Introduction
This blog post is an attempt to address the question of whether model-based testing (MBT) or also called Test Design Automation (TDA) has a bright future in the testing industry. Well, before that, this blog acknowledges that readers have some background knowledge in the field of software testing. The TDA extensively considers the modeling approach which forms an important aspect of present-day test automation. Currently, it is observed that this approach is being used vastly because it leads to high-quality software delivery in the global software industry. You will learn about the many uses of MBT/TDA in this blog, which may exponentially grow as its demand rises across all sectors of the global market.
Current Testing Scenario
Micro businesses in the global market, which include startups to major multinational corporations, are all relying on software programmes that not only make their work processes efficient but also increase productivity and have faster accessibility with reduced time to market. These software programmes now need to be tested for such demands to ensure improved quality utilization over time.
Earlier, software testing was predominantly based on manual efforts. The processes used by software testers were complicated, tiresome, and time-consuming, and they were also found to be more prone to errors and often delayed delivery. In order to overcome these drawbacks of manual testing and decrease human error, the automation process was implemented in the testing process. However, the need for coding expertise across a variety of platforms had been a crucial requirement and necessity. As a result, many testers find coding knowledge challenging, particularly when complex applications need to be tested which enclose different coding languages. The testers’ jobs turned out to be challenging and they were facing difficulty to gain actual domain knowledge in a minimum period and have a good grip on their testing skills for quality software delivery.
That is when the concept of Model-based testing or Test Design automation was introduced.
How Model-Based Testing or Test Design Automation fits
ATD or MBT is a systematical and graphical representation of the application workflow which acts as a single source of truth for the test cases. Depending on the structure and behavior of your product, MBT can help you create test cases automatically. With the implementation of MBT/TDA, testers can adopt Agile processes effectively. Moreover, with the Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, the MBT/TDA process has been leveraged significantly providing more power to users to use the modeling approach effectively. The concepts of Agile and AI in MBT/TDA help the user to generate test cases faster, with full coverage and the ability to generate test cases of specific requirements/aspects of an application. This can be observed and experienced with the latest version of Conformiq Creator, which uses a modeling approach and generates test cases of applications under test as per specific requirements in a particular sprint or Waterfall release.
The MBT/TDA provides ease of understanding the complexity and requirements of testing the application under test. The modeling approach makes sure that no code is used in the testing process thereby helping those users as well who have no coding knowledge, to carry out the testing of applications under test with ease. The MBT/TDA provides testers with the experience of easier testing and a more enjoyable testing environment. As MBT/TDA includes graphical representation, it makes test analysis more comprehensible. The graphical representation of test coverage across the model helps testers, business analysts, and developers interpret the application or particular feature of the application under test in a better way, also about the way test design is carried out, and the bug identification. Therefore, these aspects lead to an increase in the scope of MBT/TDA to be employed as testing means to test various software applications (Product, Web, e-commerce application, etc) across all domains of global industries and organizations.
Additionally, MBT can help you identify potential aspects of your product that would need to be updated or modified for a new market. This helps with the seamless transition if you intend to either market your product globally or have teams contributing globally, i.e, MBT/TDA provides the scope to quickly modify the tests into new requirement changes and as a result, you don’t need to manually create new test cases for added or modified requirements. Let’s consider an example of Behavior Driven Development, where with mere specifications, the users can simulate the entire application screen generating sets of optimum tests which can be modified as the specifications are added. This approach generally has the potential to assist you to save time and money. By creating test scenarios and identifying potential areas of change automatically, MBT can help ensure a smooth transition.
How Model-Based Testing Evolves in the Future
The evolution of Model Based Testing is inevitable but only very few organizations are leveraging the real essence. At Conformiq, we believe that model-based testing will continue to be used because it is a reliable and successful way of testing software. Conformiq employs the system modeling approach to provide solutions to various testing issues and delivers quality software. Conformiq’s modeling approach provides a graphical representation which supports users to test the application/part of the application and also, to test & analyze an abstract of the application by implementing the standards and principles of the Behavioral Data Driven (BDD) concept. This forms the significance of MBT as it gets employed prior to the development stage which leads to the efficient building of the software application as required. Conformiq stands to be an effective example of the evolution of MBT/TDA by leveraging it with AI technology and providing options to test the applications as per specific agile requirements with its test design configuration options which can be observed in the latest version of Conformiq’s test design tool, Creator.
Conclusion/Summary
The high-level language, Gherkin-BDD concepts, backend-AI tech, and the need for a no-code testing environment form the supporting aspects of MBT/TDA, thereby uplifting the usage of MBT/TDA. Moreover, Visual graphical notations and simple universal language have become important requirements in all domains of the market and its increasing demand calls for such MBT/TDA processes to be implemented in the software testing domain as well to provide faster, highly efficient, easy-to-interpret, easier hands-on experience for both technical and business users, and higher quality system applications. In the past, testing was viewed as a necessary evil; testers understood its need but did not view it as enjoyable. Model-based testing completely altered that viewpoint. Testing became more efficient and fun as a result. The requirement for fast and effective testing techniques will only increase as the software industry expands. Model-based testing is the ideal answer to this problem and will stay an important resource for testers all around the world.