Price and time advantages using different testing approaches

ABOUT AUTOMATED TESTING

Automated testing is one of the software testing scenarios which involves the creation of automated scripts that perform tests independently.

The NetLS Software Development team has been providing automated testing service for more than 10 years and during this time has identified many advantages in the form of increased testing speed, high accuracy of work, and guaranteed simplification of the entire process. The problem is that in the classical approach, the code for automated tests must be written by a software developer. The average hourly cost of a Middle Developer is between $35 and $41, while the cost of a Middle tester ranges from $19 to $25.?

Low-code and no-code automated testing approaches successfully minimize the involvement or ensure the complete absence of a developer in the process and reduce the cost of testing while increasing the involvement of employees in automation. Since creating automated tests using these approaches is an easy-to-understand and executed process, it can be delegated not only to testers but also to other employees who do not have enough work.?

CODE

The traditional method of creating a set of test scenarios is to write the code from scratch, which gives developers full control and the ability to customize their approach. However, this setup often leads to long development cycles and several problems.

Writing tests manually creates a large amount of code that needs to be supported and developed. Changes to the main project code may require changes to the tests, which complicates the development and maintenance process. This can lead to an increase in project complexity, an increase in the risk of errors, and a decrease in scalability.?

It also takes a lot of time, especially for large projects. Developers spend time writing and maintaining tests, which can delay the overall product development process. In addition, long test development times can affect the speed of releasing new features and solving problems (administrative or technical debt).?

However, there are cases and types of testing that you can not do without classical code writing:

• Unit tests: automated tests that check small parts of the code that are isolated from the rest of the system. They allow developers to make sure that each line of code corresponds to expected behavior and detect defects before they lead to more serious problems. As a result of testing, the system shows the total number of past and failed tests.
• Integration tests: this testing method differs from unit testing in that individual modules are combined and tested together. For example, when several engineers work on a large project to create software modules, they may work well initially, but together they may produce an incorrect result. To check that the modules work properly together, integration testing is performed. Most often, Unit and Integration testing of software written using .Net technology uses the MS Test Framework, NUnit, and XUnit frameworks, which provide tools and structure for writing tests, allow you to run test suites, and provide the ability to generate reports and analyze test results. These tools help quickly identify issues, solve them, and, as a result, improve the quality of the program.
• Integration testing: this type of testing exists to check the coherence of work between systems (ours and third-party systems).

LOW-CODE

Low-code is a simplified approach to writing automated tests with minimized code size and complexity. One of the main advantages of using low-code is its convenience and speed. Writing tests using a description language allows specialists to quickly create tests without the need for a deep understanding of programming. For example, Gherkin, a natural language-based language, allows programmers and testers to easily communicate and create tests together.

One of the main problems with the classical approach to writing automated tests is the difficulty of maintaining them. Frequent changes in the main code can lead to the need of constant test modification. The use of low-code can significantly reduce the severity of this issue, as testers can edit test scripts in a way they understand.?

For IT solutions written in C#, PHP, or Python, a BDD framework such as SpecFlow is the best choice. It allows you to organize automated testing in the form of understandable test scenarios using the aforementioned Gherkin language. The .NET framework allows you to describe the functionality of the program at the level of business requirements, which avoids the need for a deep understanding of the technical details of the implementation. SpecFlow integrates with popular development environments, allowing teams to use it most conveniently in their projects.?

Another example is that some technologies, such as Cypress, allow you to create tests in a user-friendly interface and also offer the ability to extend the functionality of the environment using JavaScript or TypeScript. In extreme cases, these tools provide the ability to manually write one or more tests. This gives engineers more flexibility in customization and allows them to create more complex test scenarios that can cover different conditions and error handling. In addition, they provide convenient tools for selecting elements on a web page, which makes it easy to interact with different elements and check their state. For example, using CSS or XPath selectors (which are practically the only requirement for testers in a low-code approach), you can easily select the necessary elements and perform various actions with them, such as clicking, typing, or checking their status, while minimizing subsequent corrections in case of changes to the graphical UI.

NetLS has experience with optimized processes by improving the level of testing automation, where our developer was a pioneer in introducing the team to the above technologies.

NO-CODE

One of the key advantages of using the no-code approach is its convenience and accessibility for a wide range of employees who do not have deep technical knowledge and experience in programming. Instead of writing code, they can use interfaces with graphical elements to create test scenarios. This makes the test development process more accessible and understandable to all project participants, not just programmers. Using the no-code approach allows even non-technical employees to participate in the creation of test scenarios for test automation, as this method requires almost no technical knowledge possessed by engineers. This significantly reduces the time required to develop and maintain a set of automated tests. Instead of writing complex scripts, performers can simply write down all the repetitive actions or create a script by dragging and dropping the appropriate elements.

Selenium is a tool that is most often used to prevent the need for manual code writing in test scenarios. It is the basis for a variety of tools and libraries for implementing various types of tests, providing fast and efficient software testing. Selenium WebDriver, one of the key components of Selenium, provides the ability to record and playback user actions on a web page. Recording sequential steps, such as entering text into input fields, clicking buttons, and checking the display of certain elements on the page by working independently with browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.), allows employees to create test scenarios without the need for a comprehensive understanding of technical details. This makes the process of creating tests much cheaper than the classic method of writing code manually and allows the client to save money on checking the functioning of their software. However, this is provided that there are no significant changes in the code of the main project because in this case, they need to be converted almost from scratch. Also, this approach is limited in flexibility and extensibility due to the rare ability to inject JavaScript and TypeScript.

WHY LOW-CODE AND NO-CODE ARE THE FUTURE OF AUTOMATED TESTING

These approaches provide flexibility and reduce dependence on the knowledge and skills of an engineer. The automated testing process can be easily performed by other employees and does not require the involvement of a programmer in part or in full, which saves money on lower-cost human resources. The ease and speed of the approach to writing test scripts also help to reduce the cost of automated testing. Because of this, companies reduce the duration of staff training in all the necessary skills and employees spend much less time creating automated tests, and the programmer, saving his resources, can spend them on work where he cannot be replaced.?

With low cost and fast execution, no-code and low-code approaches are in no way inferior to the classic code writing by an engineer in terms of tested and customized products. Each of them is working and can be used in different situations and with different types of software.

These approaches are also successfully used in Technology Consulting, Website Development and Mobile App Development, App Migration to Cloud, Financial Solutions Development, and many other software development and support services.

These technologies allow Startups to actively develop with a limited budget and minimal risks. For example, MVP development is the best solution for testing a new business idea, but creating an MVP covered by tests with a small amount of code will allow the client to save additional money.

According to Gartner research, 70% of applications will be developed using low-code and no-code technologies by 2025.

The customer of QA and automated testing service has the opportunity to completely improve and speed up the development and operation of their software for the best price. As a result, the magnitude of the level of income, customer loyalty, and competitiveness in the market.

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