Getting Started with Visual Test Design for Automation

Visual test design – better known as “”Model-Based Testing”” (MBT) – undeniably has a lot of advantages. The shift-left approach helps to clarify and validate requirements at an early stage. Modeling allows complex systems to be decomposed and thus mastered. The graphical representation facilitates understanding, fosters collaboration, and incidentally provides a living documentation of the test idea.

So much for the theory. In practice, reluctance is high: too complicated, too time-consuming, too expensive. Many organizations prefer to focus entirely on test automation – and overlook how much precisely this test automation would benefit from visual test design. Modeling helps structure keyword libraries and makes it easier to create and maintain test scripts. As a matter of fact, MBT seems to gain momentum as new tools continue to appear on the market. So it’s worth looking into.

As we all know, even a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and that’s exactly the step we’re going to take in this tutorial. We will see how to start visual test design in a smart way (namely top-down). Using a concrete example, we will structure the test into suitable packages, create some test scripts and identify the required keywords for automation. No material is required other than pencil and paper.