Scriptless regression testing is a game-changer. Traditionally, keeping a well-maintained test suite is challenging. It requires careful governance and oversight, frequent code refractoring, and a team of skilled developers. With every release comes the same song and dance: Identifying changes, testing for regression, updating existing test cases, and writing new test cases.
With so much going on, it’s not at all uncommon to forget a thing or two.
If you could make mobile regression testing easier, I’m sure you would. With scriptless test automation, it can be. Scriptless test automation is a testing approach that does not require the creation of explicit script files to define test cases. Instead, users interact with declarative clicks-not-code tools that record a user’s actions. This includes all their interactions with elements, and inputs to turn them into executable test cases.
Scriptless automation can help to improve the reliability and accuracy of regression testing, as it can reduce the risk of errors or issues being introduced through manual coding of test scripts. Some of the no-code tools, like Sofy, leverage machine learning to automatically detect changes in the application and generate tests accordingly.
What is regression testing for mobile applications?
Regression testing is the process of testing a system or application after changes have been made to ensure that the changes have not caused the system to regress, or backtrack, and that the application is still functioning as intended. Regression testing is a critical step in the mobile application development lifecycle, yet is often treated as an afterthought. There are several types and use cases for regression testing. (Read all about them here.)
The case for embracing scriptlessness
As you may know, there’s a no-code revolution afoot. Platforms allow organizations to scale their entire development stack all while abstracting the monotonous, and repetitive details. Empowering developers and citizen developers to create value quicker. Testing needs to keep up with the hyper-speed development of features, enhancements, and applications. Testing is important, involved in almost every step of the development lifecycle, and it’s boring.
What a perfect candidate for abstraction!
Benefits
There is no shortage of benefits to going scriptless for mobile regression testing. Consider these examples:
It saves time
It takes time to introduce new features and enhancements to your application. The planning, designing, development, deployment, and—let’s not forget—the testing. Accompanying every change is the testing: Testing the changes, regression testing, updating regression test cases and adding new test cases.
Scriptless testing saves time by eliminating the need to create and maintain lines and lines of code. Focus on the test case, and not the code implementation. Instead of writing code, you grab a real device or leverage a device lab (whether via the cloud or otherwise). Then just perform the manual test, automate, and run on hundreds of devices.
When changes are made to your mobile application, tools like Sofy will identify the impacted test cases and recommend updates. Since testing is so often a bottleneck in the development lifecycle, scriptless automation not only decreases test development time, but also deployment and release time.
You can also take advantage of Native integrations with CI/CD tools so that regression tests can be ran automatically when a change is detected.
It can be used by more people
Today, it’s wise to hedge your bet against the uncertain job market. We know how hard resourcing is—it’s increasingly difficult not only to find but also to keep specialized skill. The more technical maintaining your test suite becomes, the more challenging (and expensive) it becomes to find talent. With a no-code solution, users with enough business proficiency can now write test cases. You don’t need to hire an entire QA team to manage and run regression tests (more on this important point below).
Increases flexibility
Scriptless regression testing is more flexible than script-based testing, as it allows for the testing of scenarios that may not have been covered by the scripts. This is because the testing tools are able to generate tests on the fly based on the changes detected in the application.
With scriptless automation, whatever you can do in a live app, you can automate a test case for. This means you can fill in edge cases quicker, without having to write code. You can also easily copy previous test cases to use as a starting point for new ones.
It scales better
Scriptless regression testing is easier to scale, as it can be run on a large number of different devices and configurations without the need for manual intervention. This is especially useful for organizations that need to test their applications on a wide variety of platforms.
As your application grows, your testing suite will need to be continually updated. Sofy can identify application changes and identify test cases that need to be updated. When new devices are introduced, or existing devices are updated, leverage the device cloud to test on hundreds of mobile devices.
In general, scriptless test cases require less maintenance and rewriting. This is because scriptless tests tend to focus on a users intentions and interactions with the application rather than the specific dependencies on elements.
More cost effective
Because it requires fewer resources to implement and maintain, scriptless regression testing can be a more cost-effective option for organizations. It also reduces the risk of costly errors that can occur when manually creating and maintaining scripts.
Looking to the future
There are less and less reasons everyday to hold onto the old ways of mobile regression testing. The no-code revolution is changing the way companies develop, and Sofy is changing the way people test mobile applications. Scriptless regression testing allows organizations to gain control over the accelerating demands for new features while giving hours back to development.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed above are those of the contributor. They do not necessarily represent or reflect the official beliefs or positions of Sofy.
