How Low Code Platforms Drive Digital Transformation Through Test Automation

With No-Code/Low-Code application development and testing platforms, anyone from business users to experienced developers can create and test tools to help transform the business. This new technology is enabling change at a revolutionary pace and empowering businesses to stay in-step with ever-changing customer expectations.

The benefits of digital transformation are compelling. But it also creates challenges for software QA teams who have to ensure that No-Code/Low Code applications are secure, reliable and can scale to meet the business’ requirements.

No Code/Low Code software testing platforms help IT create a QA environment and address staffing and talent development issues.

What is “No-Code/Low-Code”?

What makes a development or testing platform either “No-Code” or “Low-Code”?

No-Code and Low-Code tools often provide visual user interfaces and pre-built components, making app development accessible to a broader audience. More experienced developers can rapidly accelerate development by hosting often-reused components in an easily accessible interface, such as drag-and-drop. No-Code or Low-Code platforms often are delivered via Cloud and Web delivery infrastructure, but you can host these tools locally on your network.

The adoption of No Code/Low Code platforms is on the rise. By 2025, Gartner predicts that 70% of new apps will be developed through No Code/Low Code tools. That’s a dramatic increase from less than 25 percent just three years ago. So QA teams must adapt their processes to align with No Code/Low Code development.

Typical use cases for No-Code/Low-Code development include:

• Rapid Application Prototyping: Proof-of-concept can be spun up in hours instead of weeks.
• Workflow Automation: Repetitive business processes can be streamlined with simple drag-and-drop.
• Data Integration: Business users can employ Zapier and other integration services to share and transform data between applications.
• Custom Reporting Dashboards: Tailor data visualization at the user level.
• Web Forms and Surveys: Web forms and surveys can be customized by any team member.
• Content Management: “Page builder” tools in CMSs, such as WordPress, can create custom landing pages.
• E-commerce Solutions: Configure shopping carts for optimum upsell and resell opportunities,
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Unlimited workflows and reporting dashboards for unique business requirements.

Clearly, companies can leverage No-Code/Low-Code to keep up with the explosive pace of digital transformation. These benefits come with testing and quality assurance challenges.

Why is Testing Always Critical?

The absence of traditional coding doesn’t eliminate the need for testing. Applications, regardless of how they are built, can still have vulnerabilities, including:

• Data Integrity Issues: Faulty processing can lead to critical errors and even data breaches.
• Performance Problems: Slow response times from optimized applications can negatively impact user experience.
• Security Vulnerabilities: Weak security can expose sensitive data to cyber attack.

Rapid development of apps by multiple stakeholders can also create additional risks specific, such as:

• Insecure Code: Inexperienced developers may introduce vulnerabilities.
• Security and Compliance: Lack of oversight can lead to non-compliance with industry regulations.
• Low Visibility into Underlying Code: No-Code/Low-Code apps can be black boxes.
• Limited Scalability and Performance: Without proper testing, applications may not scale as needed without performance bottlenecks. This is a notable concern with third-party drag-and-drop integration tools.

Benefits of Comprehensive Application Testing

As you might imagine, the risks of relinquishing some control over the underlying code of applications, as well as opening the door to business users to create their own apps as needed, creates an understandable level of stress for QA teams.

Fortunately, testing automation platforms are keeping pace with digital transformation, aligning with the broader advantages of the No-Code/Low-Code approach. No-Code/Low-Code automated testing platforms create the needed scale to cost-effectively test applications – regardless of how they are developed – at any stage of emerging continuous development processes.

No-Code/Low-Code testing automation platforms help QA teams meet these challenges created by the ongoing digital transformation.

• Talent Shortage: By empowering business users to test, you alleviate the burden on QA teams and address the shortage of specialized testing talent.
• Employee Pushback: When employees are involved in testing, they have a better understanding of application functionality, reducing resistance to technology changes.
• Limited Funds and Unclear Budgets: Comprehensive testing can lead to cost savings by preventing costly post-release fixes.
• Lack of Business Agility: Robust testing ensures that applications perform as expected, supporting business agility.
• Fragmented View of Software Quality Assurance: By compiling all testing data – regardless of which department is executing the tests – into a single platform, QA professionals can run comprehensive reports and diagnostics on the overall health of the business’s data and compliance ecosystem.
• Leveraging AI and other Emerging Technology: Incorporating an ever-evolving automation platform can ensure that AI and machine learning are smartly applied for test optimization and predictive risk assessment, while avoiding a lot of the hype surrounding AI as “the solution to everything.” Quality Assurance will always rely on a team of professionals with the best tools at their disposal.

No-Code and Low-Code application development platforms are driving digital transformation. However, the incredible speed at which applications are created through these platforms necessitates an equally agile and comprehensive testing approach. Organizations that embrace No Code/Low Code testing platforms will not only keep pace with digital transformation, but also instill confidence in the applications the business relies on and address staffing and talent development issues within their QA and testing teams.

Ken Hardin

Ken Hardin is an experienced business analyst and executive team leader with a demonstrated history of success in the internet industry. Ken was a key member of the startup teams for both TechRepublci.com and ITBusinessEdge.com. Since 2010, he has served as the Principal Analyst for Clarity Answers LLC, which provides business guidance and project management services.

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