Software testing has been known as a time-consuming activity from its inception. Testers may avoid wasting time on routine tasks through automation and concentrate on other value-adding activities such as selecting the best test cases for a test iteration and reviewing new features.
Automated testing brings many benefits such as shortened time to execute existing test scenarios. However, the main drawback is that process automation requires scripting. This need to learn scripting and the additional time it consumes has led many towards no-code test-automation.
Why is Code-Based Automation no Longer the Solution?
Before we dive in to no-code automation, let’s look at some of the disadvantages of code-based automation:
- The need to learn the required scripting languages or recruit new people already familiar with them.
- Considerable time allocation for the maintenance of existing automated test cases.
- Significant preliminary investment in the establishment of automated testing tools and the allocation of automation resources.
There are innovative ways of testing that no longer require scripting, and they solve most of the above problems. An increasing number of companies is adopting codeless automated testing, so it’s definitely something you need to be familiar about.
No-Code Automation and its Paradigm
No-code automation allows you to create automation tests without writing a single line of code. Codeless testing tools, nevertheless, create an abstraction layer on top of the test code. That means the test scripts still depend on other parts of the software to test a scenario. But no advanced scripting is required to create or update a written script.
For web-based software products and services, testing with the “record-and-play” concept has become the most common approach. A software tester manually performs the test and uses the tool to capture the test sequence one step at a time. The tool will convert these recorded sequences into test scripts. Testers can then modify the documented test scripts and tailor the testing approach to fine tune it.
The graphical user interface (GUI) and the drag and drop features provide testers with a better way of creating automated tests. Documented scripts can be reused across platforms and browsers emphasizing the broadened usability of codeless testing. Desktop and mobile applications, and websites can be tested using codeless testing solutions like Testup. The application will be kept under 24/7 surveillance and performance will be tracked around the clock.
Let’s look at some of the leading benefits of no-code test automation next.
Easy Test Case Modification
Sometimes there are reasons to modify test cases. Some of the common reasons are errors in test cases, changes in existing features, implementing new features to the website. Such test case modifications effectively involve re-recording / rewriting the whole scenario and adding new actions or modifying current actions where appropriate.
This will not be feasible in most instances as it will affect development time and cost. But with a Codeless testing tool like Testup, this is taken care of completely and existing tests can simply be modified or improved as required.
Enable Non-Developers: Testers, Product Owners, Business Analysts
Testing is usually reserved for QA Engineers. So automation is also automatically assigned to them. However, Business Analysts and Product Owners are the ones who are truly aware of the product from end-to-end. Yet they do not get directly involved in testing, and especially automation, mostly due skill constraints. So important test scenarios can be missed.
However, codeless testing allows Business Analysts, Product Owners, or any other responsible party to test the application on their own. It enhances company integrity while producing top notch software. And the gained human capital can be transferred into value adding interventions.
User stories come up with their own acceptance criteria. This acceptance criterion can be easily converted into a test case since it is detailed. With the simplicity and the agility of the codeless testing, user stories can be tested easily and fast. Additionally, the previously written test cases can be re-used to test similar user stories.
AI-Driven Advanced Testing
Codeless testing enhances testing by employing cutting-edge AI technologies. Natural Language Processing (NLP) is used to write automated scripts from documents and captured images. Regression testing can be effectively done using Self-correcting features. Test cases can be written automatically based on user action triggers. Further, Machine learning enables codeless testing to self-validate test results.
Some No-code testing tools like Testup capture screenshots of the test steps and actions to revise test cases using AI when changes are needed to be made to the application. As AI recognizes the website attributes such as positions, colors and text from the screenshots, test case modification becomes effortless.
Super-Fast Update of Tests
Creating a codeless test is faster than Selenium automated testing. Since No-code testing is equipped with AI powered self-maintenance, it resolves conflicts of object maintenance fast. Moreover, Codeless testing creates a dynamic testing model which contrasts the changes made on the application promising super fast test updates.
Cross Browser Support
Test automation tools most often come in the form of extensions to browsers. Typically, the browser extensions are attached to a particular browser. The software that businesses create are not limited to various browsers, unlike browser extensions. So tests must be performed on multiple browsers and computers.
Checking the same scenario on multiple browsers will poke script writers as there are numerous circumstances that need to be thoroughly verified in an application. A reliable codeless automation should permit testers to use existing test cases on any browser without worrying about browser specific codes like we do in code based automation.
No-Code Automation is Becoming Popular.
Most of the SaaS platforms like Salesforce, SAP, Workday and Servicenow have already employed codeless testing. Apart from that, No-code testing can be easily integrated with Gitlab, Jenkins, Slack, Jira, Teamcity and Visual studio services increasing its potential.
Future of Software Testing with No-Code Testing
Codeless testing will increase test coverage and exposure while improving testing performance. As codeless testing has already made testing significantly easier, it is sustainable and will be improved further. Advanced AI technologies will be utilized to make testing easier and more user friendly.
No-code automation testing is the ideal testing methodology for agile software development because it speeds up testing with the involvement of less teammates. Codeless testing doesn’t require the tester to have extreme technical knowledge, so agile development teams do not have to bother about skill constraints related to the software testing. It’s no surprise that agile and no-code testing will go hand in hand in future.
How to Find a Good No-Code Automation Service.
There is a myriad of advantages of Codeless testing in addition to the most significant ones mentioned above. Consequently, codeless testing is a perfect alternative for automated testing even if someone has scripting knowledge expertise.
Platform support, ease of usage, script maintenance, UX features, and the efficiency of testing must be considered when selecting a suitable codeless automation tool. The performance of the tool may vary depending on its features and the underlying technologies. So you need to prioritize the criteria that is important to you in order to make the best decision.