Driving mission success with automated testing

Key takeaways:

• Manual testing processes are slowing government agencies down, creating costly bottlenecks that delay services and erode public trust.
• See how real agencies used automated testing to cut testing time by up to 80%, save millions, and deliver faster, more reliable services.

Citizens today compare government digital services to the best experiences they have in the private sector. A missed benefit payment. A tax portal that crashes during filing season. A license renewal that takes weeks instead of minutes. Today, software failures aren’t just IT problems, they’re public trust problems, and many state and local agencies are struggling to deliver digital services quickly, effectively, and consistently. Outdated, manual testing processes are slowing down software delivery, increasing operational risk, and negatively impacting citizen experience.

Too often, IT teams still rely on spreadsheets and repetitive testing workflows to verify updates across complex systems. These approaches consume valuable staff time, delay releases, and make it harder to identify defects and vulnerabilities before they impact the public. In an environment where even minor service disruptions can erode trust, agencies can’t afford testing bottlenecks that stand in the way of modernization.

Watch now: How DoD agencies are removing the software testing bottleneck

To deliver secure, reliable, compliant digital services at the speed constituents expect, agencies need a faster, more scalable approach to quality engineering.

That’s where automated testing comes in.

Here’s a look at how Tricentis has helped different types of state and local agencies benefit from automated testing and efficiently deliver exceptional services.

Health agencies accelerate software delivery times

Tennessee Department of Children’s Services

The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (TDCS) needed a more sustainable approach to testing its ServiceNow implementation after losing access to a key provider and the coding expertise that supported its testing operations.

Without sufficient internal resources, the agency faced increased operational risk and struggled to scale its testing efforts.

By implementing Tricentis Tosca, TDCS accelerated end-to-end testing across its digital environment while reducing dependency on specialized coding resources. The platform’s codeless automation enabled the team to identify defects earlier, validate mission-critical workflows, and maintain continuity despite staffing disruptions.

The agency found Tosca intuitive, flexible, and significantly easier to maintain than previous solutions, helping establish a more resilient testing framework for future modernization efforts.

How one state health agency automated 600+ test cases in one year

A large state healthcare agency faced a different challenge: supporting the state’s Medicaid Transformation program, a comprehensive redesign shifting Medicaid from a fee-for-service model to managed care.

The initiative required extensive testing across new and existing systems to support a successful managed care launch. However, the agency’s existing open-source testing tools depended heavily on specialized JavaScript expertise and could not keep pace with growing testing demands. As a result, many regression tests continued to be executed manually, increasing inefficiencies and operational risk.

With Tricentis, the agency modernized its testing approach by enabling manual testers to automate scripts without coding. This significantly expanded testing capacity and reduced reliance on specialized developers. Tosca also integrated seamlessly into the agency’s complex Medicaid Enterprise System environment.

The results were substantial:

• 600+ test cases automated within the first year
• 60% reduction in regression testing time
• 514 regression test cases automated in seven months
• 63% reduction in regression testing hours
• 1,600+ test cases successfully migrated
• 400% growth in Tosca adoption across the organization

These improvements helped the agency accelerate delivery timelines during a large transformation, improving confidence in system quality and operational readiness for critical citizen services.

State revenue agency reduces software testing time by 80%

One state revenue agency relied heavily on manual testing processes to validate updates across its tax and revenue systems. Staff manually copied and compared data in spreadsheets to confirm accuracy, creating bottlenecks for already resource-constrained IT teams. Routine release cycles consumed significant staff time and limited the agency’s ability to respond to unexpected challenges.

By implementing Tricentis’ solutions, the agency transformed its testing operations and improved release efficiency across critical systems, resulting in:

• More than 80% reduction in testing time, enabling faster updates and freeing staff for higher-value work
• Automated validations across multiple environments to ensure clean, accurate data
• Improved accuracy in eligibility determinations, tax calculations, and refund processing
• Approximately 2,500 labor hours saved annually through reusable automated test assets

Read now: Agency-wide migration in 6 steps: A guide to moving away from legacy testing tools

Utility organizations reduce risk while modernizing critical systems

Duke Energy

Duke Energy, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, launched a multi-year SAP S/4HANA transformation to consolidate legacy billing and customer service systems into a unified platform supporting millions of customers across multiple states.

As the pace of change accelerated, manual testing processes could no longer scale without slowing releases or increasing staffing requirements. The organization needed a more efficient and reliable way to validate changes across interconnected systems.

By implementing Tricentis Tosca, Duke Energy was able to:

• Automate more than 150 core ERP test cases across billing, meter-to-cash, and customer service workflows
• Validate end-to-end processes across SAP S/4HANA, CRM, and cloud platforms
• Reduce regression testing from more than 1,200 manual hours per week to approximately 32 automated hours
• Save $4.3 million annually in QA-related resource costs
• Identify and resolve critical defects before production deployment

The transformation enabled Duke Energy to accelerate its ERP rollout while maintaining service reliability for nearly 10 million customers. The program ultimately moved ahead of schedule and under budget without compromising operational performance.

Canadian electricity provider

A major electricity provider in Canada launched a large-scale SAP modernization initiative in partnership with Accenture. However, the organization lacked the automation capabilities needed to effectively test the migration, creating risk to both timelines and release quality.

By implementing Tricentis, they established a scalable automated testing framework that streamlined validation efforts and improved visibility into system performance.

With Tosca, the organization was able to:

• Improve quality and efficiency across enterprise applications
• Accelerate delivery timelines while maintaining high standards
• Expand risk coverage and strengthen reporting capabilities

Read now: 7 must-dos for better SAP testing in the public sector

Supporting mission-critical workflows with Tricentis

As evidenced by these use cases, automated testing is no longer a supporting IT function for state and local agencies. It is a strategic capability that enables them to modernize with confidence, reduce operational risk, and maintain mission readiness.

Tricentis helps public sector organizations meet these demands with AI-powered, no-code automated testing solutions built for complex enterprise environments. With support for more than 160 widely used platforms — including Oracle, Salesforce, SAP, ServiceNow, and Workday — Tricentis enables agencies to accelerate delivery, improve software quality, stay focused on mission outcomes, and meet citizens’ expectations.

To learn how Tricentis can support your agency, contact our public sector experts at publicsector@tricentis.com or explore what’s possible and request a demo today.