Shift-left testing is increasingly used by forward-thinking companies to reduce project durations. The theory is that by doing a little bit of testing upfront, you save a lot of effort down the line. You can think of it as a stitch in time. And it works!
By finding and correcting a simple functional defect in the initial stages of a project, you prevent the need to unpick complex systems later in the SDLC.
However, it’s no secret that testing can be laborious, and it’s also common knowledge that developers want to focus as much of their time on development as possible. You might even go as far as to say that some developers actively dislike testing. Shocking I know, but true.
This is where IDE-based automation tools come in handy. They allow developers to build and run automated tests directly from within their preferred development environment, saving time and making testing much more bearable. After all, fewer things are more fun than executing automated tests.
Why Software Engineers Love UFT Developer
UFT Developer is one such IDE-based automation tool and has recently undergone an update to include even more great features.
As an excellent example of a shift-left automation tool, UFT Developer empowers software engineers to rapidly develop and execute automated unit and system tests. As mentioned earlier, this increases the overall quality of the software and reduces the rework required in later development stages, such as integration.
Being part of the long-established and battle-hardened UFT family of automation tools, UFT Developer is easy to use, is well supported, and works straight out of the box.
While it is simple, UFT Developer is packed with advanced features that may surprise you. These include:
- Parallel test execution
- Detailed, HTML-based reports
- Integration with OpenText Service Virtualization
- AI-Based Testing
UFT Developer Includes AI-Based GUI Automation
In 2023, UFT Developer gained the ability to automate Windows-based applications that have implemented UI automation provider interfaces. Essentially, this means you can easily test Windows-based GUIs.
You can even use AI to identify the control types being used during your test. Control types include buttons, checkboxes, text boxes, and more. Here’s a full list of the supported control types for UFT.
OpenText has recently released version UFT Developer 24.2, which further expands on the AI-Based testing functionality provided in the already class-leading tool.
UFT Developer 24.2 Makes AI-Based Automation Easier Than Ever
Sometimes, automation tools struggle to find your control type, and you have to spend time and effort describing the object. Although this process might not seem overly arduous, it can really take the wind out of your sails and kill momentum, especially if you have to do it multiple times.
With version 24.2, you can now describe the control type using a screenshot of an image. Just feed in the picture, and that’s it. Check out more details here.
This is a relatively small update but could make a huge difference to a developer who is automating tests, especially against a new or cutting-edge application.
It’s the constant evolution, with tweaks like this, that makes UFT Developer the tool it is today.
How Much Time, Effort and Cost Could You Save with UFT Developer?
Are you struggling with too many defects in later project stages or spending too long unpicking complex issues in integration testing? Shifting left with UFT Developer could be the solution you need!
Leaving testing to the end of your project has been proven inefficient time and time again. We all know prevention is better than cure, and you can help prevent delays, budget increases and live incidents issues with a shift-left approach to testing.
IDE-based test automation makes shifting left trivial. It allows software engineers to rapidly build and execute tests and identify defects as early as possible in the SDLC.
Get in touch to learn more about UFT Developer and how it could help speed up your processes and free up developer time.
