ArtOfTest, Inc. - Automation Design Canvas

Test Automation for Developers and QA Professionals

Complex, expensive, generic testing tools? Scratch that! Design Canvas sets a new era in automated web testing. It is specialized for web 2.0 testing, it is extremely cost-effective, and is very easy to use. QAs can finally feel what automated testing is all about. Developers can finally collaborate with QAs. True Web testing is finally possible.

Tight Integration with Visual Studio Design Canvas™ 2.0 is fully integrated in Visual Studio Professional & Team System 2008. We add one additional test type to what Visual Studio offers. It integrates fully into the life cycle management of tests that VS offers including test case management, test execution, source control and reporting using team foundation server.

Scriptless/Codeless Recording Navigate, point and click is all it takes to generate most of your automated tests! Run the scenario once in the designer and an automated test is generated for you. Then run the recorded test against IE, Firefox and/or Safari to catch product regressions and bugs. Each recorded step has settable properties that allow you to update and customize each test step without having to re-record.

Automation Overlay Surface™(AOS) Turn your web page into a gallery of test automation tasks! The Automation Overlay Surface™ (AOS) enables you to visually highlight an element, locate it in the DOM tree and automatically generate common verifications or synchronizations tasks. As soon as you select one, an automation step is instantly recorded against that element with the proper settings without the need to enter anything.

Testcase Maintenance Test maintenance requirements are at a new low! There are several built in features in the designer that target failure resolution of tests and test maintenance. For example, the designer includes live validation for both verification updates and element find logic updates. You no longer need to execute your tests over and over to validate changes. This is an enormous time saver in test maintenance!

'Sentence Based'™ Verification UI Build your verifications as if you were writing a sentence! To make crafting verifications and synchronizations as simple as possible, we present an innovative 'Sentence Based'™ UI that guides you throughout the task. Using the “Sentence Based” UI you can craft a wide range of verification types from attributes to styles to tables to dropdowns and element visibility.

3D Element Viewer View the DOM Tree in 3D and quickly add a set of prebuilt verifications to your test with just a couple of mouse clicks. The new 3D Viewer in Automation Design Canvas 2.0 enables you to visually see the hierarchy of an element all the way up to the node. Now you can quickly explore and understand the parent/child relationship of any element on the web page. Plus 3D viewer offers you a complete set of prebuilt verification sentences that can be performed on an element. Simply select the verifications you want added to your test and they are added as new test steps.

Data Driven Testing The designer comes with rich support for data driven testing. All recorded steps (Actions/Verifications or synchronizations) come with data driven properties that allow you to bind them to a data source. The designer supports all the data sources that come with Visual Studio Team Test (Database, CSV, XML). In addition it has a built in data grid that allows you to quickly build your own data source right inside your test without having to revert to external sources and manage external dependencies.

Code Customization Automation Design Canvas supports a code behind model for recorded tests. In this model users can customize specific steps within a test using coded functions (VB.NET or C#). These coded functions are automatically detected and added to ”Test Explorer” as test steps. You can manage these steps just like the rest of your recorded steps (i.e. re-order, enable/disable ...etc.)

Visual Storyboard As you record your test, a screenshot of your action on the target element is captured to the story board. This gives you a visual flow of how your test has progressed. It is a great time saver in helping others understand the state of the test at the time of recording along with what the target elements of the tests were.

Testcase Reusability Design Canvas 2.0 enables an extremely powerful feature; adding entire WebAii tests as execution steps to other WebAii tests in your test suite. This feature enables you to encapsulate testing logic for repetitive actions into one test and simply include that test as one step in multiple testcases rather than repeat those steps across each test. This feature is great for sharing tests across a team of developers and QAs and reduces the need for testcase duplication across the test bed.

Dialog Handling Automation Design Canvas handles both Html Pop-ups and Win32 Dialogs. Html Pop-ups are automatically detected by the recording surface. Once detected they are automatically loaded in the surface if you with to automate them. Win32 Dialog Handlers can easily be added at any point in your test execution by adding one from the Dialogs drop down menu. The designer also exposes a 'Generic' dialog handler than can be customized to handle any Win32 dialog outside the out-of-box ones we provide.

Floating Recorder Design Canvas 2.0 enables users to now record from any floating Internet Explorer instance. Simply launch an instance of Internet Explorer from the recording surface and you can start recording directly from that instance. The floating recorder has the full functionality of the integrated browser including the Automation Overlay Surface and the DOM Explorer.

Web Element Abstraction All web page elements targeted for automation in your tests are abstracted out and filed under a specific page/frame/Silverlight app in the 'Elements Explorer'. If there are multiple actions that use the same element, the element is referenced from the “Elements Explorer” instead of being duplicated in the test. This enables one view of your project elements that you can update across all tests. This is huge time saver for testcase maintenance!

I'm a Developer

Developers are always under pressure to produce quality code. They are asked to produce unit tests for their components and sometimes help the QA team do some integration testing. Automation Design Canvas can definitely help you meet these tasks and accomplish them faster!

Tight Visual Studio Integration Are you being asked to help automate some integration testing? Don’t sweat it. You can do it within Visual Studio. You can automate, execute and debug tests without leaving your favorite VS environment! Want to run some integration tests before you check-in? No problem! Get the latest tests you or your QA team have developed and execute the tests you want in seconds. Check in your code with more confidence and quality!

Generate entire UI tests as coded unit tests With one click of a button you can take a recorded test and convert it to a complete end to end unit test! The designer is configurable to generate NUnit, Visual Studio, MbUnit or xUnit test fixtures. These coded unit tests can be generated on demand leaving the original recorded test intact. This enables you to go back to the recorded test, update it slightly and re-generate updated unit tests whenever needed.

Customize or extend tests using C# or VB.NET Want to customize a specific portion of a recorded test but don't want to hand code the entire test? No need to! Automation Design Canvas supports a code behind model for recorded tests just like WinForms & ASP.NET. In this model you can customize specific steps within a test using coded functions in either VB.NET or C#. These coded functions are automatically detected and added to your test as test steps. You can manage these steps just like the rest of your recorded step; re-order, enable/disable, etc.

Build Server Integration Integrate any build server with your recorded tests. Whether you are using CruiseControl, TeamCity or Visual Studio’s Build Server, you can execute your recorded tests seamlessly on the server. Tests also run natively using Microsoft's command line execution tool: MsTest.exe. Do you have a custom, home grown solution on the server? No problem, The designer comes with a custom API that wraps MSTest execution so that you can easily integrate test execution within your system.

Strongly Typed Element Repository Want to invoke custom actions against specific elements but don't want to mess with IE’s developer toolbar or Firebug? You don't have to! With Automation Design Canvas you can simply highlight an element and add it to your project elements! The designer will automatically generate a strongly typed property of that element for you to program against!

Easily collaborate with your tester counterparts QAs and Developers can now work in the same environment. Now you can have your tests checked into the same source control depot right next to the product source code! The unique visual storyboard feature also helps you understand at a glance what your colleagues have already recorded. This visual record of the executed test also assists developers in analyzing test run failures when needed.

I'm a QA Professional

Whether you are a QA professional with a coding background or a pure testing background, Automation Design Canvas is a must have! Reduce the number of manual tests that you are constantly having to run and free your time to think of more scenarios to test! The designer is intuitive and easy to use. Just spend a few minutes with our Quick Start Guide and How-To Videos and you will be automating like a Pro.

Simple point and click interface As you point and click actions within your web application, the designer records these actions as steps with human-readable descriptions. Furthermore, the innovative Automation Overlay Surface™ (AOS) enables you to visually highlight an element, locate it in the DOM tree and automatically generate common verification or synchronization tasks. In other testing solutions these tasks typically require the tester to switch several times between the IE Developer Toolbar/Firebug, and his/her recording tool.

Script-less Recording. Navigate, point and click is all it takes to generate most of your automated tests. Run the scenario in the studio once and an automated test is generated for you. Then run the recorded test against IE, Firefox or Safari to catch product regressions and bugs. Each recorded step has settable properties that allow you to update and customize a test step without having to re-record.

Rich verifications crafted like a sentence! Build your verifications as if you were writing a sentence! To make crafting verifications and synchronizations as simple as possible, we present an innovative 'Sentence Based'™ UI that guides you throughout that task. Using the “Sentence Based” UI you can craft a wide range of verification types from attributes to styles to tables to dropdowns and element visibility and more.

Test case maintenance When a test fails because it cannot find an element, the designer enables you to go back and compare the page from the time of recording to the current failing page. Both states are displayed in a split DOM view that shows the Recorded DOM vs. Executed DOM. This enables you to quickly discover the change that caused your failure and fix it. The ability to also validate changes right on the spot without having to execute the test further reduces your time spent on test automation maintenance.

DataDriven Testing All recorded steps (Actions/Verifications or Synchronizations) come with data driven properties that allow you to bind them to a data source. The designer supports all the data sources that come with Visual Studio Team Test (Database, CSV, and XML). In addition, it has a built-in data grid that allows you to quickly build your own data source right inside your test without having to revert to external sources and manage external dependencies.

Easily collaborate with your developer counterparts QAs and Developers can now work in the same environment. Now you can have your tests checked into the same source control library right next to the product source code! The unique visual storyboard recording tool also helps you understand at a glance what your colleagues have already recorded. This visual record of the executed test also assists developers in analyzing test run failures when needed.

I'm a Manager

Managers are constantly seeking ways to enhance the productivity of their development teams, remove barriers between disciplines and meet deadlines. Automation Design Canvas can definitely help you accomplish that. Minimize (possibly eliminate) manual testing and maximize your QA team’s talent by shifting their time from running tests manually to thinking about new untested scenarios. Unify your team under one IDE that can give both QAs and Developers more insights into each other’s role and work. Anyone should be able write or execute automated tests without worrying about steep learning curves or tool ramp up time!

Unify your team under one IDE! Get rid of extra tools that you are constantly having to manage, glue and integrate together! Cut your costs by using just one IDE to do development and testing of your entire product (or – for your entire project/team). There is no glue code to write to unify reporting, no extra training for new scripting languages or new terminology barriers between your QA and development teams.

Unprecedented Productivity Experience a head-spinning increase in your teams productivity by building your tests in minutes instead of hours. No coding is required – navigate, point and click is all it takes to generate your most of your automated tests. When the same UI element is shared by multiple tests in a project – update that element just once and the change is automatically applied to all recorded tests.

In-line with the Latest Technologies - ASP.NET AJAX and Silverlight Most automated testing tools are so behind the times when it comes to new technologies! We cater to your advanced needs. You can now easily test ASP.NET AJAX and client-side functionality or bind your test steps to a data source. The tool offers the best way to test AJAX in the latest browser versions. And this is just for starters – this support will be shortly followed by the ultimate testing tool for Silverlight-based applications.

Suitable Tool for Small and Mid-size Companies So far, automated testing has been the privilege of big enterprises. Now you can solve your the testing problems for small and mid-size companies using Automation Design Canvas. It is not only an affordable testing solution; its integration with Visual Studio Professional Edition makes it even more accessible to everyone.

Simplifies Collaboration Automation Design Canvas significantly shortens the learning curve for both developers and QAs by offering a common environment within Visual Studio. All test execution reports can be seen in Visual Studio and the tests are stored on the same server. The unique visual storyboard feature helps you understand with just a glance what your colleague has already recorded. This visual record of the executed test also assists developers in debugging.

Cost Effective Having trouble justifying acquisition costs of expensive tools that require tons of training, integration and meet only half of your requirements? Not any more, you now have a solution at an affordable price that really does what you need!

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