AscentialTest recognizes application elements regardless of complexity without coding hacks or reliance on fragile OCR
Why it’s Important
Object recognition is the foundation of GUI test automation. Object-action based tests rely on stable definitions of all application elements especially complex tables and grids.
How We Address It
The patented AscentialTest Snapshot displays a document-object-model that enables stable recognition of all application elements regardless of their relative position in the object hierarchy.
How Others Do It
Other tools recognize each object by its full path in the object hierarchy. Future changes in the target application GUI will break object definitions requiring changes to path/locator to resolve recognition problems.
Why Our Approach is Better
Changes in object hierarchy in the future have no impact on object recognition whatsoever.
Creating tests with our drag & drop editors is faster and more efficient than recording or scripting
Why it’s Important
Testing productivity is about time, cost and level of effort to develop and maintain tests utilizing the skills of the existing test team.
How We Address It
The patented AscentialTest snapshot provides a way to generate object definitions and object-actions by dragging and dropping. The AscentialTest UI is designed so that project components are within easy reach to enable drag & drop to build tests from reusable steps, to bind test data to tests and to bind tests to test plans.
How Others Do It
Tools that rely on recorders to generate object-actions look great in a demo but when you actually try to use one, you find out that the recording requires a lot of time-consuming editing, requiring a long chain of user actions to select values from dialogs loaded with text fields and dropdowns. Other test solutions that rely on scripting require special skill sets and long learning curves.
Why Our Approach is Better
Building test automation through Drag & Drop reduces the learning curve, does not require a specialized skill set and provides the fastest, most efficient way to build robust automated tests.
Video will show D&D quickly through the entire process of defining objects, creating a step and parameterizing it, building test, binding a data table, binding to a plan and building a test set.
Stop creating test frameworks and focus on your testing
Why it’s Important
Time should be focused on building tests that validate the target application, not on test frameworks which can take weeks or months to build.
How We Address It
Based upon information captured from the target application along with our class library, AscentialTest automatically builds pre-test and post-test actions as part of the Test Class from which every test inherits. Users can add actions to customize for the target application.
How Others Do It
Other solutions require a framework to be developed and then implemented for each test.
Why Our Approach is Better
The AscentialTest Test Class ensures that every test is independent, starting and stopping from known ‘base states’, so that a failure in a test will not produce a domino effect where all subsequent tests fail.
Video will show how appstate is automatically generate and how OnFinish is configured with Close Windows function.
Testing projects can get messy without good management tools
Why it’s Important
Over time, testing projects might contain thousands or tens of thousands of tests. Good management tools are needed to keep track of test components, provide a way to locate those components and integrate the pieces together seamlessly.
How We Address It
AscentialTest includes all the test management features that you need to inventory, track and integrate steps, tests, test plans and test data tables.
How Others Do It
Most other testing solutions require the purchase of additional tools that are either part of suite or from third parties where integration is cumbersome.
Why Our Approach is Better
Built-in test management increases productivity by speeding up the process of building and executing tests which reduces the duration of test cycles and increases the probability of meeting project target dates.
Testing productivity involves meaningful integration with collaboration tools
Why it’s Important
Testing tools don’t exist in a vacuum. The ability to interface smoothly with version control, defect tracking and continuous integration impacts tester productivity.
How We Address It
AscentialTest integration for version control and defect tracking is built right into the User Interface. Users can acquire locks and commit changes from the Project Explorer. Changes in defect status automatically mark tests to be run when bugs are fixed. Plug-ins are available for popular CI tools.
How Others Do It
These features are lacking in most testing tools. Other solutions provide lose integration with collaboration tools often using the Windows File Manager.
Why Our Approach is Better
Productivity is increased when users can access integration with collaboration features from within AscentialTest.
Video will demonstrate lock and commit with Subversion integration and Mark tests by change in status from Jira integration.
Let AscentialTest do the heavy-lifting when it comes to tables, grids and trees
Why it’s Important
Complex objects like tables, grids and trees exist in most target applications. Recognizing rows, columns and elements contained in cells is imperative. Likewise the ability to locate a row even when scrolled out of view is a basic requirement.
How We Address It
The AscentialTest class library contains in-built intelligence regarding the structure and behavior of the table family of elements. Whether the target application is DotNet, PowerBuilder, Terminal or Web, AscentialTest recognizes all of the element components. A unique action called a ‘selector’ locates a row by searching the table and finding a specified value.
How Others Do It
Other solutions require some combination of OCR, image recognition or a lot of coding in order to make sense of a complex object and interface with it at the row and column level.
Why Our Approach is Better
The AscentialTest table interface allows users to select, input or edit rows in complex objects using drag & drop as seamlessly as interfacing with a simple edit field without any coding.
Video will include drag and drop definition of PB and DotNet tables and the webtable wizard. It will also demonstrate how selectors are used to locate rows.
Reuse promote faster building and maintenance of tests
Why it’s Important
Test maintenance is the most important consideration when evaluating a testing solution. In our years of consulting work, we discovered that teams were spending as much time keeping tests up to date as it took to build them in the first place. Clearly the return on investment was being lost with every change cycle.
How We Address It
We recognize that tests need to be built on a stable foundation. Our object and step libraries provide a single point of change to maintain tests when there is a change to the business or application logic of the target application. In AscentialTest objects, steps, tests and test data are all reusable.
How Others Do It
While there is a smattering of reuse employed by many of the competing solutions, we have not seen any other solution that allows a single point of change for objects, steps, tests and test data.
Why Our Approach is Better
Because objects, steps, tests and test data are reusable, there are fewer components to build and maintain. Changes to the target application will result in the fewest possible changes to the testing project so that test are quickly and easily modified and ready to run when you need them.
Automated testing, manual testing and test management tools that are easy to learn, easy to use, and easy to maintain.
Hopkinton, MA 01748
Click here to download the Host ID generator. The download package includes full instructions. Please send us your details below to speed the process along.
Check our new Azure extension for executing AscentialTest command lines in the Azure Marketplace.
We look forward to offering additional integration with Microsoft’s Team Foundation Server and Azure through defect tracking and version control soon.
Automated testing support for OMNIS Studio is coming soon. All OMNIS elements will be supported including complex grids, list boxes, tables and tree views.
Add automated testing support easily for your custom application elements by responding to simple test API messages with json strings. This feature will open up the possibility of testing any GUI element and will be offered free of charge.
Set breakpoints in your automated tests, view global and local variables and execute statements to make it easier to debug tests running on any of our supported platforms.
We will get back to you ASAP. We aim to respond to all inquiries within 24 hours.