How is DevOps accelerated by low-code test automation?

Source: https://www.nilebits.com/blog/2022/06/how-is-devops-accelerated-by-low-code-test-automation/

Testing and coding are two distinct phases that are interdependent. As a result, if one sector is to advance, the other must as well. A “low-code” application development platform has been hailed by the development community for more than a decade.

So, how’s it doing for the testing community?

Trailblazers in the software business use automation backed by a self-intuitive drag and drop element to construct low-code development platforms. Because everyone can comprehend it contextually and conceptually, a development or testing platform with low code functions keeps the entire team unified.

We’ll look at how these low-code platforms affect testing in a DevOps-driven development environment in this article.

DevOps is here to help you automate your agile process. Its goal is to give programmers and developers the tools they need to respond to future business requirements. Simply put, it tries to accelerate software product launches by shortening the software development life cycle.

DevOps-based automation is now giving way to cloud-based automation. As a result, major public and private cloud service providers support DevOps on their platforms by integrating development tools on a regular basis.

Such integrated technologies reduce DevOps on-premises automation costs while providing centralized control for reliable DevOps operations.

DevOps foster

• Collaborative development: Keeping the team aligned for collaborative development requires an interface that is simple to grasp for all departments. Furthermore, most low-code solutions are extensible, allowing IT departments to turn APIs, commands, and web services into reusable infrastructure and allowing direct interaction with important suppliers.
• Automation: In today’s world, no technical breakthrough is complete without a component of automation. Automated jobs and end-to-end processes are sped up by combining low-code platforms and DevOps technologies.
• Increased Productivity: Low-code technologies make the process life cycle easier to manage. These programs keep track of processes and alert you if there is a problem. Furthermore, the technologies can help eliminate process bottlenecks and unnecessary delays.
• According to Gartner’s IT Automation Trends for 2022, improvements in analytics and automatic remediation capabilities will divert 30% of IT operations activities from support to continuous engineering through 2024. Low code can help with continuous deployment, which is one of the most difficult components of DevOps. Low-code testing solutions allow the QA team to construct test cases for user stories as they go through the development stage, and then integrate the tests into the CI/CD process, allowing for test execution in a single click.
• Low-code testing has a number of advantages in quality engineering, particularly when shifting from manual to automated testing. Low-code testing aids in the simplification of a process that might otherwise necessitate manual intervention. This transformation will enable manual testing teams to conduct continuous testing while focusing on staff upskilling, quality assurance, and transitions.
• Continuous feedback and iterations: Businesses need to evolve quickly to meet customer expectations, and low-code platforms give developers tools to iterate and change current procedures.

Why does low code test automation make more sense in DevOps?

• Custom scripts are unable to meet the different yet interconnected requirements. To optimize any system, you must first align goals across departments, then implement integrated platforms to help cross-functional and cross-platform companies digitalize their operations.
• Experienced developers who can manage end-to-end procedures are in short supply. As a result, automating routine processes can free up engineers’ time to focus on more important duties like learning and upskilling.
• Constant releases are necessary, but they necessitate ongoing testing and the creation of new test scripts. You can automate a lot of things with DevOps.
• Finally, with low code test automation, the goal to produce more in less time may be met.

How Low-Code Test Automation Accelerates DevOps?

Transcribe the experience into an automation script

Low-code test automation cuts down on the time and cost of testing while also reducing our reliance on test automation professionals.

In addition, even non-coders and novice coders can now create test scripts. Testers can focus on the business needs and ensure a customer-centric process with low-code test automation.

Improves the speed of execution of UAT

You can easily cover new features with different tests thanks to the speed increase you get from not having to develop your tests.

User acceptance testing (UAT) is more than just having business stakeholders look through the program, try out new features, and find flaws. A successful UAT, like any other test, involves rigorous planning and execution.

Keeping UAT in sync with requirements is difficult in Agile projects with rapid changes. As a result, one of the most important advantages of no-code/low-code testing platforms is the ability to quickly create and change tests. Additionally, not having to code your tests allows you to rapidly add additional functionality to your tests.

Facilitate the BDD approach

BDD is a collaborative technique for aligning business and agile teams’ requirements. BDD tests are customer-facing scenarios that characterize different behaviors from the user’s perspective, with the purpose of decreasing rework and enhancing flow to improve development.

By adopting a simple language that eliminates the need for sophisticated test script syntax, BDD makes the transition from functional testing to automated testing easier (TDD).

Many no-code/low-code testing tools support the BDD paradigm by providing a keyword-driven approach. Users of all levels, including Product Owners, QA Managers, and other stakeholders, can understand test cases prepared in a keyword-driven method. It indicates that any team member can examine and, if necessary, analyze the test cases.

The impact of implementing no-code/low-code automation tools in today’s Agile environment is distinguishing between teams that use them and those that refuse to implement them in their scrum teams.

Empower the scrum team to achieve in-sprint test automation

When an agile tester is unable to finish the testing of a user story in a given sprint, a sprint backlog is created, pushing the scrum team further away from the deadline. The testing team may simply transform manual test cases into an automated script using a low-code test automation technology like TestingWhiz, ensuring test case automation within a sprint and allowing the scrum team to complete entire development and testing for a user story in one sprint.

Enable the agile testers to focus more on exploratory testing

Exploratory testing is a cyclical process. It executes a function in a loop following the steps mentioned below:

• Step 1: Design
• Step 2: Execution
• Step 3: Analysis
• Step 4: Learning
• Step 5: Go to step 1

As we all know, exploratory testing cannot be automated; instead, Agile testers must build the exploratory testing session on the fly, requiring them to use their entire skill set.

Testers might use exploratory testing to get as near to an application as possible. It’s a way for determining whether or not an application is functioning, and it allows testers to uncover defects that might otherwise go undetected by traditional testing methods.

Agile testers that employ no-code/low-code testing solutions can devote more time to exploratory sessions, ensuring that more tests are covered and that UAT testing is effective.

Lower technical debts

Low-code test automation allows for process integration and long-term goal alignment.

Adopting a low-code approach to integration can help you eliminate technical debt and think long-term. As a consequence, you’ll create a structure that encourages teams to focus on completing projects on time in the short term while also developing a long-term vision for future initiatives.

Offer a codeless approach to automate test cases

Codeless testing is automated testing that does not require the tester to write code. “Record and Playback” and “Codeless” were synonymous words when low-code/no-code testing alternatives were limited and the automated testing concept was new. However, a growing number of automated testing technologies on the market today offer true codeless testing.

Because codeless testing is used to create test cases, a codeless technique offers a minimal learning curve. Furthermore, the user spends less time understanding and creating test cases. So, even if the user has no prior expertise with coding or programming languages, a self-intuitive drag-and-drop command can be used to create test cases. As a result, even non-technical project stakeholders can easily assess these test scenarios.

Enable test execution with a single click with CI/CD

The problem of simplifying testing for Agile QA teams at various levels and dealing with the rising complexity of software is addressed by no-code/low-code automation solutions.

Furthermore, implementing CI/CD and continuous testing procedures in an Agile environment has changed the way product development teams deal with updates in a variety of ways, including releasing more and faster than before.

As a result, today’s test automation solutions must make testing accessible to both people who know how to code and those who don’t.

Source: https://www.nilebits.com/blog/2022/06/how-is-devops-accelerated-by-low-code-test-automation/