October 2020 Summaries

In a webinar, Mike Fotinakis from Percy discussed how their platform automates visual testing for modern applications. Visual tests can be run alongside functional tests in an existing CI/CD pipeline to detect even the most elusive visual changes. Percy supports responsive visual testing and allows users to test components as well as entire pages. It also provides tools to stabilize dynamic data, freeze animations, and ignore specific regions during testing. Integration with Selenium for Java is possible, and Percy can be run locally or connected to various CI servers. Results from Percy can be shared with team members, including designers and non-developers, through multiple channels such as adding users, public projects, and Slack integration.

In September 2013, Alvaro Trigo, a self-taught developer from Spain, created 'fullPage.js', an open-source jQuery plugin to design websites based on PowerPoint presentations. The project gained immense popularity with over 30,000 Github stars and thousands of users, including major companies like Google, EA, Sony, BBC, and eBay. However, Alvaro faced challenges in testing the website's compatibility across different browsers, operating systems, and devices. He discovered BrowserStack, a web and app testing platform that allowed him to test components on various browser-OS-device combinations for free. This accessibility helped Alvaro resolve issues faster and provide better support to his users, leading to increased product quality and user satisfaction.

Web development teams often face challenges due to browser fragmentation, which can impact UI and UX. To ensure consistent performance across various browsers, developers use frameworks like Cypress for continuous cross-browser testing. However, running these tests locally can be limited by the number of browser/OS configurations installed on a machine. Docker containers are used as a workaround but can become unmanageable at scale. To address this issue, teams can leverage cloud testing platforms such as BrowserStack to run cross-browser Cypress tests. This approach provides coverage and scalability without the need for maintaining Docker containers. To get started with running cross-browser Cypress tests on BrowserStack, developers should follow these steps: install the CLI, configure settings in browserstack.json, and execute tests using the command line interface (CLI). Running tests in parallel can be achieved by specifying the number of parallels through the CLI parameter or configuring the browserstack.json file. The BrowserStack Automate dashboard provides detailed test results, including video logs, screenshots, and test logs that can be downloaded and shared for reviewing. In summary, continuous cross-browser testing is crucial to ensure consistent UI/UX across various browsers. Using Cypress with cloud testing platforms like BrowserStack offers an efficient solution for managing browser fragmentation challenges at scale.

The pandemic has posed challenges for Quality Assurance (QA) teams due to lack of access to on-premise device labs, making remote manual testing difficult. Virtual collaboration and communication have also been challenging. To address these issues, cloud testing solutions can be utilized to enable QA teams to test from anywhere at any time without compromising quality. BrowserStack's Team Plans for Live and App Live offer a unified testing platform with access to 2,000+ browsers and devices, allowing users to file bugs directly through popular platforms like Jira, Slack, Trello, or GitHub. This solution helps teams achieve quality in testing while working remotely.

Carousell, a company with six test engineers across two development centers in Asia, has successfully adapted to remote collaboration during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have shared some practices and tools that helped them test software effectively while working from home. These include running mobile test automation on the cloud using BrowserStack's infrastructure for iOS devices and a mix of Android emulators and physical devices based on user data, reproducing bugs on different devices with App Live, and conducting exploratory testing sessions through "buddy testing" and "team test parties." The company also emphasizes effective communication and documentation to ensure smooth collaboration among remote teams.