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Evolution of Test Automation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Beginning in the early 2000s, the software industry has placed great importance on test automation as a critical component of software quality assurance. The market is dominated by frameworks such as Selenium and Quick Test Professional (formerly known as MicroFocus UFT One). When it comes to test automation, maintainability is the primary challenge encountered by businesses. Because most software products and applications undergo regular revisions, the test automation script must also be revised, making the process more time consuming and hence more expensive. This causes a reluctance to invest in automation. The organization will also rely on developers to not only write test scripts, but also to make modifications to them and manage them.

When Artificial Intelligence and DevOps were introduced in software development, test automation took on a new dimension. Customers want their test automation to run automatically. They demand self-healing capabilities and automated maintenance. Since 2018, there have been just a handful substantial ground-breaking Test automation frameworks that have had a significant influence on these challenges. Only a few out of this fewer list of test automation tools and products are capable of using artificial intelligence (AI). Neoload, Ranorex Studio, Katalon Studio, intelliSWAUT, and Functionize are just a few of the front-runners.

Both Katalon and Ranorex studios are functional test automation tools with a similar feature set. The former features a free limited edition, while the latter requires licensing. Ranorex has built there framework similar to UFT , a leading test automation framework that requires intensive coding. People who are familiar with UFT will like it for this reason. In contrast, Katalon is an easy-to-use application that requires minimal code. Numerous features are included such as object capture, API testing, and integration with DevOps practices. This tool has reduced close to 25% of coding required for building automations making it a low-code platform.

An American IT consulting firm, Sun Technologies Inc., has announced intelliSWAUT, a test automation solution with Artificial Intelligence capacity where users don’t have to write code to build functional automations. It’s also compatible with DevOps pipelines that are both cloud native (AWS, Azure, GCP) and cloud agnostic (Jenkins, Bamboo, GitLab). The software uses artificial intelligence to identify changes in the web application and update the automation flow based on the user’s actions. Non-technical professionals (Scrum Master, Analysts, etc.) have been able to automate functional testing as a result of this technology. Sun Technologies showcased this product and offered free test automation consulting services at the AWS re-invent conference in Las Vegas in November 2019. AWS Re-invent is one of the world’s largest technology conferences, with over 65,000 attendees.

intelliSWAUT
intelliSWAUT demonstration at AWS Re-Invent, Nov 2019

Vaidyanathan Ganesa Sankaran (2nd from the left), a Sr Solution Architect at Sun Technologies and product innovator of intelliSWAUT, showcased this solution to a larger audience and addressed questions about how AI is enabled in this no-code platform.

“Our goal in developing intelliSWAUT was to make test automation more inexpensive, more readily maintained, and more independent from coding,” he explains further. This means that businesses will be able to invest in automation, which will free up engineers and developers’ time for more productive work.

intelliSWAUT’s AI-based auto-correction of web elements and no-code automation build feature, which allows non-technical colleagues to develop automation, become a serious competitor (No-Code) to the low-code, reusable-code tool market. This may considerably lower the cost of automation, making it more accessible and enhancing productivity in the process.