Reusability in Test Automation and RPA with LEAPWORK Sub-Flows

Designing reusable components for automated tests and processes will increase productivity and lower the maintenance burden. Video tutorial below.

Re-usability in test and process automation is about wrapping parts of an automation flow into a component that can be reused across e.g. test suites and teams. In the LEAPWORK Automation Platform, these components are called Sub-Flows.

Having a good understanding of Sub-Flows will help you reap the full productivity gains of LEAPWORK.

When and why should you use Sub-Flows?

1. To increase productivity

When you find yourself performing the same functionality again and again when designing automation flows, that's when you should consider creating a reusable component, or Sub-Flow. This way, there's no need to create the same flow - or parts of a flow - more than once.

2. To lower maintenance and ensure consistency

Sub-Flows help encapsulate functionality: If a functionality in the application under automation changes, and you already have a Sub-Flow covering that functionality, then you just need to update that single Sub-Flow.

This way, maintenance is limited to one place, instead of having to adjust the multiple automation flows that involve the functionality in question. Using Sub-Flows also ensures that the respective process is executed in the same manner across automation flows.

3. To hide complexity

Another reason for using Sub-Flows is to wrap up complex functionality. The people across your organization who will be designing automation flows will have varying levels of insight into system being automated. LEAPWORK users with more advanced or technical knowledge of the system can create components, or Sub-Flows, for other users to include in their flow design.

In other words, some automation designers have no need for knowing the underlying functionality of a specific component - they just need to know how they can use it in their automation flows.

How to work with LEAPWORK Sub-Flows

This tutorial covers in depth how you design, configure, and use Sub-Flows with the LEAPWORK Automation Platform. For more details, check out the full documentation of Sub-Flows.

Go to Learning Center.