TestArchitect

FEATURE ARTICLEAn added feature allows actions to be sharedacross test projects by having a project“subscribe” to another “supplier” project. Thesubscriber can then use all actions of thesupplier project freely and any project thesupplier itself subscribes to are automaticallyavailable to the subscribing project.Subscriptions can be recursive and mutual: asupplier can subscribe to yet another project, inwhich case those actions are available for itssubscribers as well, and even a supplier projectcan subscribe to one or more of its ownsubscribers.The underlying concept in Action Based Testingis to design tests explicitly and to not rely onrecording of tests. However, for practicalreasons TestArchitect does come with arecording tool called the "Action Recorder."Instead of generating scripts this tool producesaction lines that can be inserted anywhere in atest module or action definition.Another important aspect of TestArchitect istest result management. After a test run, resultsare initially stored locally. The user must take anexplicit action to store them in the repositoryvisible to others and later have an impact onmetrics and reports. This process preventsrepositories cluttered with results of thenumerous ad hoc dry-runs users superviseduring testing or automation development.Once in the repository, results are furtherorganized with proper naming or storageplacement. Lastly, results are linked to the testmodules and test cases they have tested.Automation in TestArchitect is organized as aset of libraries that work completely separatefrom the test management and test designcomponents allowing you to program theactions in virtually any programming language.It is also possible to execute the tests in a thirdparty playback tool using its scripting languageto program the actions.All in all, TestArchitect is an ecosystem fortesters to design, automate, and manage testsgrounded in its core design of Action BasedTesting. Without this method, I believe it’s justanother playback similar to its counterparts. It’smy firm belief that TestArchitect serves toimprove the quality and implementation oftests. This to me is at the very core of ourprimary objectives as testers: to write great teststhat find meaningful bugs and help improveoverall application quality.www.logigearmagazine.com Page 5 of 14 January 2011 | Volume V