Agile projects need to deliver more value to their customers faster than ever, all while being able to respond to change as much as possible.
This process is all about not losing quality and not spending more money than expected. Automation is key to addressing this situation, but we need to consider that such efforts need a greater investment of time and resources.
We have Agile teams that are cross-functional, with different roles and skill sets. If we rely only on a few people with the required skills to code and run the tests, we can end up with a slower speed to release. An unfortunate bottleneck. So, there is an urgent need for automation solutions to be accessible to people with low or no coding abilities.
This is where No-Code tools can support the team's automation process. People with no coding experience can create, run, and maintain the tests, as well as contribute to the administration and management of the test suites.
What Does No-Code Mean?
Low-Code/No-Code (LCNC) or No-Code refers to a programming approach that does not entail coding or knowledge of programming languages but instead relies on Graphical User Interface (GUI) tools, enabling us to create applications that can sync with third-party Application Program Interfaces (API).
There are No-Code solutions for everything, including websites, web apps, mobile apps, automation, forms, payments, databases, analytics, community management, email marketing, interactive content, and even chatbots.
For example, we can speed up the creation of User Interface (UI) tests by recording a user flow, so that complicated test cases get documented in a minute. If the situation requires it, we can also include actual coding in the test scenario.
These No-Code testing scenarios should follow the same principles as code automation tests. We need to create small tests, avoid test duplication, and standardize variable naming conventions (meaningful names). And to ensure the success of the No-Code tools, we need to involve an automation expert in the design of the testing architecture.
Making a Good Fit with No-Code
When determining if No-Code tools are suitable for our project, we need to consider the advantages and disadvantages, as well as key value-added features such as reusability, scalability, cross-platform accessibility, the ability to add personalized code and the ability to record the interface. Note that like all services, these tools have a pricing model, so make sure they are free, custom, and/or enterprise-class.
Advantages
- Low user technical skill level
- May cover up to 80% of use cases, depending on the tool's features
- Reduces time and cost
- Decreasing dependence on automation engineers
- Testers can provide more test coverage
Disadvantages
- Reduced flexibility; may not handle challenging, complex use cases (the other 20%)
- None or low customization
- Learning curve
- Built on top of the code
Key Takeaways
Based on the future of Low-Code reports, we will keep seeing usage of these tools but for very specific business needs, so they will not completely replace traditional application development yet.
Using No-Code tools for automation does not mean we are not testing anymore; we still need to test our flows and perform configuration reviews. Do not forget that for complex or sophisticated user scenarios or high-maintenance tests, No-Code might not be the best way to go. It is always crucial to have a conscious and well-deliberate analysis done to decide the most appropriate tools to use on our projects. Then, using a mix of LCNC and traditional automation will get us closer to maximizing the speed and quality of the software delivered to our end users.
References
- Low-code and No-code development platforms (2021, March). TechTarget by Mary K. Pratt. https://www.techtarget.com/searchsoftwarequality/definition/low-code-no-code-development-platform The Future of No-Code: 8 Fascinating Predictions & How Will It Impact Our Lives. (2022, September 15). Ship With No-Code by Aastha Kochar. https://www.shno.co/blog/future-of-no-code
- Low Code vs. No Code Testing Explained. Sauce Labs by Saar Saffa (2022, March 16). Encora. https://saucelabs.com/blog/low-code-vs-no-code-testing
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Author Bio
- Artemisa Yescas
- Product Manager & Agile Quality Trainer
- Master’s in computer science
- 13 years of software development experience
- Preferred technologies and tools: Python & Postman.
- Interests: Agile and team integration topics.
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/artemisayescasengler/
Encora’s Site Bio:
Artemisa Yescas is a Product Owner and Quality Assurance Lead at Encore. With more than 13 years of software development and quality engineering experience, she enjoys discovering new ways in which she can support not only the users of the product to become more successful, but also using her cross-functional skills to assist other teams within and beyond the company.
She is especially motivated in building great quality products that deliver value-add to our clients and customers. Artemisa is a fierce promoter of continuous improvement and is an enthusiastic mentor in her software areas of expertise. She is responsible for the certification of internal and external key stakeholders in Agile methodology and is Encora’s Agile learning and development coach.
Artemisa also contributes to the growth and development of internal Product Managers as well the development of the Product Management Transition Program for fellow Encorians.
Artemisa holds an MSc. in Computer Science from Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico.
