Best Test Automation Solutions for Optimizing Processes in 2019

The need to deliver superior-quality software applications within short turnarounds is driving organizations to look for solutions in DevOps and Agile methodologies. Adopting these methodologies entails implementing software test automation. The primary objective of automation has been reorganized from being focused on minimizing the testing time to the efficient use of test cases. Test automation services cannot be implemented without the use of better tools, for these demonstrate how automation in testing is executed seamlessly.

However, one of the key challenges in implementing software test automation in the software development projects lies in choosing the right test automation framework or tool. It is a complex decision as there are multiple tools to select from and several parameters to satisfy. Furthermore, the present trends in test automation show increasing adoption of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) to provide advanced capabilities for test generation, test optimization, execution, and reporting. The three most important criteria for selecting an automation tool include -

• Has analytic capabilities
• Incorporates AI/ML features
• Popularity in the market
• Assisting the APIs
• Customization ability

Types of automation tools

Let us discuss the types of automation tools that organizations employ to enhance the quality of their products or services.

1. Selenium WebDriver:

Selenium is the leading regression test automation solutions tool for browser-based testing. According to various surveys, most test automation experts utilize Selenium in their software delivery projects. For testers and developers, Selenium provides the much-needed flexibility that is often found to be missing in other test automation frameworks. Here, users can generate various test scripts in multiple languages (such as Python, C#, Ruby, Java, PHP, and Perl) and the tool is compatible with several system environments (Windows, Linux, and Mac) and browsers (Chrome, IE, and Firefox).

Selenium offers record as well as playback options to write tests. In April 2019, Selenium had released its latest and first alpha version. Even though the official version is yet to be announced, the release contains augmented features and improved functionality. Selenium supports some of the largest and established browser vendors and comes as a native participant in them.

2. Appium:

Appium is an open-source QA automated testing tool mainly intended for mobile applications. It backs the automation of hybrid, native and mobile applications developed for iOS and Andriod platforms. This tool is based on server architecture and utilizes the vendor provided test automation framework. It is easy to use and has a simple set up process. At present, Appium has achieved huge popularity and appears as one of the most sought-after mobile automation testing tools. It helps to automate any type of mobile app using different languages and test frameworks. Appium does not require recompiling of the app or SDK.

3. Watir:

Watir, pronounced as "water", is dependent on Ruby libraries to automate web browsers. The Ruby language facilitates the export of XML functionalities and connection to databases, files, and other structures. Since it is an open-source library, it offers the required flexibility needed for automation. It helps to conduct cross-browser testing involving browsers such as Firefox, Opera, and IE by incorporating BDD-based tools like Rsoec, Test/Unit, and Cucumber. Watir facilitates integration of various tools and systems to achieve the testing objectives in a DevOps environment.

4. Cucumber:

Cucumber is a behaviour-driven-development (BDD) based automation testing tool. It offers a striking list of users including Canon and Paypal. It assists various languages like Java, Groovy, Ruby, Scala, and many others. However, the tool only assists the web environment and has been built with the philosophy of offering an augmented user experience. The versatile features of Cucumber include codes that can be executed in multiple frameworks such as Selenium. Moreover, the codes are written in Gherkin, which follows the simple English language.

5. Katalon Studio:

Katalon Studio offers an open-source solution comprising multiple features that are only found in paid tools such as Record and Playback, Object Spy, Object Map, Reporting, and so on. It is used to develop automated tests for mobile apps, web, and APIs. It simplifies web, API, and automation tests by working on top of Appium and Selenium. The stability, popularity, and robustness of Katalon Studio can be gathered from the fact that the tool got recognized in March 2019 as Gartner peer insights customer's choice in the test automation market.

Conclusion

With user experience driving the strategies for developing software applications, the use of automation testing tools has become mandatory. By using these, enterprises can ensure all the products or services are delivered without any glitches. The automation tools to be chosen by testers would entirely depend on the testing team, their programming skills, project budget, application type, and project requirements.

Diya works for Cigniti Technologies, Global Leaders in Independent Software Testing Services Company to be appraised at Cmmi-Svc v1.3, Maturity Level 5, and is also Iso 9001:2015 & Iso 27001:2013 certified.