From the beginning, software development has always been a field that is related to software developers. Developers who are responsible for developing software applications are supposed to have in-depth knowledge of design systems and coding languages.
However, today the tides are changing. You will find today that low-code and no-code platforms give a chance to individuals with no coding experience to construct applications.
These platforms help to outwardly develop, team up, and convey applications quicker with no coding required.
It is a new technology that utilizes a visual methodology with simplified drag and drop interfaces to help the two developers and non-developers interact with the software under-development easily without any problem.
The non-code platforms have all the necessary built-in features that make it easy to build applications with no coding knowledge.
However, the question is why are low-code or no-code gaining popularity?
According to a Forrester Survey
- 80% of respondents invest half of their energy back at work.
- 78% found that the company was not meeting the requirements of the project and that there should be more stakeholder involvement.
- Only 55% felt that the business requirements were clear to them.
- Less than 20% felt that business needs were well described in the requirements process.
The above findings from the Forrester survey clearly show that there is a gap between business needs and product requirements. There is a growing sense that development and business stakeholders need to work better together to make a product effective. This is the method behind BDD (Behavior Driven Development).
The idea of collaboration between development and business partners in software development forms the basis of low-code/no-code platforms. It helps bridge the technical gap among clients and helps developers collaborate better.
What is Testing & Test Automation?
The responsibility of faultless working and making without bug-free software has forever been the need of the hour. What we see today is the after-effect of years of innovation in this field.
Thanks to Alan Turing for laying out testing as a process in computer science. Nevertheless, those tests were not so much for quality control of the software. At first, testing began as a manual process that for the most part included manual verification of the software’s functionality and revealing the bugs to the developers.
Slowly, new technology started coming up, and this made an application a lot more complex than it used to be.
There was a growth in the internet world, and thus the demand for software increased along with it! Now it was not just up to the development of software, but along with it came modification, revisions, and updates as everyone wanted their software to have a competitive edge.
The software was released with newer versions and extended functionalities and more technologies. And hence a new problem came up – test integration and test quality management.
Let’s understand code-based automated UI testing and code-less test automation with an example.
Let’s say I’m a developer working with a test automation services provider and I’m trying to enable previous order details in my app. In the next version, I added more code, but this function can’t work like before.
With confidence in my previous efforts, I can skip testing this particular tool and give it the green light without verification.
This is also the case with manual testing. Manually testing repetitive items presents a high risk of inattention and ignoring bugs and errors.
That’s why we introduced scripted testing, which takes scripts (test instructions) as input and performs the actions defined in the script for as long and as the tester wants.
Thus, testers move from manual testing to automation. In other words, we make the computer do the execution job. This is also known as coded UI testing automation or script testing, which is explained in the next section.
Low-Code Test Automation
Low code is an easy way of testing applications, developers can test applications quickly by planning, generating, and executing end-to-end tests.
Developers only require a little knowledge of coding and even low code tools require the same, and thus are more useful for developers. These platforms allow users to automate processes in the application with little coding knowledge, unlike standard test automation frameworks that depend on test scripts.
Notwithstanding the way that there are a large number of visual elements to test such applications via low-code automation platforms, even then you need coding when more specific and complex interactions are involved.
While only 10% to 15% of organizations are utilizing these platforms to test programming, rather than traditional coding, the market and adoption rates of these tools are growing rapidly.
According to an estimation by Gartner, 65% of all app development functions will be performed on low-code platforms by 2024.
Why Use Low-Code Platforms?
While low-code stages are getting traction on the lookout, there are different reasons to utilize low-code platforms:
- Encourages digital innovation and transformation
- Safeguards against technology stir
- Keeps away from technology churn
- Avoids technical debt
- Empowers resident developers to work on interior processes
Low-Code Test Automation Benefits
Usability: Since less coding information is required, it’s more easier for citizen developers to utilize.
Further develops efficiency: The drag-and-drop interface takes less time to build processes and accomplishes quicker results.
Improves agility: Since it is not difficult to assemble and revise changes, agile changes to processes can be made without stressing over changing complex code.
No-Code Test Automation
No-code is an approach to software testing where test automation is achieved without writing a single line of code. These platforms are suitable for testers, QA specialists, automation engineers, or any non-technical user who may not have knowledge of a real programming language but wants to test an application for specific cases.
Codeless automation platforms allow both technical and non-technical users to automate processes through interactive graphical user interfaces instead of traditional computer programming.
It includes drag and drop that mimics user interaction. Platforms like Browser Stack do not require code to test web and mobile applications.
Why use No-Code Platforms?
As no-code platforms are becoming popular among non-tech people, there are multiple reasons to say why people prefer using no-code platforms:
Speedier turnaround while building software products
Building products without engineers is conceivable
Users control their product results without relying upon software developers.
It is simpler and more affordable since no-code platforms give a visual point of interface for development on a solitary platform.
No-code Test Automation Benefits
Simple robotization: When automation is planned with visual UI work processes, every code is produced in the hood making mechanization simple to learn and execute.
A tester can begin automating cases when UI development is finished without wasting time going through complex coding practices and frameworks.
Low maintenance and high versatility: Automating tests with visual UI work processes, innately adhering to current business guidelines and best practices, make it simple to scale.
Minimal resource allocation: When testers don’t need to invest a lot of time robotizing their regression tests by composing code, they possess more time for exploratory testing of the application. With codeless automation, there’s no need to include designers in the production of UI tests, which is more financially savvy.
Difference Between Low-Code Vs No-Code Test Automation
| Category | Low-Code | No-Code |
| Coding Knowledge | Low code is intended for developers and a little coding is required to utilize them. Low code platform offers a method for automating things quicker, however just for individuals that have unmistakable coding skills. | No code is specially designed for business executives and no knowledge of coding is required for them to learn no code. |
| Automation | Low code still continues to depend on some coding to design automated processes. | No code platforms allow the end user to dictate the design of the automation process with simple drag-and-drop manipulation. |
| Developer Dependency | Low code allows users to control automation to a point. Thus, sooner or later, a specialized individual or developer has to step in to complete the automation project. | No code platforms give the user complete freedom as they do not need technical knowledge to operate the platform. |
