Uncovering the Potential of AI in Testing, API, Specflow TGNS100

[00:00:00] Joe Colantonio What's going on with C# BDD Tool Specflow? Do you want to see some real examples of generative AI in automation? And how do you automate various testing processes in your software development lifecycle? Find out in this episode of the Test Guild News Show for the week of October 29th. Grab your favorite cup of coffee or tea and let's do this.

[00:00:20] But first, are you looking to take your automation projects to the next level? Look no further than Applitools and their Visual AI Validation testing platform. Trust me, it is a game-changer. Plus, you could try it out yourself by creating a free account. Just click on the special link down below in the first comment and see the difference for yourself.

[00:00:39] Joe Colantonio Did you miss one of our most popular webinars at the Test Guild on Generative AI? If so, I have special news for you. In the webinar, we went over a bunch of different things on Generative AI and test automation. Here are three key takeaways from the QYRUS Test Guild webinar we had. The first one was on AI-powered testing, where Ameet showcased the power of AI in generative end-to-end test flows by building assertions and by leveraging AI showing how testers can really filter out relevant transactions, understand and explain them, and generate tests from multiple aspects of a service call. We also went over how we should start embracing prompting as a skill. Ameet also showed some examples and how you can do this and how testers can learn this new skill. And the third was distributed testing and innovation, and Ameet shared the vision of distributing testing efforts evenly across the development lifecycle. So due to high demand, if you missed this, we decided to make this available for replay. All you need to do is click on the link in the first comment down below. Check it out and let me know your thoughts.

[00:01:41] Joe Colantonio Also, while I was researching AI-powered tools, I came across another tool that I hadn't heard of until recently and how they have a new release as well. And I think you might find value from also, and this is from ContextAI, which is an AI-based tech company. They just introduced a cool product into the software testing landscape that I just learned about, and the product leverages AI-driven SaaS solutions to enhance automation test coverage, ensuring improved software quality and faster product delivery. And it does a low-code no no-code type of approach that we've talked a lot about on this News Show. And they also promise minimal effort in adding test cases, which can help rapidly increase your automation coverage. And the company also highlights its new Salesforce testing feature, which aims to provide an optimized user experience on Salesforce platforms. I haven't tried it yet, but if you have, let me know your thoughts and drop it in the comment down below.

[00:02:34] Joe Colantonio As you know, AI and automation are more popular than ever. We just had two news items like over AI and automation, but how do you plan to get ready for the future of testing with AI? And what are some things you should be aware of as well? Well, I have an event for you that's going to help you get up to speed with some of the biggest experts in this field where you can ask some questions as well along the way. And it is on Applitool's future of testing AI in automation that's taking place next week, which I actually had the honor of hosting. The event is aimed to really equip software leaders with the knowledge to harness the potential of AI in testing and as you can see, has a stellar lineup of speakers, including the return of Angie Jones. We also have Tariq King, Simon Stewart, Anna Patterson, and a bunch of other experts, and some of the topics that will be covered are the transformative role of AI and reimaging test automation, How to Embrace AI without Reservations? And Qualifying Impact in ROI of AI in Automation. I'll be hosting a roundtable with David, Janna, and Steven on AI from their real-world experience and how it's impacting their roles, and how they're implementing it successfully in their companies. So you don't want to miss your chance to attend this webinar. I highly recommend you register down below. Look forward to your questions and hope to see you there.

[00:03:55] Joe Colantonio There are a bunch of other things we need to worry about when we're doing automation and testing. Besides just AI, one topic that always comes up that people a lot of times struggle with is API testing. What should you be aware of with API testing? Well, I have a webinar that's going to get you up to speed on this really important topic as well. And it is on navigating the brief world of API testing with Karate. In this roundtable, ask us anything type session. We can have 2 experts so you can ask them anything about API testing in Karate, they're going to share their real-world experience as well and they're going to go over how they successfully implemented API testing in their large organizations leveraging a tool like Karate as their core technology. So Zachary and Siddharth are going to go over the growing significance of API in their roles and enabling faster software releases, giving teams a competitive edge. We're going over the durability and versatility of APIs and simulating workflows with the focus on solutions that simplify API testing. And these two experts are not only going to go over real-world examples, but they're also going. Be available for you to ask any question you might have on API testing or Karate. You definitely don't want to miss it. You want to register for this as well, and you could do that in that first comment down below.

[00:05:12] Joe Colantonio Have you ever wanted to combine Cypress with Puppeteer? And this was posted by Filip on how Cypress is reportedly delving into developing a Puppeteer plugin with the notable feature being multi-tap support. This potential addition has garnered a lot of attention given that multi-tap functionality has been a long-standing request from the user community. And while the initial examples hint at extensive Puppeteer code integration questions arise about the final user experience, will they retain the signature ease of use Cypress is known for, and allow users to navigate both Cypress and Puppeteer documentation? So Filip shares his experience with messing around or experimenting with integrating Cypress and Playwright with the log-in function. And while the necessity of multi-tap support is debated, suggesting alternative automation methods might be more efficient, so for those keen on multi-instance running, a recommended guide also pointed to in this post is by Gleb and is available for reference as well. Definitely a feature you might find value from as well and thank you, Filip, for bringing it to my attention.

[00:06:19] Joe Colantonio One of my go-to BDD frameworks I used to use when I was using C# was SpecFlow and while I was researching my upcoming webinar on API testing, leveraging Karate, I came across Peter Thomas was the creator of Karate's post on SpecFlow, which caught my attention, and Peter pointed to a discussion that's going on on GitHub were using the contributors of the SpecFlow project have expressed concerns regarding the projects in activity, and this is a really long thread that's titled What is the Status of the Project? It highlights that there haven't been any commits to the project in the past 8 months, and several contributors, including Gaspar, who is one of the creators of SpecFlow, one of the main contributors, chimed in to provide insights. And if you don't know, SpecFlow was acquired by Tricentis a little bit ago and the main contributors to the project no longer work for Tricentis and there was a lack of clear handoff. Gaspar goes overemphasizes the importance of SpecFlow to many projects and teams. I noted that while Tricentis owns the branding, the project itself is still open source. So you could contribute. If you're missing a feature, you want to help get the project more active. He also mentioned that there are efforts to engage Tricentis to help determine the future direction of the project. And after a few scheduled meetings, Gasper updated the community, stating that Tricentis is now aware of the need to keep the project healthy and is looking into immediate steps that they can do to ensure its stability. Hopefully, this project will remain healthy and active because it was a solution that really helped me and my teams when I worked full-time as an automation engineer.

[00:07:56] Joe Colantonio Another tool I've been watching for a while is LaunchDarkly, and they just announced a new feature that I think is going to be helpful for you as well. This article goes over a new release designed to support engineers in all facets of software release from progressive rollouts to product experimentation, measurement, mobile development, and release targeting. And they announced the Galaxy product release aims to bridge the gap between the innovations made and application development and the actual customer experience of those applications. This new release offers features such as release assistance for progressive rollouts, migration assistance for risk reduction, segment, builder for targeted customer experiences, and more.

[00:08:37] And to wrap things up. I want to end with another real-world case study on how you can help streamline your software testing. So in this article, Sarah highlights K6 on how could automate various testing processes from smoke tests to performance and load testing, and by crafting a suite of K6 tests, developers can interact with applications comprehensively, ensuring they function optimally in different environments. And it also highlights a key feature of K6 for its ability to export test results in a structured format, which helps facilitate post-test analysis and integration with other monitoring tools. The article concludes by highlighting the potential of K6 to revolutionize the testing landscape, ensuring applications are robust, efficient, and ready to meet real-world demands. Thank you, Sarah, for this post.

[00:09:26] And for links of everything value we covered in this news episode, head in over to the links in the first comment down below. And while you're there, make sure to check out our awesome sponsor Applitools Free account Offer and discover how to take your automation testing to the next level leveraging Visual A.I. So that's it for this episode of the Test Guild News Show. I'm Joe, my mission is to help you succeed in creating end-to-end full-stack pipeline automation awesomeness. As always, test everything and keep the good. Cheers.