Software testing is one of the most crucial stages in software development, but things have been changing a lot in the past few years, and this is why people are seeking a better and easier option, but what are these, and how could it impact software testing?
Talking about the more accessible options, low-code development has grown and expanded into something big in the current scenario, but why is it so, and how does low-code development impact software testing?
We’ll look after all these questions later in the article; in addition to that, we’ll also look after some other aspects of low-code development like testing application (both manual and automated), in addition to Automated API testing, the value of low-code testing, advantages of low-code tests over the traditional framework and the advantages of low code testing.
But before we dig a bit deeper into the things that are mentioned above, let’s first give a quick look at what is low-code development?
So, let’s get started!!
What is Low-Code Development?
Low-Code Development is an approach to completing different development operations, including complete UI, integrations, logic, and data management. Think of this as a process like building a website using the drag and drop option; this includes different aspects, which will be discussed later in the article.
In simple words, low-code development is an approach (visual) in software development that can be used in order to deliver better results to different aspects such as delivery time, optimization, and improving the delivery time. The thing that makes Low-Code development a widespread and growing approach in the current scenario is its easy-to-use graphical approach. In addition to all this, another major factor is its time consumption which is pretty low as compared to what’s already available in the software development ecosystem.
Since you now have an idea of what low-code development is, it’s time to get along with another critical section which is the advantages of using low-code development and what are the different parameters which are influenced by low-code testing?
How Does Low-Code Development Impact Software Testing?
Well, you might have already got an idea of what makes Low-code development a good-to-go option for software testing, but let’s take a deeper dive into what are the different areas that are covered under low-code development.
Economical: One of the primary reasons that make Low-code development a better choice for software testing is its cost efficiency; this can turn out to be a great asset for companies that might not need a large team of developers for creating and running tests. Another major factor that makes low code development a good-to-go option is its accessibility to low-code tools; this, as a result, can help in a number of things that involve the allowance of non-tech users to create and perform tests resulting in saving time and resources.
Faster Delivery: The second major aspect is faster delivery, as the use of low-code tools can help in making testing more efficient and faster. Basically, all this is a result of GUI; the use of a graphical interface can help in several factors, as mentioned earlier. As a result, you can get tests done and adapted faster as compared to traditional testing.
Talking about the delivery, another major factor that makes low-code testing better is the acceleration process; the efficiency involved can help in allowing the product to reach the audience faster.
Collabs: Another crucial factor that is worth mentioning here is the encouragement of collaboration between two important parts of the development process, which include subject matter experts and QA teams. The major reason for this being possible is the graphical user interface, as this can be used in order to mix up the technical and non-tech teams, delivering better teamwork.
Now after getting done with some of the important areas that might be impacted by Low-Code development, its time to get along with the advantages of low-code tests over the traditional framework.
Why choose Low-Code Tests Over Traditional Framework?
It’s a bit obvious that things have changed quite a bit as compared to what we had a few years ago, but what makes this process better? Well, the traditional automation was made in order to validate the application coding, but things have changed a bit as per the current scenario. The year 2020 introduced some of the low-code solutions, including machine learning, data analytics, and other advanced tech, which resulted in a reduction in test maintenance and test rigidity. If you are looking for some of the best tools, let’s have a summarized edition of what are some of the differences between low code development and traditional development.
| Low Code Development | Traditional Development |
| LC Development uses GUI (graphical user interface) | Traditional development uses manual coding. |
| Does not require a lot of knowledge as things are more bent towards visual modeling. | Web framework and programming languages for hard-code web applications. |
| Limited customization | Customization as per the need |
| Low code apps are fast in terms of deployment, but only for supported platforms. | Traditional development is free for deployment towards any platform (not limited). |
| Easy to maintain as compared to traditional development. | Tough to regularly update and maintain. |
Since we are now all done with the comparison between Low Code Development and Traditional development, let’s take a look at some of the best software testing approaches in low-code application development environments.
Testing Approach in the Low-Code Application Development Environment
You might be familiar with the approach of how efficient software development can shorten the hassle and might lead to getting desired end product in a limited time period.
Basically, the testing approach is categorized into two different software testing approaches, which involve manual testing and automated testing, so let’s take a look around some of the aspects like speed, reliability, and quality.
| Factor | Manual Testing | Automated Testing |
| Reliability | Since the process is manual, there are some chances of getting errors. | Looks for application stability, making it more consistent and accurate as compared to manual testing |
| Speed | Manual testing uses human force for testing, therefore working as per the human pace. | The Quality Assurance team can repeat the testing (automation), making it a good-to-go option for development. |
| Quality | Used for exploratory and usability tests | Approach towards complex test cases, therefore improving the speed and quality. |
Advantages of Low-Code Testing
You might have already got an idea of what makes Low-code testing a better option; in addition to that, you might have an idea about different testing options, but Low-code testing has got more to offer. Low-code tools basically allow users to create tests without needing code; well, this is one of the major reasons why Low-Code testing has been a popular choice among technical as well non-technical users.
If talking about some of the primary advantages, you might have already got an idea of how low-code testing can help technical and non-technical users; well, there is more than that, if we look after more of the technical aspects, Low-Code testing can help in Efficient test creation and with reduced IT bottleneck.
| Reduced IT bottlenecks | Efficient Test Creation |
| Low code testing can help build and run tests while reducing the backlogs that the team might be encountering. | Low code solutions can also help in saving hours of human efforts that one might be dealing with. |
In addition to all this, one of the major benefits that can be delivered using Low-code testing is the expanded coverage of testing, since the testing process is now a bit decent for both technical and non-technical users, this, as a result, gives maximized test coverage in addition to reducing the risk for application delivery.
Another major issue that one might get along with is the end-to-end testing; as I have already mentioned earlier that low-code development can help in various aspects such as UI, data logic, integration, and much more. The end-to-end testing help in giving the testing process a look from a user’s perspective, which as a result can help in verifying the information flow between different applications, marketing platforms, firewalls, and much more.
Since we are already looking forward to making things easy for the testing and software development, there is something else that can be considered while developing and testing of software, this basically includes the Automated API testing, and this helps in the meeting of the clients’ expectation in terms of functionality, reliability, security and performance; therefore let’s take a look at some of the tools and features that can be extracted using the automated API testing.
Automated API testing
As I have already mentioned, API testing can be considered as one of the helpful ways of making things great from a client’s perspective. In simple words, API testing can be considered as a type of testing that involves the program interfaces directly, meanwhile also looking forward to the integration part if the things have matched as per the client need in terms of functionality, performance and security. The API exchanges the data between different software systems. The reason why I mentioned API testing over here is the benefits that it serves, so let’s take a look at them:
- Saving Time with Early Testing: One of the main reasons why API testing plays an important role in its early process as the Quality Assurance team can use API testing before getting on the testing at GUI; as a result, it can help in getting feedback earlier as you might be analyzed and track down any bugs or errors that you might encounter later. Getting known to problems earlier can help get earlier feedback, therefore saving time using early testing.
- Impact on the release time: As I already mentioned earlier, automated API testing can be an excellent way of making things work along with different things, which includes saving time as well. The API testing can save around 8 hours as compared to UI testing, which as a result, can help in reducing the overall release time.
- Use of Programming Languages: Another major factor for API being a better option is the use of programming language; since the API testing uses XML and JSON format, it can be considered that developers can use almost any language for API testing.
In addition to all this, Automated API testing includes several types of additional automated testing, which include penetration testing, security testing and load testing.
| Security Testing | Penetration Testing | Load Testing |
| Looking for any external threats, the security testing also includes some additional steps which involve user right management, authorization validation and the design of access control (API). | Penetration testing basically involves looking after the authentication and authorization bypasses, the penetration testing basically looks after how a certain API function can be exploited while getting along with the authorization and authentication. | Load testing can be an excellent way of minimizing the performance risks that the software/application might encounter in the later steps. This as a result can help in identifying the bottlenecks in the earlier stages before they reach the production environment, making things more efficient in the overall process. |
As a bottom line, it can be said that low-code development can help in reducing the need for some parameters which are included in software testing. Low code development can be an excellent way of making things work in an efficient manner while working along with limited resources. In addition to all this, it is worth mentioning that low-code testing and development can be beneficial in making work pretty good for both technical and non-technical users.