August 2022 Summaries

Test automation encompasses several key concepts and best practices that are crucial for effective end-to-end testing, regardless of the tool or language used. Essential practices include meaningful tests that accurately mirror user scenarios, repeatability to ensure consistent results, and unique test data generation to avoid overlaps in test cases. Using variables allows for efficient data management within tests, while data-driven testing leverages datasets to validate multiple scenarios. Tests should conclude with validation to confirm successful outcomes and be stable enough to integrate into CI/CD pipelines. Clarity and minimal maintenance are prioritized, with tests structured to run independently and in parallel to optimize efficiency. Security is maintained by storing credentials separately, and shared steps are consolidated into functions to enhance readability and adaptability to system changes. These practices collectively contribute to building robust, scalable, and reliable automated testing frameworks.

Testrigor recently introduced several new features aimed at enhancing its testing capabilities. These include the ability to perform screen comparisons with a specified allowance percentage, which can be adjusted in terms of error severity, allowing testers to determine if the error should be considered minor or more severe. Additionally, the tool now supports counting table rows, provided the table is based on the <table> tag, and enables conditional execution of commands based on specific page conditions or checkbox states. Another significant feature is the ability to mock API calls, allowing users to customize responses for API interactions initiated from the UI, offering flexibility in testing scenarios. Furthermore, a new keyboard command has been added to select all text within a text area, providing more control over text manipulation during testing processes.

Recently, several new features have been introduced, enhancing API calls, homepage functionality, sitemap support, and OCR capabilities. Users can now extract multiple attributes from API responses in a single call, which streamlines data handling and eliminates the need for line breaks in test cases. The homepage provides a clear view of the server usage and limits, while the sitemap feature allows for crawling in both XML and TEXT formats. The integration of OCR for screen parsing facilitates the capture and interaction with transient toast messages. Additionally, the infrastructure now supports mixing mobile Android testing environments with external providers, such as BrowserStack, allowing users to incorporate new devices into their test suites within the available integrations.

TestRigor offers a dynamic integration with TestRail, allowing for seamless test management and execution. This integration enables the automatic updating of TestRail test case statuses when tests are executed in testRigor, and facilitates the creation and execution of English executable specifications directly in TestRail. Tests created in TestRail appear instantly in testRigor, ready for execution if they align with the testRigor language, providing a streamlined and efficient testing workflow without the need to manually switch between the two platforms.

Rajan Arora from the fintech company upgrade.com discusses their transition to testRigor in 2018, highlighting the significant benefits gained from the switch. The company successfully tripled the number of automated tests they had previously, reaching a total of 2000 automated tests.

Efficient test automation is crucial for software teams to deliver high-quality features on time, and codeless UI test automation offers significant advantages in this regard by improving return on investment (ROI) through reduced production bugs, optimized workforce, and enhanced efficiency. Codeless tools, such as testRigor, can decrease the "Dollar Escape Rate" by minimizing revenue loss from bugs in production and allow companies to calculate the value of test automation by assessing the reduction in issues. Workforce optimization is achieved by enabling manual testers to create automated tests much faster, reducing the need for QA Engineers to focus solely on test maintenance and allowing them to engage in more complex engineering tasks. This approach not only lowers the QA budget but also accelerates the achievement of complete test automation coverage. Additionally, codeless tools improve efficiency as they significantly reduce the time and cost associated with test creation and maintenance, allowing organizations to build and maintain tests with far fewer resources, ultimately saving millions in costs over time.

TestRigor offers a straightforward pricing model that focuses on charging only for the infrastructure required to run tests in parallel, rather than the number of users or test executions. This approach is designed to be company-friendly, allowing any number of team members to access the platform through single sign-on (SSO) without incurring additional costs. By purchasing more parallelization capacity, companies can expedite test execution, enhancing collaboration and efficiency within teams.