Introduction:
The practice of creating automated tests without writing a single line of code is known as codeless automated testing or codeless test automation. In general, separate teams in organizations may automate the process of building test scripts with codeless automation, regardless of their level of expertise.
In the worldwide digital system, the trend for codeless test automation has exploded in popularity. Selenium test automation tool was the important major change in the testing industry. Before the use of Selenium tool, major testing was done manually. Selenium supports multiple programming languages like Java, C#, Ruby, Python. Since then, there have been multiple advancements in technologies used for website development. As the complexity of websites has increased, maintaining existing test scripts, programming skills for testers to create complex test scripts and scalability were proving to be a major drawback. Hence, there is a need for powerful codeless testing tools that can solve the problems encountered during automation.
How does Codeless test automation differ from Test Automation (Selenium)?
| Test Automation (Selenium) | Codeless Test Automation |
| Supports only Selenium IDE-based test recording and playback for codeless automated testing. In this, test case maintenance cannot be done in a codeless way. | Supports much more than just record and playback for codeless testing. Additionally, in this test case maintenance is codeless. |
| Editing test cases and maintaining them takes effort and requires coding. | Editing and maintaining test cases is simple, quick, and only needs a basic understanding of HTML, CSS, and xpath. |
| Test automation tool does not integrate with AI or ML. | Codeless test automation tools integrate with AI or ML. |
| High learning curve because complex scenarios require coding expertise. | Low learning curve because no coding skills are required even for automating complex scenarios. |
| Setup is difficult and will takes time and requires skills. | No skills needed for setup, which is simple and easy. |
| Non-technical people will not be able to review Selenium test cases. | Non-technical people will not be able to review Selenium test cases. |
| It is an open-source tool | It is usually a paid tool |
Codeless test automation benefits:
Codeless test automation tools have recently gained popularity as a crucial solution for the issues QA teams are having with test automation. Codeless test automation enables businesses to manage their quick product development, the complicated testing environment, and the rising tester skill sets.
Automation with record and playback– the term ‘Record and Playback’ — implies the recorded code is automatically generated and this recorded code will be executed when the user chooses to playback the recorded test scripts. This tool’s main drawback is that it performs your previously recorded actions (nothing more or less). They do not have their own test runners and interfaces. It implies that you must manually start the test.
In automation with reusable functions, the automation code also is divided based on multiple sub-projects and our automation tests will be in sync with the respective project’s feature testing and automation with framework is developed by integrating various hardware, software resources by using various tools for automation testing. This automation framework enables efficient design of automated test scripts.
Continuous Integration (CI) is used to execute automation tests. TestNG Data Provider and other tools are used to configure the environment. Any changes to the test’s scripts need to be done manually as the website changes with new requirements. Although Selenium is an immensely powerful framework for automation testing, testers could become dissatisfied if they find themselves spending more time maintaining existing tests than creating new scenarios. Another prominent issue that many testers have with selenium test automation is its scalability.
Alternatively, a codeless test automation supports artificial intelligence through self-healing tests. This means updates and changes to the test scripts will be made automatically. Codeless automation testing tools integrate with Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning.
Codeless test automation tools can learn the website DOM object tree. This means any changes to objects will be caught by the tool. They can be resolved without impacting ongoing and scheduled test execution. Scripts can continuously run and fix themselves without disrupting any operations. This makes test automation more efficient and scalable, and it also provides testers with newfound time and resources to expand their overall testing efforts.
Saves Time:
Saving time is one of the main benefits of codeless test automation testing. Since testers do not have to spend their time learning to code or writing code, they may begin using codeless testing right away.
Quick product development:
Moving to codeless test automation has many benefits; one of which is the speed with which DevOps teams can oversee quick product development. A streamlined user interface made available by codeless test automation makes learning easy. DevOps teams do not need to write any code; thus, QA teams may use AI to design test cases which improve testing speed and performance.
Saves Resources:
Codeless test automation is easy to learn and easy to implement and saves a lot of time. So, the testers can spend time learning automation and implementing it.
Easy to Review:
As these test cases are created without any code, these are readable and understandable for any non-technical people who do not know how to code. Thus, these test cases can be easily reviewed by other business stakeholders in a project.
Efficient:
Codeless test automation shortens the time needed for software development, allowing for quick feedback cycles and speed to market. Hence the learning curve is low, and the test case creation does not need use of complex syntax. The test case creation is quick and enhances the efficiency of the automation process.
Codeless test automation tools:
When selecting codeless test automation technologies, the following are the main criteria to consider:
- Enables the execution of the most time-consuming and repetitive QA tasks—like smoke tests and regression tests—without the need for any prior programming experience.
- A simple-to-manage test suite with frequent product updates and a straightforward user interface.
- Allows for testing across many OS and browsers and a full-featured tool that makes quick testing possible with just a few clicks.
Here is the recommended list of codeless test automation tools based on the above-mentioned criteria:
- Tricentis TOSCA
- UiPath
- Test.ai
- Leapwork
- Virtuoso
- TestingWhiz
Conclusion:
Codeless test automation is developing steadily with constant technological advancement and non-technical people can also easily review the test cases and implement codeless test automation. Therefore, based on the major benefits listed above to accomplish better quality product releases, digital firms should use codeless test automation from a qualified QA services provider and incorporate these methods into their agile processes.
