TC for non-development IT dept?
This may seem like a dumb question -- but can TC be used for automated testing of 3rd party desktop applications? We're not a development shop, but our IT dept supports a variety of application...
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Hi David, from experience, most problems stem from poor design, poor implementation or trying to automate elements that are continually changing.
My advice for you would be:
Learn the tool. Test Complete is a complex beast and it is important to get a good understanding of the key concepts to avoid getting into bad habits
Name Mappings and Aliases will probably be the biggest source of trouble, get a thorough understanding of this topic
Avoid writing automated tests for UI that is constantly changing, wait until it is stable to avoid headaches with Name Mappings
Make sure each Test is self contained, that is:
Employ re-use. Test Complete allows Keyword Tests to execute other Keyword Tests. Using this, it should be possible to create Keyword Tests that are essentially modules for peforming common tasks
DO NOT hard code any values, Test complete provides access to ini files and these used in conjunction with Project Variables should provide all the configuration you require
Learn basic programming principles such as conditions (if, then, else), loops(for, while) and exceptions (try, catch finally) as Test Complete offer these as control statements which are invaluable in controlling Test flow
If possible, identify someone on your team that may be capable of learning scripting. Sometimes, what is complicated to create as part of a Keyword Test can be simplified by a Script Routine.
There are probably other things I have missed but this should be a good place to start.
Regards,
Phil Baird
My advice for you would be:
Learn the tool. Test Complete is a complex beast and it is important to get a good understanding of the key concepts to avoid getting into bad habits
Name Mappings and Aliases will probably be the biggest source of trouble, get a thorough understanding of this topic
Avoid writing automated tests for UI that is constantly changing, wait until it is stable to avoid headaches with Name Mappings
Make sure each Test is self contained, that is:
Sets and cleans up its own data
Does not rely on another Test in order to function
Employ re-use. Test Complete allows Keyword Tests to execute other Keyword Tests. Using this, it should be possible to create Keyword Tests that are essentially modules for peforming common tasks
DO NOT hard code any values, Test complete provides access to ini files and these used in conjunction with Project Variables should provide all the configuration you require
Learn basic programming principles such as conditions (if, then, else), loops(for, while) and exceptions (try, catch finally) as Test Complete offer these as control statements which are invaluable in controlling Test flow
If possible, identify someone on your team that may be capable of learning scripting. Sometimes, what is complicated to create as part of a Keyword Test can be simplified by a Script Routine.
There are probably other things I have missed but this should be a good place to start.
Regards,
Phil Baird
