Wondering what an open-source test automation tool is? The world, at present, is extremely competitive and demands high quality at high speed within the last budget.
Testers depend on automation tools to quickly roll out the top-quality software to fulfil this demand. As a result, open Source software development has gained popularity over the last 2 decades.
Famous operating softwares like Linux and Android, browsers like Firefox and Chrome, Programming Languages like Python and JavaScript, and test automation tools like Appium, Selenium etc., are completely Open-Source.
Startups usually face budget challenges. As a result, startups and large companies are leveraging a cost-conscious culture. They also use reliable, safe and free open source testing tools.
Did you know that organizations which construct proprietary software are open-source consumers? This is because they understand the solid reason behind contributing to Open Source.
Open source test automation tools have been changing the way teams test software. These tools have been helping testers boost the release speed and deliver high value to the customers. But, more than that, they are helping organizations win a competitive edge by bringing down the total time to market.
The testing community has fallen in love with open-source test automation tools, making them the standard method for automating tests. This blog will discuss open Source and the advantages of selecting an open-source tool for test automation.
What do we mean by Open Source?
A proprietary or closed source software is where a person, team or enterprise has total control over the source code.
Quite different from the closed-source software, open-source software is available in a public repository, especially for the developer community to collaborate and contribute.
Open Source usually means the community can easily access the software’s source code. Developers can easily learn, change, enhance, take care or redistribute based on the license terms. Open Source software projects target coming up with solutions for particular problems dedicated to the bigger community’s benefits.
Open Source development usually promotes transparency, collaboration and innovation.
Open Source initiatives never begin with monetization. Instead, they provide a lot of freedom, control and flexibility without charges or a minimum price.
Why select an Open Source Test Automation Tool?
Cost-Effectiveness
The major reason for making use of an open-source tool is the price. Open Source software is more cost-effective. The rising software testing prices make testing leaders greatly use their budgets and maximize the value to the greatest extent.
Read this blog to know the Top 7 Ways To Improve Coverage With Test Automation Solution.
High Quality
Open Source is not just a low cost replacement for proprietary software. Open Source communities have turned quality conscious over all these years. Nowadays, open-source software is stronger and provides excellent quality than its closed-source counterparts.
Improved Flexibility
Open-source software gives automation testers the flexibility to change the software and develop innovative solutions for all their business requirements without any hindrance. But, more than that, they also create the tools, innovations and alterations.
Transparency
Many organizations avoid using open source softwares as they feel it would hinder security. However, in an actual case, open and closed Source softwares need to be protected from security threats.
With the growing worries about privacy and data security, open-source software helps increase trust, as any person can inspect the code at any time. Moreover, this transparency ensures that open-sourced products never deliberately misuse users’ data.
The biggest benefit of Open Source is that most contributors get to review and test the code. In addition, their efforts provide support in preventing, discovering and treating security flaws regularly.
Intuition based UX
You might have noticed that various open-source projects are poorly designed and never offer a great user experience. Bad UX makes it difficult to adopt and problematic to use. HikeQA provides an intuitive UI that makes it simple to quicken the test automation game and on board without any trouble to get sprinting.
The Minimal Learning Curve
The biggest limitation of beginning with most open-source test automation tools is the high learning curve of their usage. As a result, testers who have just been introduced to test automation might not have the proper skills to benefit from open-source test automation tools.
Even if open-source test automation tools are free, there is a certain budget linked to setting them up and building frameworks from the base. Moreover, the technical entry restriction demotivates automation beginners from embracing the tools or enjoying them.
Detailed Documentation and Support
Documentation comes quite late in the case of most open-source projects. Even if various open-source projects say they are well documented, their documentation quality is weak and criticized. Nevertheless, documentation is the starting point for maximum users and marks the success of an open-source project.
People continue with the tool or move, depending on their first impressions of the documentation. Excellent documentation makes the community self-dependent and knows more about the project.
Final Words
Open Source and Proprietary software have their set of benefits as well as shortcomings. In any case, a software license never decides the quality and strength of the product.
Never select a tool because most people are using it. All testing teams have their set of challenges. Prevent the bandwagon effect while selecting your open-source test automation tool. It will be best to select the perfect tools for solving your issues on a use-case basis.
Open Source encourages collaboration, transparency and knowledge sharing towards a common goal by forming a sense of community amongst the contributors. People enjoy open-source projects because of a solid reason. They wish to belong to something bigger and give back to their community.
Reach out to HikeQA, a top-rated software testing company, to influence and shape the future of test automation technology.
