Code-based or Codeless Test Automation: Which One to Choose?
Achieving ‘quality at speed’ is what every organization strives for. In order to do so, various testing techniques are incorporated to streamline the testing process and improve efficiency. The increasing competition and the need to speed up the app delivery has created immense pressure on the organizations to address the quality challenges, this scenario has raised the need for automation in testing.
Testing has allowed organizations to identify any discrepancy in the process and gives scope to fix them before releasing them in the market. Automating testing was much required to remove the higher time duration taken by manual testing and resolve the discrepancies arising due to human errors. Automation in testing has evolved from code-based to codeless automation to add convenience to the entire app testing process, reduce time & cost, improve efficiency, and increase ROI. Let us understand how both code-based and codeless automation can add value to businesses, what are the major differences, and which one you should choose.
Code-based Test Automation
Code-based testing is a partially automated process which involves a certain level of human intervention. Here, the tester is required to create the tests and the execution part is automated. The whole purpose of the process is to reduce the execution time and errors which were challenging to manage when the process was conducted manually.
As code-based testing is not completely automated, it may be lesser accurate than the completely automated testing processes. However, code-based testing is still preferred by many organizations today as they don’t want to shift to a completely automated process and rely on human intervention to regulate the process.
Though code-based testing doesn’t completely simplify or ease the process, it still reduces the challenges faced during manual testing and offers better customization and flexibility in testing as the codes are personally written by the testers. Code-based testing requires skilled testers with good coding/ programming knowledge. A person with good programming knowledge will increase the credibility of the process as the team has a dedicated person to check the flow.
In short, we can infer that code-based testing is a reliable approach that eases the tedious manual testing process; however, its complexity and a larger extent of human intervention demand for a more advanced version that can reduce the process complexity and human errors.
Codeless Test Automation
Codeless test automation as the name suggests doesn’t involve writing of codes. Codeless automation doesn’t require coding knowledge and can be performed even by non-technical personnel, making it even more preferable. As the human intervention is removed for test creation and execution, human errors are significantly removed creating quality apps. Here, as the process is completely automated, time and cost are also reduced drastically.
Codeless test automation is a simple, easy, and industry-ready solution, it works on reduced skill dependency and allows access from anywhere, anytime. The complexities of repetitive tasks and the burden of frequent regressions can be easily addressed with codeless automation solutions, and its affordability is a cherry on the cake.
One of the reasons why codeless testing stands predominant compared to the other methods is that testing can be started as soon as UI is ready, and testing can begin alongside development supporting advanced agile methodologies.
Which one to choose?
Choosing the right testing technique is important as it is linked to the quality of the application, and quality is directly linked to user experience. Hence, organizations should make choices based on their legacy system, budget, skills, and other business requirements.
Code-based testing can be used by organizations that do not wish to completely eliminate human intervention yet want to speed up the manual process. Organizations with skilled workforce and high budget can go for code-based testing option.
Codeless is for organizations that are striving to achieve quality at speed. Codeless can be the best choice for all kinds of organizations whether larger firms or start-ups, as it doesn’t require a high budget or skills yet offer efficient and reliable results quickly.
Hence, the choice can be made based on individual preferences and requirements. There is no rigid rule as to which method to choose, it all depends on what your outcomes are and are your audience satisfied, which is subject to further changes.
