UI Automation - Minimal Programming experience

Questions
#1

Hello all,

I’m wondering is there a UI Automation tool out there that would be a good start for me. I am trying to get into some UI Automation. I have read about lots of tools etc but i am unsure what one would be good for me. I am hoping someone has been in the same position as me and has found a tool they love.

Manual/Exploratory tester for many years.
Minimal Programming Experience.
Looking for UI automation tool for testing Web applications.

Hopefully such a thing exists and not everything is geared towards someone with Programming Skills. :slight_smile:

Thanks in advance.
Graeme

3 Likes
#2

Hey Greame,

Katalon Studio is fantastic for getting started,

Link https://www.katalon.com/

There’s also loads of learning resources online,

Kieran

1 Like
#3

Hi Graeme,

you mentioned “minimal programming experience” - are you looking for a tool for non-programmers (maybe with a scripting option) or rather an interface for using in a real IDE for example MS Visual Studio?

Regards
Bjoern

1 Like
#4

I guess I am looking for a tool for non-programmers if such a thing exists that is useful.

#5

Hi Graeme,

there a many tools for that. Take a look: https://medium.com/@briananderson2209/best-automation-testing-tools-for-2018-top-10-reviews-8a4a19f664d2

I’m a big fan of coding UI tests and testenvironments. It’s worth a try if you’d like to learn how to code.

KInd regards
Bjoern

#6

Hi Graeme.
Codeless automation tools do come up as a topic often, and as a coder- turned- tester, I have the advantage of having helped a few manual testers learn to code. Why? It’s much more efficient and all of the codeless tools out there are not only expensive but they often fail to scale beyond a few dozen test cases/screens. My own experience got painful once I hit around 100 test cases in a certain popular tool that advertised being codeless.

Once you encounter a need to “re-use”, these codeless tools start to require a load of organizational work on your part. You end up with many little “recordings” and things like structuring how you proceed gets critical. And if all that ever changes in your app is the login screen, all of your recordings can become firewood if you did not use the codeless tool correctly. I’m not saying they don’t work, just that they are not cheap, and I’m not talking just money. But do get some budget commitment early and allow for 2 users of the tool in your budget estimate.

Please do a google of these forums to pull out gems from old threads. Codeless automation tools are a great way to learn about test automation though, so not a bad thing too look at using on a small scale if you only want 10 or so test cases as smoke tests. Your mileage will also improve if your developer team do step in and assist you though.

3 Likes
#7

Definitely check out Automai’s RPA solution. It requires no programming at all. It generates an automation script automatically while you click through the applications in your process. Then you can edit or add rules to the script with their comprehensive selection of regular actions that anyone can understand. It is part of a suite so your scripts can then be used for testing the application when needed.

#8

Hey Graeme,

I’d recommend Katalon Recorder to start off,

It’s a free chrome extension that allows you to record test cases and export scripts for editing - really easy to use and a great free tool!

1 Like
#9

@graemehall check out Testim.io

It’s a easy recording tool that has a great support team and tutorials.

What makes it more powerful than most UI automation tools is the fact you can add in code later to do some really nice things and easily integrates into build tools like Jenkins.

As a starter tool it is also great for taking my manual testers to their first steps of automation.

1 Like
#10

As others have mentioned, codeless tools sound great but often fail to live up to expectations.

I’d go with Selenium IDE to get a basic script recorded and then transition into WebDriver at code level.

The IDE takes a lot of the scary side away and you can quite quickly pick up the syntax to start developing your own scripts.

2 Likes
#11

Just as everyone else mentioned, there are many tools out there to help people with minimal or no coding skills to automate UI tests. The ones already mentioned here are great and they’re an excellent place to start.

I just wrote about another one of these tools, called TestCafe Studio. The article is more about comparing it to writing your own tests with code. But it also serves as an introduction and will give you an idea on what to expect from these kinds of tools that I think you will find useful: https://dev-tester.com/testcafe-studio-is-it-better-than-writing-your-own-tests/

1 Like
#12

Personally I feel using code to test code is inherently suboptimal and like fighting a lost battle.

As for your question - I have to yet find a good UI Automation recording solution.
That is also the reason I am building one. :crossed_fingers:

2 Likes
#13

Hey Graeme, I’m building such a tool for web UI testing, it’s currently in private beta, I would be more than happy to send you an invite to try it out :slight_smile: - https://diffhub.com

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#14

Hi Graeme,

I was in the same position years ago as you describe, testers with no coding experience and the need of test automation.

The tool you need depends on what type of UI you need to test automatically. For example web or Windows-application. I needed to automate the tests on a Windows application and found Ranorex. This tool is easy to use without coding experience.
If you’re going to automate tests for WEB-UI, there are a lot of tools, free and not free.

Last year I discovered Robot Framework, this (free) tool can almost automate every test on all UI’s. But you need to have some coding experiences, not much though.

As others already mentioned, it’s worth a try to learn to code. With the basics there is a whole new world to discover with automated testing.

Kind regards,
Iwan

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#15

Thanks for all the information folks. I will try and find the time to look into the recommendations.

I am taking a couple of courses on Code Academy to help me understand coding more.

Cheers
Graeme

3 Likes
#16

Testim just increased their Community (Free) plan to include 1000 monthly runs. see at testim.io/pricing

3 Likes
#17

I think you should give a try to LambdaTest tool for manual testing. They offer 2000+ browsers & OS to test on, they also have a free plan to explore. Best of luck. https://www.lambdatest.com/