Top Features to Look for in a Codeless Test Automation Tool

The extremely competitive and dynamic software application industry necessitates expanding test coverage while also completing more testing within tight timeframes. It's difficult for software applications to issue frequent updates if they don't have a high level of efficiency. As a result, software application development companies must identify ways to improve testing efficiency in order to produce high-quality products in a quicker time to market.

Automation testing, as an ideal option for tech organizations, comes into play here. Automation, on the other hand, is riddled with challenges. Because manual testers lack the programming language knowledge required for efficient automated implementation, the key problem is acquiring access to people with sophisticated programming capabilities.

A zero-coding test automation platform, such as QARA Enterprise, Ranorex, or TestComplete, is the answer, with the ability to write lines and lines of code with little to no human intervention. Here are the key qualities to look for in these test automation solutions that don't require any coding.

1] Provision for Modifications

The test scripts must be updated as the program under test changes. This may necessitate adding or eliminating phases from a flow, or modifying existing ones somewhat. Codeless automation technologies should accept this as a given and make the process as simple as possible.

2] Reusable Test Scripts

Authors should be able to record common steps with codeless tools and then insert them into any test flow. This would not only reduce time in the authoring process, but it would also encourage reusability and make maintenance much easier. Similarly, the tools should allow for the use of variables within tests so that state can be reused between steps.

3] Presence of More Element Locators

By obtaining more than one element locator throughout the recording, codeless solutions may be able to gain an advantage over programmed frameworks. If a locator is no longer discovered during playback, you can try the alternate locators for that element. This gives the tester a much better chance of creating scripts that are both stable and low-maintenance.

4] Conditional Waiting

Conditional Waiting significantly reduces the automation suite's execution time while also reducing flaky tests. At the very least, codeless tools should allow script authors to include conditional waiting, but it would be far better if the tools handled this behind the scenes.

5] Effective Control Structures

The lack of control structures like loops and conditional clauses was one of the biggest drawbacks of early record-and-playback systems. Testers employ loops and if-else clauses to manage the flow of scripts in coding automation frameworks. If the project is to be scalable, codeless solutions must meet this need.

6] Cross Browser Support

Many record-and-playback solutions are available as browser extensions, which means they are connected to a particular browser. However, many product teams are required to do tests in various browsers. Authors of tests should be able to record a scenario once in one browser and then play it back in any other major browser.

7] Continuous Integration

Test automation is an important component of continuous integration and continuous deployment in the DevOps era. Tests should be able to integrate with such pipelines and run on their own when they are triggered. Tests should also be able to run in parallel for faster execution times.

8] Accurate & Detailed Reporting

Test automation requires adequate reporting, especially when testers are running hundreds—or thousands—of tests. Reruns or lengthy debugging should not be required to resolve any issues. It would be really useful to have an automatically generated report with details on what happened, screenshots, and possibly a video of the recording.