Coding — like any other craft — takes many years of practice to master. Having testers program a bunch of codes, fix errors in applications, and finish backlogs in weeks are challenging. According to the World Quality Report 2019–2020, lacking advanced programming expertise is chosen as one of the top challenges when applying test automation to agile projects. That’s where codeless automation testing tools came into place as a response to the challenge.
Simply put, codeless test automation means creating automated tests without the need to physically write codes. It provides testers lacking sophisticated programming skills with project templates for workflow, element libraries, and interface customization.
Furthermore, new innovations have been constantly applied to the testing process, for example, combining AI and Machine Learning into the self-healing mechanism, making the setup more user-friendly and maximizing test reliability. Thus, it helps simplify test automation and solve the coding skill conundrum.
The increasing adoption of codeless automation tools is anticipated to be one of the most influential automation testing trends in 2021.
The Most Popular Codeless Testing Tools in 2021
1. Katalon Studio
Katalon Studio is a complete codeless testing solution for Web, API, Mobile, and Desktop applications. Beginners can start with test automation immediately using its user-friendly interface, record, and playback, drag and drop commands. Instead of building a framework from scratch based on libraries, you can get out of the box and have Katalon Studio generate an automation framework for you.
For professional users, the rich set of built-in keywords and dual-scripting interfaces enable them to write advanced test scripts effortlessly. Thus, with Katalon Studio, you are able to extend testing capabilities, reuse in other projects, and enhance your team collaboration.
Highlight features:
*No programming skills & complex configuration required
*A mild learning curve, can be used for various types of testing
*Powerful Record and Playback to capture and convert all movements into backend codes (see Katalon Recorder)
*BDD Cucumber can convey test scenarios in natural languages, different teams can get involved in the testing process at ease
*Centralized analytics dashboard and reports
*Improve workflow, Orchestrate Tests & DevOps efficiently with Katalon TestOps
*Seamless integration with modern CI/CD tools and ALM systems such as Git, Jenkins, qTest, Jira, CircleCI,…
*Selenium lovers can leverage Smart Wait features to handle Selenium wait issues without any additional test scripts. Selenium can be easily migrated to Katalon. Users can maintain and continue to develop their existing Selenium test scripts in Katalon Studio.
*Built-in and custom keywords to transfer keywords in the test project without changing any external behaviors
Determined by more than 600 positive reviews as one of the 2020 Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choices for Software Test Automation, Katalon Studio positions themselves at the top of the codeless testing market. Moreover, now you can get their free resource about Test Automation on Katalon Academy.
Website: https://www.katalon.com
Pricing: Free — $869/year
2. Perfecto Scriptless
Perfecto Scriptless (formerly TestCraft) is an end-to-end automation testing platform for regression and continuous testing. Like any other codeless testing tool, the record-and-playback tool provides a test script with inputs coded beforehand that need to be customized later.
Tweaking some codes may break the test script. Thus, “Smart binding” in TestCraft refers to the smart element locators that can immediately capture various attributes such as IDs, position, text value, or size. They can even rebound during a run to match changes in the code. Since TestCraft merged with Perfecto, you can try out the highlight feature from both.
Highlight features:
*No extra plugins required
*Agility — Create test scenarios even before the application is ready
*Reports and analysis of every test step
*Support multiple data sets and parallel execution
*On-the-fly binding to adapt to most application changes
*Many built-in integrations including Test Management, Issue Management, Notifications & Communication
Website: https://www.perfecto.io/products/scriptless
Pricing: Commercial — Contact sales.
3. Perfecto
Perfecto is a cloud-based test automation tool for web-based and mobile applications, offering comprehensive AI analytics with error classifications to optimize the CI/CD pipeline. It also provides multiple supported devices, browsers, and OS combinations for mobile and web app testing. Within Perfecto, robust and AI-driven bindings account for 97.4% of app changes. One of them is the self-healing feature that enables test scripts to continuously run without any disruptions or maintenance required.
Highlight features:
*AI-driven test maintenance capabilities
*Smart reporting and analytics
*Debugging capabilities and test management
*Unlimited scalable execution on multiple Android devices and in parallel
*Increased test reusability
*Accelerate testing process and faster feedback between QA and developers
Website: https://www.perfecto.io/
Pricing: From $1,500/year.
4. CloudQA
CloudQA is a powerful cloud-based integrated codeless test automation platform designed to build, maintain, and execute tests against many browsers in parallel.
CloudQA gives you the equivalent power of Selenium without the sophisticated programming skills required. Recorded tests are put into maintainable modules and visualized into easily comprehensible forms. Even similar tests can be reused for regression testing, load testing, and synthetic monitoring.
Highlight features:
*High reusability for synthetic monitoring without modifying any codes
*Monitoring multiple data sets over various real-time browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, IE
*Huge capacity to maintain 1000’s of tests easily
*Support for data-driven testing
*Smart Record & Playback testing with screenshots after every step
*Schedule and run tests unattended
Website: https://cloudqa.io/
Pricing: From $3,588/year
5. Sikuli
Sikuli is a Python-based GUI test automation solution that can automate anything on the screen that has native GUI components such as toolbars, Windows dialogs, dialogue boxes, and Linux programs.
Moreover, the productive IDE in Sikuli plays as an editor in your visual scripting API to control screenshots and test the computer vision commands. However, compared to other codeless tools, Sikuli requires you to install the Java runtime as an extra plugin.
Highlight features:
*Image recognition algorithms to identify GUI elements based on images (see Extending Selenium with Image Recognition)
*Run automated tests for mobile on both iOS and Android devices
*Support various platforms including Windows, Mac, and Linux
*Use Python as a scripting language to extend the functionality of the tool (However, it can be scripted in JPython, an older version of Python)
*Not suitable for web automation tasks as it has no browser recorder
Website: http://sikuli.org/
Pricing: Open-source
6. Mabl
Mabl is a unified DevTestOps platform that makes it easy for both developers and non-developers to generate and execute automated functional UI tests faster and at scale.
Mabl can maximize the potential of your data, from user experience, visual design, to performance testing by running robust tests in minutes across all major browsers, in parallel and in the cloud without disrupting operations. Plus, reusable flows can modularize and re-add several if conditions to configure multiple data sets to run the same tests on and run simultaneously.
Highlight features:
*Mabl Trainer to track all interactions and allow adding assertions
*Reusable flows to edit any steps in the test
*Extensive data reports and insights
*Convert test output to multiple issues (such as Jira, BigQuery)
*Integrations with the CI/CD pipeline, Bamboo, Jenkins, Slack to keep pace with the deployment speed of DevOps
*Auto-heal keeps tests stable and test results secured
Website: https://www.mabl.com/
Pricing: Contact sales.
7. Applitools
Applitools automatically validates performance testing and user experience testing of your applications and websites in minutes. It covers all application platforms (Web, Mobile, and Desktop), test automation frameworks, and programming languages (Java, JavaScript, C#, Python, Ruby).
Since the new launch of Applitools Visual Grid, Applitools Servers receive DOM snapshots and analyze in parallel 30 times faster than the previous snapshot images (see Applitools testing framework).
Highlight features:
*Cross-device and browser tests
*Support multiple programming languages
*Comprehensive data reports with screenshots, baseline images and easy zoom-in on changes
*Functional feedback exchange between teams on Jira, Slack, or email
*Baseline branching to keep a separate test for each branch
Web API and merge CLI tools to allow you to merge the source and target baselines to resolve conflicts
*No inbound firewall changes or tunnel configuration required
Build functional and visual test results directly from TeamCity, Jenkins, Bamboo, HP Quality Center, Travis CI, Jira, CircleCI, and other CI systems
Website: https://applitools.com/
Pricing: Contact sales
8. Usetrace
Usetrace is a codeless automation testing tool that tirelessly automates cloud-based computers to test your applications and websites. These computers automatically repeat the traces of customers’ usage using record and playback, drag and drop interface — real-time on most used browsers.
Having Usetrace write all test scripts, your team can keep pace with the application from the dashboard, including how it is working in different browsers by diving into many traces.
Highlight features:
*Record and transform robust UI regression tests
Effective team collaboration on email, Jira, Slack, Atlassian HipChat, and FlowDock
*Monitor integral features — scheduled or on-demand
*End-to-end testing including backend, database, user experience, website performance, content, networks, and third-party testing
*Instant SMS notifications when your web tests fail
Website: https://usetrace.com/
Pricing: From $2,000/year
9. Leapwork
Leapwork is an easy-to-use codeless test automation tool with a user-friendly interface and advanced capabilities. Like any other codeless testing tool, within a few clicks, you can easily design automated test cases using the default library and predefined building blocks.
Leapwork even allows you to flexibly run tests on both local and distant environments by customizing run schedules. If any performance errors occur, Leapwork will automatically alert you in SMS. You can check live dashboards and insightful reports for better changes.
Highlight features:
*No need to modify automation flows whenever the system under test changes
*Combine automation flows into reusable components as sub-flows across test cases
*Support multiple types of applications (Web, Desktop and virtual applications)
*Support cross-browser testing and parallel executions
*Combining Center of Excellence set up to shorten the time for sharing automation flows, components, best practices and test cases across projects
*Documentation with videos and logs in audit trails
*Seamless integrations with REST API and CI/CD ecosystem to build your own integrations with third-party systems
Website: https://www.leapwork.com/
Pricing: Contact sales.
10. Ranorex
With the latest version of Ranorex 9.3 released, Ranorex is one of the best renowned GUI test automation frameworks for desktop, web-based, and mobile (native and WAP apps) testing. An impressive point of Ranorex is that its UI test execution reports are exported during test execution to reproduce bugs and maintain tests, thus reducing time to find out what and where things failed. They also comprise screenshots of those failed test cases.
Ranorex can be integrated with many technologies such as Silverlight, .NET, Winforms, Java, HTML5, Windows apps, iOS, and Android, to name but a few. However, it does not support macOS, Android web-based, and hybrid testing applications.
Highlight features:
*RanoreXPath to fully identify all types of GUI elements
*Ranorex Spy to clearly maps out GUI elements to the RanoreXPath expression
*Ranorex Recorder can capture and replay actions through an action table editor, then convert those actions into readable languages
*Comprehensive reports for quick error detection
*Ranorex Studio develops tests by completing codes, debugging, and managing test projects
*Flexible test automation interface that can easily run test suites by launching the .EXE files from the command line
*Enhancing test step reusability
*Only supports C# and VB.NET Shop languages
Website: https://www.ranorex.com/
Pricing: From $3,400/year
11. Test Architect
A codeless automation tool that targeted the extent of automation coverage & productivity by Keyword-Driven Testing. Test Architect really easy-to-use and scalable framework for Selenium. With features such as Intuitive IDE, Intelligent Out-of-the-Box Action Library, Interface Viewer, Multivariate Test Execution, Test Architect has become a friendly tool you should try.
Highlights features:
*Quickly set up and get your tests automated.
*Automate web browsers in Windows, Linux, and Mac.
*Extend Selenium WebDriver capabilities.
*Integration plugins with CI/CD/DevOps tools
*Automation analytics & test reports
*Built-in integrations to Visual Studio/TFS/Test Manager.
Website: https://www.testarchitect.com/
Pricing: Contact Sale
Conclusion
In summary, seeking the perfect codeless testing tool is still difficult among a handful of choices. Considering the advantages and disadvantages of each solution as well as your requirements, you can narrow your shortlist down based on your project status and team members’ capabilities.
All factors combined, the future of codeless automation testing tools is approaching at an exponential rate. They significantly relieve QA testers from the burden of mastering complex testing frameworks or technologies to automate tests fluently. The adoption of AI/ML takes these tools to a higher level with flexibility in changing codes, reducing flakiness, improving maintainability, and constant updates.
However, codeless doesn’t mean 100% codeless. Even though scripts are automatically created in the background, automation testers are required to have the basic coding knowledge to further customize their scripts.
What’s waiting for codeless test automation tools in 2021? Some QA professionals are viewing codeless as a preferred solution to embed into their existing DevOps cycle. Codeless testing tools would not replace automation testers completely, but shorten the pace of their jobs. The importance of codeless tools is expected to progress in 2021 and become the complementary piece of the automation testing puzzle.
References:
Top Software Test Automation Software of 2020 — Gartner Peer Insights
World Quality Report 2019–20 — Capgemini
Best Automation Testing Tools for 2021 (Top 10 reviews)
Top 15 Mobile Testing Tools for 2021 (Latest Update)
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