Automated advanced visual regression testing
In this era of Digital transformation, clients have been demanding shorter and quicker releases. Shorter and quicker releases mean your team should not only be able to develop them at the required pace but also test and release them at a sustainable pace. User interface plays an important role in the client's business and there are organizations that release new features, fancy CSS regularly that support multiple browsers, multiple Operating systems, mobile devices. Verifying the frontend on this browser/device/OS matrix by humans is not only extremely time consuming but also prone to human errors. In fact, testing by humans should primarily focus on discovery leaving the repetitive and error-prone tasks to tools. Hence, automating Visual tests is becoming less of an optional activity and more of a must-have activity within the team. Ensuring visually perfect user experiences is equally important as to have the functionality working.
Outline/Structure of the Talk
I would be talking about the following topics:
1. What is Automated Visual testing?
2. Is there a need to automate visual tests? Why?
3. How does the basic algorithm work for any tool supporting automated visual tests? Demonstration on:
- Create a test
- Execute a test
- Interpret the results of a test
4. Challenges with automating Visual tests
- Anti-aliasing
- Dynamic Content
- False positives
5. Can the above challenges be addressed?
6. Are there any open source/commercial tools available to address these challenges?
7. Demonstration - How do they address them?
8. What should be the strategy to design and execute the Automated Visual Test Suite?
- Capturing screenshots for - Full page, element, viewport
- Is it necessary to execute each and every test on your browser/device matrix?
9. Demonstration - Can we organize our Test Suites to optimize the execution?
10. Challenges faced and potential solutions for introducing Automated Visual testing in your CI/CD pipeline
11. A quick comparison of tools available in the market - Use what when?
12. How to get started with this type of Automated testing?
- No coding knowledge/experience - Don't worry, there are config-based, record and playback tools available
- Good coding knowledge/experience - Wonderful, leverage your skills to address the challenges
At the end of the session, attendees will learn about:
1. What is Automated Visual regression testing?
2. How does it work?
3. What are the advantages of using it?
4. What are the challenges associated with it and potential solutions?
5. What are the good practices associated?
6. What are the tools available in the market?
7. When to use what?
8. How can you get started with it?
9. Introducing Visual automation in your CI cycle
*Session Materials*