Salesforce Regression Testing: Where It Fails, and What to Do Instead
When Regression Testing Fails
The “Monday Morning” Regression Paradox
Anyone managing a Salesforce release knows that sinking feeling.
You leave work on Friday with a regression dashboard full of green lights. You come back on Monday morning to a wall of red false positives. Nothing was touched. Nobody deployed. And yet the suite is suddenly on fire.
The first reaction is usually to look at the scripts or blame the last person who touched them. But in practice, the tests didn’t break: Salesforce moved.
Because the platform is constantly updating, IDs change dynamically, and background processes fire asynchronously, “Green on Friday, Red on Monday” is the default state of many Salesforce regression suites.
This article explores why this happens and how to stop chasing ghosts so you can build a regression strategy that actually stays green.
Update: If you are tired of this “Monday Morning” firefighting, we can handle it for you. Check out our Managed Regression Service.
Table of Contents
The Complexity Few Teams Prepare For
Salesforce Regression testing looks simple from the outside.
You test what used to work and confirm it still does.
But the reality is messier.
Salesforce is a moving platform.
The metadata changes. The data shifts. The dependencies pile up.
You’re testing custom logic, automations, flows, profiles, visibility, integrations: all layered across sandboxes and releases.
And most of it is invisible to the business user who finds the bug later.
Running the same scripts isn’t enough.
Neither is throwing automation at it.
Regression testing only works if it reflects the actual risk in the system.
And if it’s designed to evolve with change.
The Usual Mistakes
Here’s what we still see too often:
- Regression tests that only cover UI clicks
- Checklists reused from old projects without review
- Test steps written for old flows or retired profiles
- Automations that fail silently because the data has changed
- Manual testers rerunning everything, every sprint, just to be safe
- Or no regression at all, because “there wasn’t time”
The outcome is always the same.
Either false confidence or testing fatigue.
Both lead to missed bugs.
How We Set It Up Manually
Manual regression testing still works. But it has to be deliberate.
We build a risk-based regression pack, not a checklist.
Each item is in there for a reason. Something likely to break or critical if it does.
We group it by impact and volatility, so it’s easy to scale up or down.
And we link each test to specific business flows, not just features.
When done right, manual regression gives clear signals.
What changed. What still works. What didn’t get touched.
No guesswork. No testing “just in case.”
How We Layer Automation
Automation helps if you use it with intent.
We don’t automate everything.
We automate the most stable and critical regression flows, usually at the API or logic layer.
UI tests come last and only for high-value scenarios.
We also make sure the tests reflect current data and metadata.
No brittle selectors. No hard-coded assumptions.
And we include validation checks, not just pass/fail assertions.
Regression automation isn’t about coverage.
It’s about confidence.
You want tests that alert you when something truly breaks. Not when a label changes.
What Salesforce Regression Testing Is Really For
It’s not about running every test, every time.
It’s not about passing every script either.
It’s about catching what matters before it hits production.
About showing stakeholders where things are still safe. And where they aren’t.
About creating trust.
In Salesforce, things don’t always break loudly.
Sometimes they break quietly.
Fields stop updating. Buttons stop appearing.
Reports go stale.
Salesforce regression testing is your early warning system.
If you treat it that way, it becomes a strategic asset.
If you don’t, it becomes a time sink.
A Mindset Shift
Salesforce regression testing is not a task at the end of the sprint.
It’s a quality practice that evolves with your system.
You don’t need to test everything.
You need to test what matters.
And you need a way to keep that list fresh, focused, and reliable. Whether you run it by hand or by pipeline.
When that happens, regression isn’t a checkbox.
It’s how you build confidence in change.
Want help setting up your Salesforce regression testing suite the right way?
Ready to stop chasing ghosts? We help Salesforce teams design manual and automated regression packs that actually reflect risk, not just repetition.
Book a QA Assessment -> Or, if you are tired of the maintenance burden entirely: See how our Managed Regression Service keeps your dashboard green