Manual testing of software has predominated the software industry for years. However this was not very efficient, especially with the introduction of client/server architecture originating so many layers of software complexity that needed testing. While Companies such as Micro Focus and IBM introduced automation testing tools such as record-and-playback, which essentially required a person to record the steps of a test case and play it back, to their testing projects, they were extremely time consuming and expensive, all the while being hard to learn and implement. 

Standalone Record and Playback tools did however offer a platform for manual testers with no coding skills to record actions that happened in real time on the web applications; these types of tools often are not very efficient when it comes to scaling and modifying tests. That’s why Codeless automation testing has rapidly increased in popularity since its introduction.

Table of Content:

• What is codeless automation testing ?
• Features of codeless automation testing
• Top 3 codeless automation tools

What is codeless automation testing ?

Essentially, it is the process of creating automated tests for your software without having to write a single line of code. According to a 2022 test automation survey, only 24.5% of all people who used test automation were software developers, meaning that the majority of the users may not all have the coding expertise that software developers possess. Codeless test automation allows software testers to focus on actually testing the software regardless of their coding skill level. This is an extremely efficient process that allows testers to spend their time actually testing the software, rather than having to spend large amounts of time figuring out how to code. 

By reducing time, both developers and testers can now allocate more time for product development and innovation to accelerate the testing stage of the software development life cycle (SDLC), which also means that businesses can access software testing much more easily at a low cost. 

Features of Codeless automation tools
 

Conditional Waiting 

Traditional record-and-playback tools required testers to manually insert pauses between steps in the script which can become quite tedious. Codeless automation tools offer many ways we can handle the playback of the script. For instance, we are able to adjust parameters such as playback speed,  command intervals, general wait times, number of attempts to find an object which comes in useful when running on different machines with different speeds. 

Control Structures

Codeless automation frameworks offer the chance for testers to use loops and if-else structures to control the flow of the scripts. It is futile for the application to just repeat a few steps, so it is essential that control structures are available in order for a project to be scalable. For each iteration of the loop, we are able to use different data, which can be manually written or imported from databases.

Easy Modification 

As applications change and develop, scripts need to be re-done and changed to fit the new application. Codeless automation tools provide an environment where you can make easy modifications to it such as copy, paste and cut certain parts of the scripts which saves a tremendous amount of time for testers as they do not have to write the whole script again. 

Cross browser support 

Most codeless automation platforms support the scripts to run on various different types of browsers and devices as long as they can run selenium on them.  

Error Reporting

When testing large amounts of code, it is essential to have helpful error reports in order for it to be scalable. Codeless automation platforms usually tend to provide testers with automatic error reports which include helpful and insightful details on the problem at hand.

TOP 3 CODELESS AUTOMATION TOOLS
 

When starting out with codeless automation testing it is important to decide upon a good platform to carry out your tests. Here are some features to look for in such a platform:

1. Ability to run repetitive, time consuming tasks which require little to no knowledge of programming languages. 

2. Ability to run on multiple different browsers. 

3. A sensible pricing plan that matches your company’s size and flexibility. 

4. An easy to use user-interface that holds all the tools and accessories for you to run your tests easily. 

With that being said, let's take a look at the top 3 codeless automation tools: 
 

Perfecto 

It is a cloud based all-in-one testing platform for both mobile and web applications. Its testing availability across multiple devices,browsers and operating systems as well as its ability to accelerate testing has made it widely used across banking, healthcare and retail apps.

Core features of Perfecto: 

- provides visual testing capabilities that allow you to compare images of your application under test to a baseline image to ensure that there are no visual differences.

- allows you to monitor the performance of your tests in real-time and get alerts when there are any issues.

- provides collaboration tools that allow you to work with your team to design, develop and execute tests.

- integrates with popular continuous integration tools such as Jenkins, TeamCity and Azure DevOps, allowing you to automate your testing process as part of your CI/CD pipeline.

ACELLQ

A codeless automation tool compatible with testing web and desktop applications, mainframes and mobile apps. A user-friendly platform prioritizing collaboration where manual testers and automations engineers collaborate without any technical barriers, it has natural language programming and self-healing capabilities that fulfills the criteria for a perfect codeless automation tool. With its easy and fast to develop user interface, it has become the go-to automation platform for over 1.1 million business processes.

Core Features of AcellQ:
- Provides continuous testing capabilities that allow you to automate your testing processes and ensure that your application is always tested and ready for deployment.

- Includes a test management platform that allows you to create, execute and report on your tests.

- Provides tools for managing and configuring your test environments, including the ability to pin up and tear down environments on demand.

- Allows you to reuse test cases and test data across different tests and projects, improving the efficiency of your testing process.
 

Katalon Studio

Katalon Studio has been ranked as the No.1 automated software testing platform due to its wide range of testing abilities spanning across multiple platforms such as Desktop, mobile, web, APIs and applications. It has an user-friendly UI with a drag and drop editor. Testers are also not required to write scripts from scratch as they are able to import external libraries to perform execution. 

Core features of Katalon Studio:

- Intuitive reports provide a visual representation of the errors at hand, making it easier to understand. They can also be exported in PDF or CSV format. 

- Includes a centralized object repository that allows you to store and manage all the objects in your application under test.

- Supports keyword-driven testing, which allows you to create test cases using predefined keywords that represent common actions and functions in your application.

- Generates detailed reports of your test execution, including test execution, including test results, execution logs, and screenshots.

For further information on various types of testing tools, check out Top 10 Codeless testing tools in 2022.

Summary 
 

In summation, Code less automation tools can be a powerful tool for improving efficiency and streamlining tasks and processes. They can be particularly useful for non-technical users who want to automate tasks but may not have the programming skills to do so. However, it's important to carefully evaluate the capabilities and limitations of code-less automation tools to ensure that they meet the needs of your specific use case.

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