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dpatnode's avatar
dpatnode
New Contributor
10 years ago

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 applications used by our end-users, and we spend WAY too much time doing manual testing when vendors ship us hotfixes, upgrade packages, etc.  I'd love to have a solution where we can have a suite of end-user workflows/tasks scripted, so when the newest patch for an app comes out I can fire up our test environment, run the suite of tests and make sure nothing breaks.



Our biggest PITA is a legacy VB6 app that makes liberal use of what appear to be some kind of browser component - sort of a strange hybrid of old VB UI forms mixed in with newer, shinier HTML/XML-based UI.



Thoughts?

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  • Philip_Baird's avatar
    Philip_Baird
    Community Expert
    10 years ago
    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:



    1. Sets and cleans up its own data


    2. 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

  • dpatnode's avatar
    dpatnode
    New Contributor
    10 years ago
    Thanks Phil - when I get a break from our current round of upgrade testing, I'll have to download the TC trial and see if I can figure those tools out.  Those links you provided look helpful.



    I was doing some more research online and realized the correct term for what I want is 'automated regression testing'.



    I am worried/curious about how much work maintaining test scripts will be. I know it'll be a heavy initial upfront investment to create our library of scripts, but I've read horror stories of people spending as much time (if not more) trying to maintain/fix their test scripts, as just testing the system manually.