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This proposal outlines a new open‑source initiative to create a fully automated, event‑driven testing and documentation ecosystem for WinCC OA.

Idea title​

This proposal outlines a new open‑source initiative to create a fully automated, event‑driven testing and documentation ecosystem for WinCC OA.

Describe your idea​

The core idea:​

Record real user interactions + internal system events → generate Mermaid/DOT graphs → generate test scripts → replay → diff → document → integrate with AI agents.

This creates a complete feedback loop for engineering, QA, and documentation — without external dependencies and without writing test code manually.

Motivation​

WinCC OA projects often suffer from:

  • undocumented user flows
  • hidden config dependencies
  • unclear DP interactions
  • scripts that are hard to test
  • missing or outdated test documentation
  • no automated regression testing
  • no visibility into what the system actually does internally

Existing tools do not provide a unified way to observe, document, test, and analyze WinCC OA behavior.

This project aims to change that.

Core Concept​

The system captures all relevant runtime events directly inside WinCC OA:

  • user actions (clicks, popups, inputs)
  • script execution paths (via code coverage)
  • DP operations (dpGet, dpSet, dpQuery)
  • config access (paCfgGetValue, paCfgSetValue)
  • database interactions
  • stack traces for every event

These events form a complete, chronological trace of what happened — both on the UI level and inside the technical logic.

From this trace, the system automatically generates:

  • Mermaid diagrams (Flowchart, Sequence, State)
  • DOT graphs (technical call graphs, coverage graphs)
  • test scripts (code‑less engineering)
  • documentation artifacts (PDF/Markdown exports)
  • diff reports (real run vs. replayed test)

This creates a single source of truth for testing, documentation, and analysis.

Key Features​

  1. Full User‑Event Tracking Every user action is recorded in real order:
  • button clicks
  • popup openings
  • confirmations
  • text inputs
  • navigation events

This enables automatic generation of user‑flow diagrams and test scripts.

  1. System‑Event Tracking Hooked macros capture:
  • paCfgGetValue / paCfgSetValue
  • dpGet / dpSet / dpQuery
  • SQL queries
  • script calls
  • DP value changes
  • stack traces

This reveals hidden dependencies and internal logic flows.

  1. Code Coverage → DOT Graphs Ctrl code coverage is transformed into DOT graphs:
  • executed lines
  • branches
  • call chains
  • script‑to‑script transitions

DOT is ideal for large, technical graphs and deep analysis.

  1. Mermaid Diagrams for Documentation & Testing Mermaid is used for:
  • user flows
  • sequence diagrams
  • state diagrams

These diagrams are:

  • human‑readable
  • machine‑interpretable
  • perfect for test documentation
  • easy to embed in GitHub, Confluence, TestRail, etc.
  1. Automatic Test Script Generation Mermaid diagrams become executable test scripts:
  • no coding required
  • deterministic replay
  • stable regression tests
  • reproducible behavior

This enables code‑less engineering.

  1. Replay + Diff Engine The system can replay the recorded test and compare:
  • expected vs. actual events
  • DP values
  • config accesses
  • script paths
  • UI behavior

Differences are visualized in a simple, understandable way.

  1. AI‑Agent Integration Because all artifacts are structured (Mermaid, DOT, JSON), AI agents can:
  • understand what is being tested
  • propose missing test cases
  • detect risky areas
  • analyze dependencies
  • generate documentation
  • optimize test coverage

This turns the system into an intelligent engineering assistant.

Why This Matters​

This project introduces capabilities that WinCC OA currently lacks:

  • automated documentation
  • automated test generation
  • automated dependency discovery
  • automated regression testing
  • full observability of UI + logic
  • AI‑assisted engineering

It reduces manual effort, increases reliability, and makes complex systems transparent.