What are the Benefits of Choosing Scriptless Test Automation?

With the demand for faster software releases gathering pace enterprises are embracing the Agile-DevOps methodology for software development. In this methodology test automation forms an integral part to keep up with the shift-left testing practices. It helps to meet the need for conducting end to end regression testing when some new feature or functionality is added to the software application. However, notwithstanding the applicability of test automation to the software development and testing pipeline, it requires testers to write suitable test scripts using programming languages.

In a fast-changing digital landscape where complex ERP and CRM solutions are the order of the day and continuous testing the overpowering need, writing test scripts for complex functionalities is time, cost, and effort intensive. In other words, writing test scripts can be a drag on the requirement of faster software development and deployment. Hence, the call to implement intelligent test automation or scriptless testing.

What makes traditional test automation unsuitable for continuous testing?

In traditional test automation, a test script or code written by a QA specialist tests a software element on a user interface. In the process, the test script identifies the input elements and even simulates the user inputs, determines the output elements, matches the results from the output elements, compares them with the expected values, and documents the test results in a log. Here, the test script needs to be constantly monitored and maintained, which can be a challenging task. In the absence of such maintenance, traditional test automation often fails and enterprises are forced to take recourse to manual testing.

With continuous testing, a critical requirement in the Agile-DevOps mold, every stage of software development and deployment and beyond is tested for validation. This makes the writing (monitoring and maintenance as well) of suitable test scripts for continuous testing a challenging task. However, with scriptless test automation, the time and effort to write test scripts get reduced and the process is simplified. In scriptless testing, manual intervention in testing is reduced drastically and most of the heavy lifting is done in the background.

What is intelligent no-scripting test automation?

An intelligent no-scripting test automation framework allows QA specialists to list out the steps to write a test script, which the framework translates into test cases. Such test scripts are reusable and do not require periodic maintenance. Intelligent test automation is a revolutionary approach that offers a powerful yet minimal interface for testing. The QA specialists do not have to learn a new programming language or coding style to write test scripts but simply operate a drop-down interface to utilize test automation concepts such as modularity, data driving, and keyword driving, among others. The process allows QA specialists to identify and fix bugs within the script setup.

Why use codeless test automation?

Codeless test automation provides a string of benefits to the testing team and allows it to sync the speed and scale of testing with the speed and scale of development. It helps to accelerate any end to end regression testing and makes the software application market worthy and suitable for adoption by the end-users.

Easy to use interface: The framework for scriptless testing offers an easy-to-use interface by combining the best concepts of test automation such as data driving, keyword driving, data per step, the sequence of keywords, modularity, and UI object definition, among others.

Takes less time to automate: If traditional test automation involves the writing of lengthy test scripts, intelligent test automation does the opposite. It enables quick automation of large test suites and hastens the deployment of software. The savings on time can then be better utilized by deploying the human resources in other aspects of DevOps-based product development such as white box testing.

Reduces cost: In traditional test automation a lot of time, effort, and money are utilized in training resources on scripting. However, with insta automation, the investment in training or hiring resources can be eliminated.

Easy to maintain scripts: Scriptless test automation is an easy and comprehensive approach to run automated tests where the scriptless test suites lend themselves to easy maintainability. The ease of optimization by such automated tests delivers quick response times and agility. Also, since scriptless testing involves the traceability of every usable component, the scripts do not break during the maintenance phase.

Conclusion

In a traditional test automation environment, business stakeholders are often wary of sharing their thoughts given the complexity. However, with scriptless test automation, such people can contribute to the testing phase and track progress. In the end, the software development process gains from the blend of technical and non-technical domain expertise.

James Daniel is a software Tech enthusiastic & works at Cigniti Technologies I'm having a great understanding of today's software testing quality