Software Test Automation: 5 Important Trends for 2024

The team at Calleo love to share our decades of testing and IT experience and have been doing this for many years via our blog Software Testing Insights .

Each month, we share the latest insights, testing news, tool updates and guides.

In this month’s edition, we investigate and offer advice on five important trends that have helped reshape functional software test automation and make it an essential part of your testing armoury in 2024.

In this edition:

1. Software Test Automation: 5 Important Trends for 2024
2. Five ChatGPT Guidelines For Software Testers
3. Test Tool Checkpoint: Latest Software Versions
4. In Next Month's Issue...

Software Test Automation: 5 Important Trends for 2024

Software test automation has evolved massively over the last few years; gone are the days of flaky tools, gargantuan setup effort, and scripts that require constant human intervention. The integration of cutting-edge technologies and methodologies has redefined the role of test automation within the software development lifecycle.

The advantages of test automation have been promised for decades. For years, automation has significantly reduced manual testing efforts, provided rapid feedback on code changes, and facilitated continuous delivery and deployment. The benefits, including improved software quality, enhanced efficiency, and accelerated time-to-market, are widely accepted within the software development industry.

However, the journey towards effective test automation was often fraught with challenges, and many people have been scarred by the process. In the past, organisations looking to implement or scale their test automation initiatives have frequently encountered challenges with initial setup effort, ongoing maintenance, and the need for specialised expertise.

Thankfully, automation solutions and approaches have come on leaps and bounds since those dark days.

In this insight, we investigate and offer advice on five important trends that have helped reshape functional software test automation and make it an essential part of your testing armoury in 2024.

1. Harness AI for Smarter Testing

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has moved from concepts to reality, rapidly becoming a core aspect of test automation.

These technologies are now more sophisticated, able to identify patterns, detect issues before they become critical, and maintain test cases. When used correctly, AI can boost the efficiency and effectiveness of your testing processes, enabling your teams to deliver higher-quality software faster.

• Problem Solved by AI: Without AI, test automation scripts require manual maintenance effort to keep them relevant. Through machine-driven regression testing, AI can easily find anomalies such as scripting errors, visual regressions, broken links, and more.
• Advice: Build and maintain your scripts with AI-based automation tools. These tools can automatically identify problems and maintain your scripts. As well as use a single script for testing Android and IoS mobile devices. Invest in AI-assisted testing tools (such as UFT One ) to generate and maintain AI-based automation test cases.

2. Shift Left With IDE Based Test Automation

Shift-left testing, where testing QA tasks are integrated earlier in the development process, has gained substantial traction.

This proactive strategy helps you identify and address defects sooner, enhancing product quality and contributing to cost savings by avoiding late-stage fixes. Modern test tools integrate seamlessly with popular Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) like Visual Studio and Eclipse, making it easier for developers to test their code with professional automation tools.

• Problem Solved by Shifting Left: Finding bugs late in the development cycle can significantly increase the cost and time to fix them.
• Advice: Implement a shift-left approach by integrating testing early and often. Incorporate automated testing tools (Like UFT Developer and UFT One ) that can be easily integrated into your development environment. If possible, foster a culture of collaboration between developers and testers; this will help you shift left and make everything easier in later development stages.

3. Shift Right with Codeless Test Automation

For decades, codeless testing has been the holy grail of test automation. Modern test tools have made shifting right a reality.

Codeless testing democratises test automation and makes it accessible to professionals with varying technical expertise. These tools enable business users who don’t have a deep understanding of coding to design, execute, and manage automated test cases. This expands the pool of experts who can contribute to testing efforts, enhancing testing process efficiency and increasing coverage.

• Problem Solved: The technical barrier that prevents non-developers from contributing to testing efforts.
• Advice: Implement codeless test automation tools (e.g., ValueEdge Model-Based Testing ) to enable team members with diverse skill sets to create and manage tests without deep programming knowledge. Conduct tool-based and general testing training sessions to get your team up to speed on creating tests using these tools.

4. Adopt Continuous Testing

Continuous testing has emerged as a critical practice, helping to detect regression errors and reduce project timelines.

This is mostly due to the rise of DevOps and Agile, where ongoing testing throughout the SDLC is key to achieving rapid iteration and release cycles. Even away from DevOps and Agile, though, continuous testing enables your teams to drive higher quality into your solutions and reduce the duration of dedicated regression cycles.

• Problem Solved: The need to maintain high-quality standards in a fast-paced development environment.
• Advice: Embed continuous testing into your development approach to ensure ongoing quality assurance. This enables immediate feedback on the impact of code changes, facilitating rapid iterations. Use automation tools to run tests automatically after every code commit. Ensure your testing suite covers a broad range of tests, from unit to integration tests.

5. Migrate to Cloud-based Testing Tools

Cloud-based testing tools are scalable, flexible, and cost-efficient. SaaS functional test tools are a modern solution for dynamic development landscapes.

They allow your teams to adjust their testing resources as needed easily and facilitate collaboration among distributed teams by providing access to shared testing environments and resources. Cloud-based automation testing enables a more dynamic, accessible, and efficient approach to functional testing.

Cloud-based testing is also ideal for testing across different platforms. Traditionally, cross-browser and mobile testing meant investing in multiple devices and installing multiple operating systems and browsers. Cloud-based testing means you can easily access any combination of device, O/S, and browser, whenever you need them.

• Problem Solved: Limited testing resources and challenges in collaborating across geographically distributed teams.
• Advice: Adopt cloud-based testing platforms to provide scalable, flexible testing environments that can be accessed from anywhere, facilitating collaboration. Select a cloud-based testing solution that fits your needs and budget (Check out ValueEdge Functional Test ). Migrate your testing environments to the cloud and ensure your team is trained to use these new resources effectively.

Conclusion

Test automation has moved with the times. It is now faster, smarter, more efficient and essential for dynamic and rapid software development.

• AI and ML-assisted test tools are a reality.
• Shift-left and continuous testing approaches are helping to fix bugs earlier.
• Cloud-based and codeless testing tools are making automation more accessible.

These advancements are not just trends or buzzwords; they're essential tools that help software development teams keep up with the fast pace of technology.

See how automation can help you! Book a demo today!

Five ChatGPT Guidelines For Software Testers

Nowadays, people use Generative AI-based chatbots for all sorts of tasks, including software testing.

Solutions like ChatGPT can quickly generate code, provide solutions to common scripting problems, and even offer insights into best practices… but they’re not without flaws.

Learn how to use AI to enhance, rather than compromise, the quality of your testing.

Test Tool Checkpoint: Latest Software Versions

OpenText (previously Micro Focus) have a wide range of software to help test professionals simplify testing, test faster & deeper.? We know keeping track of the latest versions can be hard, but we’re here to help.? Products that have changed since last month are shown in brackets after the product name.

If you are not on the latest release, we recommend you check out what is new. It is always best to plan to upgrade at least once a year, ideally more regularly.

Below we’ve listed the current releases of the industry-leading OpenText (Formerly Micro Focus) test tools suite:

• ALM Octane/Value Edge 24.1 Your ideal agile and DevOps test management tool.
• ALM/Quality Center 24.1 The perfect test management tool for traditional (e.g. waterfall) development methods.
• ValueEdge The solution for Value Stream Management, including solutions for strategy, test management, functional testing, performance testing, and more
• UFT One 2023.4 ???????????????Automation tool supporting the widest range of applications & technologies.
• UFT Developer 2023.4 IDE-based test automation.
• UFT Digital Lab 2023.4 (Previously UFT Mobile)Your mobile testing toolkit includes access to labs and virtual devices.
• LoadRunner Cloud 2024.1 [New Release]Simple, scalable, and efficient cloud-based performance testing with great analysis and reporting.
• LoadRunner Professional 2024. 1 [New Release]On-premises performance testing with huge support.
• LoadRunner Enterprise 202 .1 [New Release]Global performance powerhouse for large companies.
• LoadRunner Developer 2024. 1 [New Release]Free IDE-based performance testing.
• Service Virtualization 2023 R1 Accelerate functional and performance testing with virtual services (mocking services) for testing your applications. Shift left and save money.

You can download and install the new software without further cost if you have a support contract or have bought term licences.? If you have a SaaS licence, the software will be upgraded for you.

If you are out of support, contact Calleo and we can help you.

How to Build a Testing Ecosystem with Test Management Tools

Next month, we’ll discuss how you can build a scalable and flexible testing ecosystem by integrating the right test management tools.

Learn how to support growing testing needs, adapt to changing project requirements, and facilitate seamless collaboration among distributed teams.