Seven trends in test automation that need attention

translator | Li Rui

Reviser | Sun Shujuan

In the past few decades , QA （QA） Great changes have taken place in the testing field . Test automation has evolved to accelerate software release with the highest quality .

Test automation has always been a compelling trend , Because it reduces the amount of work required for testing . The field of test automation is in the field of quality assurance （QA） The field is becoming more and more important . By enhancing quality assurance procedures and expanding software development productivity , It has proved to be a wise game changer . Besides , With the help of Scrum、DevOps、 Concepts such as agile and continuous delivery , QA （QA） Testing has reached a level of widespread adoption . The rapid growth of technology and test automation services has led to the integration of automation and artificial intelligence , This concept is called intelligent automation .

Over the past year, people have witnessed the impact of the COVID-19 , Everything is beginning to turn into a digital environment . The epidemic has seriously affected the software testing strategy , Force quality assurance （QA） Experts become more agile , And accomplish the extra tasks with less resources . However 2022 year , A large number of enterprises have to turn to full digitalization , The need for test automation has been raised to a new level . More and more enterprises are adapting to the new test automation strategy , And the pressure to adopt the most modern automation technologies and implement them is great .

Test automation has never been a stagnant field ： Continuous innovation 、 Rapid growth and wider acceptance have been integrated into it . But in 2022 year , It will grow faster than ever .

During the spread of COVID-19 , Suppliers operating in the market are focusing on Automation IT Operating to recover from this crisis . As the business of the enterprise begins to recover , Start with cognitive and artificial intelligence （AI） And robot process automation (RPA) More investment in .

As businesses expand their business stability programs and take on new risks , Plus the impact of the epidemic , Make automation and testing imperative . for example ,2020 year 5 month ,IBM The company announced a series of new solutions centered on artificial intelligence , Designed to help enterprises automate their infrastructure , So as to be more flexible to deal with upcoming interruptions , And lower total cost of ownership .

Some statistics ：

• stay 2021 to 2026 During the forecast period of , The global test automation market is expected to 14.2% Compound annual growth rate of （CAGR） growth . The driver of the test automation market is the growing demand for test process and solution Automation , To achieve a perfect customer experience , And quality assurance （QA） The demand for cutting-edge AI centric technologies in the environment is growing .
• 2019 year 12 month , American software developers Compuware A global survey conducted by the company shows that , Most enterprises believe that manual testing is the main obstacle to enterprise success .90% The above respondents believe that test automation is the most critical factor to promote innovation . The latest survey also shows that , Only 7% The enterprise of is automating the test on the mainframe , This shows that test automation has a huge market prospect .
• according to IDC Company research , To 2026 year ,40% The world 2000 strong （G2000） Will automate intelligence in information synthesis 、 Double the use of communication and knowledge retention , Fill the space of expertise from data to insight into the life cycle .
• Proven market research shows that , The market scale of intelligent process automation is 2020 The year is estimated to be 85.2 Billion dollars , Expect to 2028 The years will reach 216.3 Billion dollars , from 2021 Year to 2028 The compound annual growth rate in is 12.37%.
• according to IBM The company recently released a report called “ The future of automation and work ” The report of ,79% Executives who are expanding intelligent automation hope their company's revenue will grow in the next three to four years .
• according to Marketsandmarkets. The company's investigation , To 2026 year , The global test automation market is expected to grow from 2021 Year of 207 Billion dollars to 499 Billion dollars , The compound annual growth rate is expected to be 19.2%. Thanks to the rapid adoption of most modern technologies , The test automation market is on the rise .

This article will share seven key trends in Test Automation .

1. be based on JavaScript Test automation tools will proliferate

at present , One of the most prominent trends is based on JavaScript The addition of testing tools , for example Cypress、Jest、Playwright and Puppeteer. Because there are a lot of front ends Web Development is all about JavaScript In the , And using JavaScript When writing code , It's also easier to JavaScript Test the code in . Another factor is tight integration between test code and application code , Can perform such as in JavaScript Writing component tests or unit tests in . then , Whenever it is found that a test gap cannot be completed using any of these strategies , Can be used such as Cypress System testing and other tools , This is a JavaScript Another additional tool in the repository .

2. No code test automation

Artificial intelligence technology and visual modeling have promoted the development of this technology , Make the formation of test cases without coding background . therefore , QA （QA） Experts do not need to put core coding understanding in test cases and test case scenarios . This codeless test automation will also help minimize the running time of duplicate problems . This is a 2022 One of the important trends in . Other features of this trend include ：

• Fault free review ： Careful examination of test cases and minor changes will be easier than editing and debugging lengthy programs .
• Lower learning curve ： Complex knowledge is not important for generating test scenarios and cases , Therefore, the user will be familiar with the working mode in a short time . This will also help save resources , Because there is no need to recruit developers just for coding skills .
• Higher efficiency ： Since practice does not involve complex grammar , So the error will be smaller , Maintenance is also easy . therefore , More effective in general .

3. The adoption rate of artificial intelligence and machine learning is increasing

The transformation of test automation is mainly driven by artificial intelligence and machine learning . Artificial intelligence in quality assurance （QA） More and more important in testing , Because it shortens the test life cycle . It is used to test 、 Counting function test 、 test automation 、 All aspects of performance testing and regression testing . Besides , AI will help design the whole process from scratch , Without human supervision . Besides , Artificial intelligence has the characteristic of saving time .

It also helps to update active test cases and eliminate redundant test cases , This makes the process faster . Artificial intelligence and machine learning also contribute to predictive analysis , This enables them to identify potential faults that may affect the process . They allow for enhanced error management and tracing . Complex systems and growing user needs create the need for complex test applications . Artificial intelligence and machine learning are increasingly used for this purpose . These techniques will help reduce the number of errors , And make them easier to detect and correct .

Prospects for development ：

• Ability to use artificial intelligence to automatically reduce errors and identify areas to be tested .
• Visual tests ： Ability to test the look and feel of an application .
• The ability to distinguish between the programs under test .

With the growth and significant benefits of integrating AI into software testing , The demand for this technology has been rising . for example ,2020 year 4 month , Visual AI test automation provider Applitools The company released an industry report , It is pointed out that visual artificial intelligence is helpful to WebdriverIO、Cypress and Selenium And other open source quality assurance （QA） Test the impact of framework performance . The influence of visual artificial intelligence on test automation shows that , The test stability is improved 4.6 times , Test code efficiency is improved 5.9 times , The encoding speed is improved 5.8 times .

This is the market scale of test automation that has been achieved worldwide 14% The reasons for the above compound annual growth rate , In the coming decades, the market scale will reach 350 Billion dollars . Besides , With the help of AI , The power of automation will bring more growth prospects . Due to the number of variables and the time required to execute the comprehensive test suite , Manual testing is no longer an ideal choice .

4. increase RPA Adoption and acceptance of

Robot process automation (RPA) The adoption rate of is increasing . According to the research organization Gartner Data released by the company ,2020 year ,RPA Once again, it has become the fastest growing part of the enterprise software market , growth 38.9%, Revenues 19 Billion dollars . Its scale expansion is not only driven by widespread adoption , It is also driven by adoption within the enterprise . for example , By 2021 year 9 month ,UiPath Shows that the net dollar based retention rate is 144%, This means that consumers' consumption in the previous year has increased 44%.RPA Leading in user interface automation , This is critical for automated processes . Automation of the user interface is difficult to achieve , That's why others have to get involved .

senior RPA The platform integrates key enterprise functions , For example, governance without code / Low code build environment , And for scalability and “ Democratization ” Support for .RPA The platform will be able to natively handle a large number of use cases , So as to expand the creativity of developers . for example , Enable them to handle long-running programs that require richer user interfaces or higher-level AI and machine learning projects .RPA The platform also focuses on using updated tools and shortcuts to access low code application platforms ( LCAP ) Neighborhood , To help developers build applications and automate . Enterprises can expect them to invest in interoperability and simple integration with different automation technologies . Enterprises can continue to use their latest and most modern technologies —— All in all ,RPA The platform provides governance and management .

RPA It also allows software robots to repeat human actions and perform tasks more effectively . Almost every industry is using this technology , For example, finance 、 Bank 、 insurance 、 Telecommunications and healthcare .RPA Has been helping test automation service providers to shorten time to market 、 Improve operational efficiency and ensure a high level of security . therefore , Robot process automation is an important part of intelligent automation , It is expected that in the next few decades , The use of robotic process automation will further increase .

5. Containerization and cloud generation are non SaaS and SaaS Standards for delivery

When selecting an automation platform , The market demands more flexibility and less specific model locking . This, in turn, forces test automation service providers to design a system that can operate with minimal fluctuations and interruptions SaaS（ Software as a service ） Deliver to local platforms , And be able to transition to the latest delivery mode with low barriers . For some automation technology companies , This means accepting cloud native architectures that utilize microservices and containerization .

These modern technologies enable them to provide similar capabilities and functions , No matter where or how customers want to run their platform . If they choose to transition to a different delivery model in the future , Customers will not have to acquire new skills or significantly change their operating environment and procedures . Local customers gain greater timeliness in upgrading or extending their installations 、 Flexibility and convenience .

Expect to see more innovations in the development and packaging of the platform . Innovation will focus on creating advantages , For example, further reduce installation 、 The amount of work and skills required to process and upgrade the platform , And lower total cost of ownership for each delivery model （TCO）.

6. The adoption rate of cooperative robots is increasing

Cooperative robots （Cobot） It is a robot designed to share the workplace and interact with people . From carrying heavy objects in the warehouse to skillfully removing obstacles on the assembly line , These cooperative robots can help workers in intelligent factories . These robots have provided great help to small and medium-sized companies , Because unlike large robots , They don't need large floor space and dedicated personnel to help program and manage them . Most industries are rapidly adopting robots to automate repetitive tasks , Solve the shortage of labor resources 、 Maintain quality and other issues . In the coming decades , It is expected that the acceptance rate of robots in various industries will be significantly improved .

7. Low code / No code automation to expand appeal

There is no code / The trend of low code automation is receiving rapid attention , It is expected to grow further in the next few decades . There is no code / Low code automation platforms are software programs that require little understanding of coding . They provide pre designed workflow templates and accessible drag and drop interfaces , To customize the workflow that people can use without back-end computer programming knowledge . Due to various incentives for enterprises , For example, faster scalability and time to market 、 Self service ability, etc , Such platforms are gaining additional attention .

8. The future development of test automation

Test automation is the key to creating an effective test environment . By using advanced technologies in cognitive Automation （ML、AI、BPM、RPA etc. ）, Enterprises can ensure operational efficiency 、 Process efficiency , Save a lot of cost and time , And provide a better experience for employees and customers . according to 《2020～2021 World quality report 》, To gain the advantage of test automation , Enterprises must make full use of more intelligent tools .

In the coming decades , Many experts and analysts predict that intelligent automation will make breakthroughs in major industries . People believe that , The adoption rate of high technology and intelligent automation will further increase , Because this is a way forward for companies seeking to accelerate the path of digital transformation and automation to become independent enterprises .

Link to the original text ：https://dzone.com/articles/top-7-automated-testing-trends