Notes:
- You can only test programs that are In Design.
- You cannot test a program after activating it. In such cases, you need to copy the program and you can test the copied version.
- Please note that Send Time Optimization settings are ignored when testing programs.
- You can review the test results on the Program Reporting page a few minutes after starting the test. Test results are available while the program is In Testing. After activating the program, test data will be removed from the Program Reporting page.
Here is what you need to do to test a program:
1. Open the program you would like to test and click Test in the Program Status menu.
The Test status is only available if there are no validation errors (i.e. warning badges next to the nodes) in the program.
- Any Contacts Based on Program Settings - Any contacts can enter the program based on the program settings. Select this option to check whether the number of contacts entering the program and passing through the segments and filters is as expected. All channel nodes will be skipped and the Participation check or Participation settings will be ignored in the program by default. If you run the test, the program will be launched immediately. The set schedule of the program is ignored during testing.
Important: If you select the Any Contacts Based on Program Settings option, then it modifies the test configuration as follows:
- Channel nodes will be skipped and
- Participation Check node settings will be ignored.
You can change these settings before running the test.
- Only Test Contacts, Sent Manually - Only test contacts can enter the program. Select this option to test your messages and their contents. After saving the test configuration, you can start the program by adding a single test contact or segment to the program. Other contacts cannot enter the program even if they meet the required conditions.
Test settings are temporary configurations that only apply to the program while you are testing it.
The following test settings are available:
Node settings
- Skip Channel nodes - If you select this option, then campaigns will not be sent to your contacts. We recommend using this option if you would like to check how contacts are progressing through your program (testing your program's traffic).
- Skip Wait and Schedule nodes - If you select this option, then contacts will pass through the Wait and Schedule nodes in the program regardless of their settings.
- Override wait times in Wait nodes - All Wait and Schedule nodes will use the specified test timeframe in the program.
- Ignore “Wait for event” node settings and send all contacts to the selected path - If you select this option, then the Wait for event node settings will not be taken into account and the contacts will proceed along the selected path.
This option is only available in Interactions programs with advanced functions.
- Ignore “Participation check” node settings, and send all contacts to the selected path - If you select this option, then the Participation check node settings will not be taken into consideration and contacts will proceed along the selected path.
Program settings
Program settings are only available in Automation Center programs.
- Ignore participation settings - If you select this option, then the participation settings will not be taken into account.
- Ignore exit criteria - If you select this option, then the exit criteria will not be taken into account.
4. Choose from the following options:
- If you have selected the Only Test Contacts, Sent Manually option, then choose from the following options:
- If you would like to test an Interactions or Automation Center program using the Any Contacts Based on Program Settings option, then proceed to Step 5.
Notes:
- When you click Run Test, the program starts immediately. It means that the schedule of the program and the recurring schedule in the entry node will be ignored while testing the program. For example:
- If you scheduled your program to start on 20 February, 2024 and you click Run Test, then your program will start immediately to perform the test. This way, you don’t need to wait until the scheduled date to test your program. When you are ready with testing and decide to activate the program, the schedule is taken into account and the program’s status changes to Scheduled, it will start on February 20, 2024.
- If your program starts with the Recurring filter entry point and it is set to run every day at 8 AM, then your program will ignore this setting when you click Run Test. This way, you can quickly test your program instead of waiting 24 hours for the next test run. When you are ready with testing and decide to activate the program, the recurring schedule is taken into account and the program will run every day at 8 AM.
- You can change the test settings by clicking Configure Test in the bottom right corner. You can also change the original program settings while testing your program (e.g. modify wait periods, change segments, modify A/B branches, etc.), just make sure you save the changes. When you activate the program, it will use your most up-to-date settings.
6. Optionally, you can run the test again for recurring and batch Automation Center programs by clicking Run Test in the bottom right corner. Contacts and their events can enter any time in any Interactions programs and Automation Center programs starting with the Form, Data change and New contact entry node.
When you run a new test, contacts already in the program will be removed from it as a safety measure to prevent unintended communications being sent out.
7. Check the test results on the Program Reporting page.
You might need to refresh the Program Reporting page to see the most recent results. Please, take into account that there is an approximately 2-minute delay on this page.
8. When you are finished with testing, check What to do after testing a program?