Root, Marc Jacobs Inc., and Mott Corporation.

Pavan holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Missouri--Kansas City, where he ranked in the top 7% of his class, and a Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Communication Engineering from GITAM University in India, where he graduated in the top 2% of his class. He is a Microsoft Certified Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations Apps Solution Architect Expert and Developer Associate. Beyond his professional achievements, Pavan is an active volunteer in educational and medical outreach programs and
has presented research on nano-robots at Andhra University.