Software test automation tools

Test automation tools track and manage testing needs across all projects. Automation solutions help determine which modules or pieces of software should be tested, how and when they should be tested, what type of coverage each test provides, and what other kinds of tests might be needed to provide greater coverage. Software test automation tools also simplify reporting and facilitate communication between stakeholders in the development process.

Test automation vs. automated testing

Software test automation tools are not the same thing as automated testing tools, though the two terms are often used synonymously.

Automated testing tools enable developers and testers to use technology to perform a variety of software tests with automation rather than performing them manually. Automated testing tools are far faster and more accurate than manual tests, and they can be easily repeated to provide higher levels of testing coverage.

Test automation, on the other hand, is the process of automating the management and organization of software testing. Test automation helps developers and testers initiate, manage, and report on both automated tests and manual tests. By bringing automation to the task of overseeing testing, software test automation tools free developers and testers to spend more time creating effective test cases and less time fretting about the details of managing hundreds or thousands of tests.

Types of software test automation tools

A test automation tools list can be organized into several categories.

• Codeless tools vs. code-based or hybrid tools. Some automation tools require users to have coding skills, limiting usability to developers and testers with knowledge of specific development languages. In contrast, codeless tools require no technical knowledge or coding experience, allowing a much broader variety of stakeholders to participate in testing.
• Open source vs. commercial test automation tools. Open-source tools are free to use but may offer a more limited set of features. Commercial tools must be purchased but offer more functionality. Some tools are offered via a SaaS model that simplifies deployment, maintenance, and upgrades of the software.
• Mobile vs. desktop vs. web tools. Certain test automation tools target different types of environments.

The role of software test automation tools in continuous testing

Continuous testing is changing the rules of the game for software developers. In traditional development environments, testing is performed at the end of a development cycle. But with the move to Agile and DevOps methodologies and a continuous delivery model for software development, this traditional approach would never keep up with the pace of development and would create unworkable bottlenecks.

Continuous testing solves this challenge by constantly testing code at every stage of development, from unit testing to regression testing to acceptance testing. However, it requires extraordinary coordination to keep track of which environments have new code, which modules must be tested, and how testing requirements integrate into the process of continuously delivering software.

Software test automation tools simplify this task by automatically tracking and organizing testing needs, determining the coverage provided by each test, and what other tests must be conducted to provide optimal coverage.

The advantages of software test automation tools

By automating management of tests, organizations can accelerate software delivery and ensure higher standards of quality. Test automation also improves accuracy and allows testers to focus more time on building effective test cases rather than managing all the moving pieces of automated and manual testing.

Software test automation tools enable development organizations to:

• Release software faster
• Reduce the cost of testing
• Enhance the quality of each release

Tricentis software test automation tools

Tricentis Tosca offers software test automation tools for next-generation, automated, continuous testing. With a scriptless, AI-based, no-code approach to end-to-end test automation, Tosca supports over 160 technologies and enterprise applications, providing resilient test automation for any use case.

Tosca enables development and testing teams to:

• Automate once, run anywhere. Tosca is powered by Vision AI, a next-generation, AI-driven, test automation technology that lets testers test much earlier in the development lifecycle. Vision AI does not rely on an application’s underlying technology to create test cases, allowing virtually anyone regardless of technical expertise to test virtually any application.
• Avoid script maintenance. Tricentis Model-based Test Automation (MBTA) is the only automation approach in the marketplace to provide rapid creation of resilient tests that are easy to maintain. With MBTA, Tricentis customers can achieve test automation rates of 90% from release to release.
• Automate tests with rapid recording. Tricentis Automation Recording Assistant delivers an intuitive record and playback experience that automatically builds test automation steps during normal business process routines.
• Achieve end-to-end continuous testing. Tricentis powers end-to-end test automation that ranges from API to UI, databases to BI solutions, and programming languages to package applications.
• Remove redundancies. Tricentis Tosca’s risk-based testing lets customers test smarter, not longer. By removing redundancies from their test case portfolio, customers gain over 80% risk coverage with an optimal set of tests to run for each software release.
• Simplify API test automation. Tricentis lets teams shift left by simplifying the transition from UI testing to API testing through a model-based approach.
• Eliminate costly testing delays. Tricentis Orchestrated Service Visualization (OSV) allows business users to build virtual services directly from their API test modules without deep technical knowledge or coding experience.
• Run tests with reliable data. Tricentis Test Data Management (TDM) reduces test creation time by automatically creating and provisioning on-demand synthetic or mass production data for test automation.
• Eliminate data integrity issues. Eliminate and avoid errors in data before they can compromise decision making. Automate end-to-end data testing across any enterprise data warehouse.

The Tricentis platform also provides solutions for Agile test management, Jira test case management, data integrity testing, performance testing, and solutions for Salesforce, Oracle, ServiceNow, and SAP testing.