Autonomous Testing builds Dynamics 365 regression tests from what users actually do in the system — not from outdated documentation or what someone remembers from a workshop.
Discovery observes real D365 usage and identifies recurring business processes. A Quality Score filters out the noise, and the AI Optimizer turns the best recordings into clean, repeatable test scripts that a tester reviews and approves. This article explains how each step works, how optimization scales to dozens of scripts overnight, and why a human still makes the final call on every test.
Why do Dynamics 365 regression suites lose touch with reality?
Anyone who has owned a regression suite for Dynamics 365 knows the feeling: an update is coming, and nobody quite remembers why a given test exists, whether it still reflects a real process, or whether it’s worth keeping. Documentation is outdated, key users have moved on, and testers end up guessing what matters.
What if, instead of guessing, you could build regression tests from what users actually do in the system?
What is Autonomous Testing?
Autonomous Testing combines Discovery, which observes real D365 usage, with the AI Optimizer, which turns those observations into clean, repeatable test scripts. Together they take you from observation to a ready-made test:
Observe
See how the system is actually used.
Identify
Automatically detect recurring business processes.
Select
Pick the best candidates for automation.
Convert
Turn them into ready-to-run tests.
Grow
Keep expanding regression coverage — without designing every test from scratch.
How does Discovery show what’s really happening in D365?
Discovery records user sessions, analyzes activities, groups similar executions, and shows variants of the same process — turning scattered activity into a map of real work patterns.
On top sits a Coverage Report, which maps test-environment activity against D365 Entry Points to show:
- which entry points are covered,
- which have never been touched,
- where coverage is strong,
- and where the gaps are.
That answers the question usually left unanswered: how do you know what you’re not testing?
Why isn’t every recorded session a test case?
A recorded session isn’t automatically a regression test. Recordings include one-time transactions, experiments, incomplete flows, and plain mistakes.
That’s why AI scores every execution with a Quality Score, based on business relevance, process completeness, consistency, and repeatability — filtering good candidates out of the noise.
Worth knowing: Autonomous Testing doesn’t remove the need for testing expertise. It reduces the effort of preparing a test.
How does the AI Optimizer turn recordings into test scripts?
The AI Optimizer takes raw recordings and turns them into clean, repeatable scripts, automatically fixing:
- production-specific data,
- redundant navigation,
- missing validation,
- user-specific actions,
- and environment dependencies.
It starts with a simple decision: select scripts, then choose Run now or add them to a Schedule / batch queue (for example, Friday at 22:00).
Once it’s running, you can follow the optimization live: step-by-step progress, a side-by-side comparison of original and optimized script steps, and an activity log showing exactly what the model is doing at any given moment — including its running reasoning.
How does batch optimization scale overnight?
Batch optimization solves another very real problem: scale. Instead of optimizing scripts one at a time, an entire set can be imported and processed overnight. A typical scenario looks like this:
A tester imports, say, 50 executions.
The Optimizer kicks off automatically.
Optimized scripts are already waiting for review the next morning.
The Optimizer can run against a single script or an entire set, in either immediate or scheduled mode — and the whole pipeline is visible in one place:
- Scheduled
- Being optimized
- Ready for sign-off
- Signed off
- Failed
Who makes the final call on an optimized test?
Regression tests touch business-critical processes, so no step happens without human oversight. AI assists — humans approve. For every optimized script, the tester can review the AI’s changes, compare versions, validate the result, and decide whether to accept or reject it.
The optimization report makes this very concrete. It shows how many steps were removed, added, and modified, what the optimization cost (in tokens and dollars), and a detailed, step-by-step explanation of what the AI changed and why.
Reviewing many scripts at once: a consolidated batch report shows the number of scripts pending sign-off along with total steps removed, added, and modified — with the option to approve everything in a single click.
Manual test design vs. Autonomous Testing
| Manual test design | Autonomous Testing | |
|---|---|---|
| Source of test cases | Documentation and key users’ memory | Recorded, real system usage |
| Finding gaps | Guesswork | Coverage Report against D365 Entry Points |
| Choosing candidates | Tester judgment alone | Quality Score, then tester judgment |
| Preparing scripts | Designed one by one, from scratch | AI Optimizer, single script or overnight batch |
| Dependency on SMEs | High | Lower — the suite reflects what the system actually does |
| Final approval | Tester | Tester — AI assists, humans approve |
What does the organization actually get?
From a business standpoint, here’s the payoff:
- Better test coverage — Discovery identifies important processes on its own, and every new user activity can become a future regression candidate.
- Faster automation — no need to manually design every test from scratch.
- Data-driven decisions — the Coverage Report reveals real gaps instead of guesswork.
- Less dependency on SMEs — the regression suite reflects what the system actually does, not what someone remembers from a meeting two years ago.
In short, the whole process closes into a single loop:
- Observe
- Detect patterns and score quality
- Import into testing
- Optimize with AI
- Human approval
- A regression suite that keeps growing
↻ New user activity feeds back into step 1, so the loop keeps running.
How can you get started for free?
Testing Freemium by XPLUS is a free tier designed as an entry point into test automation for D365 — particularly for teams planning an RSAT / Task Recorder migration. It includes:
- 1 userincluded
- 150test scripts
- 1,200test executions per year
- Azure DevOpsintegration
- RSAT / Task Recordermigration support
- No time limitand no credit card required
You can upgrade to Premium at any time, without migration.
FAQ
Can Dynamics 365 regression tests really be built from user activity?
Yes. Discovery records real user sessions, groups similar executions into processes and variants, and those recordings become the raw material for test scripts that the AI Optimizer cleans up and a tester approves.
Does every recorded session become a regression test?
No. Recordings include one-time transactions, experiments, incomplete flows and mistakes. Each execution gets a Quality Score based on business relevance, completeness, consistency and repeatability, so only good candidates move forward.
What does the AI Optimizer change in a recorded script?
It fixes production-specific data, redundant navigation, missing validation, user-specific actions and environment dependencies, producing a clean, repeatable script. The report explains each change and why it was made.
Can the AI approve tests on its own?
No. AI assists, humans approve. The tester reviews changes, compares versions and accepts or rejects every optimized script, individually or through the consolidated batch report.
How do I know which parts of D365 I’m not testing?
The Coverage Report maps test-environment activity against D365 Entry Points, showing which are covered, which have never been touched, and where the gaps are.
Is there a free way to start?
Yes. Testing Freemium by XPLUS includes 1 user, up to 150 test scripts, up to 1,200 executions per year, Azure DevOps integration and RSAT / Task Recorder migration support, with no credit card and no time limit.
