SCRIPTLESS TESTING TOOLS FOR AUTOMATION

The popularization of test automation poses new problems, particularly in terms of human and/or technical resources. In response, simple solutions have begun to emerge: scriptless testing tools.  

In recent years, test automation has become increasingly important in the software industry, allowing technical teams to optimize their tests by executing them faster and on a larger scale. And this fast-growing market, whose revenues could triple in the next four years, is becoming more and more democratic with the emergence of scriptless tools. Until now, test automation has been reserved for developers or technical testers (automaticians), but it will soon be accessible to everyone: project managers, marketing managers, product owners, your grandmothers, etc. No need for specific skills anymore, easy-to-use solutions will allow anyone to set up automated test scenarios and execute them. 

What is a scriptless testing tool and how does it work?

A no-code testing tool is a tool that allows you to create websites, mobile applications or, in the case of test automation, to automate test scenarios, without writing a single line of code (or, in the case of codeless, a very small number). 

Instead of writing them, the user simply needs to indicate the steps that need to be performed. The tool then takes care of translating the steps into the actual code. Scriptless testing tools can take many forms: in the case of the codeless solution from Mr Suricate, this is based on a test case creation engine combining the Google Blocky tool and several automation engines. This allows us to create automated tests by simply assembling blocks containing different actions (click, check, fill a field...) in a visual editor.

What are the advantages of scriptless testing tools in test automation?

Non-scripted testing tools have emerged to allow non-technical profiles to run automated tests independently. Their main goal is therefore to simplify the creation of automated test scenarios and to facilitate the analysis and maintenance of the results, which ultimately benefits everyone, even the technical teams (developers, testers, qa). 

Indeed, test automation already has the advantage of relieving the technical teams because it saves them time on test execution, allowing them to focus on other value-added tasks. But with a scriptless testing tool, technical teams save even more time because it allows them to automate their tests much more easily and quickly. And if they choose, they can also delegate all or part of the test automation to non-technical teams. 

What's more, by giving all team members the ability to run automated tests in two-three clicks, with a single tool, it also allows for rapid increase in test case coverage and optimized maintenance and analysis.

Lastly, scriptless testing tools allow you to reduce the costs of test automation. Because if the ROI of automation is no longer to be proven in the long term, it requires a certain investment at the beginning. There are several costs to take into account: writing, execution, maintenance, training, infrastructure, licensing, etc. Using a no-code or low-code testing tool reduces some of these costs, especially in terms of writing, training (no need for specific skills) and infrastructure (everything is centralized in a tool, usually accessible online) .

What about AI? 

Innovations in machine learning and artificial intelligence are helping to drive change in many industries, and the testing world is one of them. AI is going to play an increasingly important role in test automation in the coming years, especially in no-code/low-code testing tools. " In this movement of no-code/low-code tools, which today are a little restricted in what they can do, AI-based services will expand the field of possibilities. For example, they will facilitate the auto-correction of a test, or the detection of a particular problem. There is also the issue of test results analysis and reporting. It is very important to avoid the tester wasting time with false positives. And there, AI techniques will allow to predict, to indicate that a test is failed for a bad reason "Bruno Legeard explains in our white paper that popularizes testing.

In other words, if today's scriptless testing tools already help a lot to simplify test automation and make it accessible to everyone, artificial intelligence will allow to go even further in this process and to accelerate this democratization which is already starting to happen. Soon, all you have to do is formulate your needs and AI-based testing tools will do all the work (or almost all the work).

 

What about you? What's your take on scriptless testing tools and the potential contribution of AI? Tell us all about it in comments!