The 5 Elements Of One Test Automation Platform
“I’m using a test framework”.
That sentence can be a warning sign of teams using a “tool”.
A tool is designed to perform one function for a particular role. It’s not made for collaboration with different roles.
Frameworks are in essence the same; they simplify a series of steps combining different tools but are still far from a platform.
Accelerating the delivery of valuable software requires more than a framework. It requires fast end-to-end collaboration to deliver changes of value, speed, and reliability.
Let’s cover the 5 elements of a test automation platform.
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A Platform solves a core problem
Digital businesses solve problems with software for users ready to pay for it.
The accelerated rate of competition in a globalized context pressures companies to develop valuable unique value propositions faster.
Digital organizations have to compose with existing solutions to be fast. They have no time reinventing the wheel for everything.
This is where a market is available for products solving particular problems for segments of customers.
In test automation, the core problem is to automate tests with ease, run them in distributed environments fast, and get the results to make decisions.
A Platform connect users
A test automation platform is more than a test framework by reaching far more users of different profiles.
Frameworks are usually limited to the technical population, hard to understand, and requiring custom reports to make sense of the information available.
Platforms are different by natively supporting various users and their different use-cases.
This capability to connect different types of users accelerates the capability of a company to deliver software changes with Quality at Speed.
And organizations can even accelerate with partners.
A Platform connect partners
A test automation platform solves a core problem but cannot be good at everything. It also requires composing with existing solutions.
A test automation framework will provide a limited and fixed set of integrations, usually done step by step through custom integrations.
That usually ends up in slow, hard to replicate and closed adaptation.
A test automation platform accelerates the connection with partners through open APIs on modern standards, a developer portal and including connection points by design.
The resulting platform is able to provide advanced features that were not able to solve with an isolated framework.
A Platform enable use-cases
The value of a platform is to connect more users and partners to create a unique value proposition, different and hard to copy.
That proposition will attract users searching for exponential increase of their productivity to keep up with the competition.
A test automation platforms become a game-changer.
The unique composition of a platform will clarify its positioning within the marketplace, allowing it to increase its visibility in the ecosystem.
The next challenge a platform solves is to enable an extended collaboration at scale.
A Platform is open for collaboration
A platform is by design open and ready to interact with a variety of users and partners to improve its survival capability.
Similar to the evolution theory, the actors with more interactions and exchanges within the ecosystem are likely to remain.
Being open is therefore a requirement to be considered a platform.
Platforms therefore have the challenge to remain open to give a maximum of flexibility for their users, while reducing their capability of lock-in.
These methods are of the past and are rapidly changing in the ecosystem. The open-source movement is a good example.
A Test Automation Platform to Accelerate
A test automation platform has unique attributes making a difference from traditional frameworks.
This capability to provide advanced use-cases connecting users and partners is the most differentiating elements of a platform.
Being open-source increases, even more, the collaboration capability of a platform, providing more openness and allowing developers to contribute.
Cerberus Testing has been in open-source at 100% since 2013. We are convinced this model is the best for our ecosystem in search of acceleration.
Use for free Cerberus Testing, the open-source test automation platform.