Welcome to our Blog

Maximilian Leodolter

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4min read

Test Data Management: Building Reliable Testing from the Ground Up

In software testing, data is everything. Yet, in practice, the availability and quality of test data is one of the most underestimated challenges. Whether you’re testing a banking app or a high-volume logistics system, the question isn’t just what to test—but also with what data. This post explores the essentials of test data management: why it matters, common hurdles, and practical strategies to improve your process. Why Test Data Management Matters Imagine trying to validate a new personalized offer feature, only to find there are no matching customer profiles in the test database. Or attempting a regression test but running out of usable data halfway through. These aren’t rare edge cases—they’re daily obstacles for testers. Effective test data management ensures:

Jose Burner

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4min read

Shifting Left: The right thing to do?

When you think about software testing, where does it sit in your development process? At the end? Right before go-live? If so, you’re not alone—and you’re also not getting the most out of your quality assurance efforts. Let’s rewind for a moment. In many traditional workflows, testing is something that happens after the “real work” is done—after the features are coded, interfaces designed, and integrations built. But what if we told you that the most impactful way to improve quality is to start testing much earlier? Welcome to the shift-left approach. What “Shifting Left” Really Means In simple terms, shifting left is about moving quality assurance activities closer to the start of the development cycle. Instead of waiting for the code to be finished before bringing in testers, you invite them into the conversation from day one.

Maximilian Leodolter

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5min read

How Test Automation Keeps Your SDLC on Track

Shipping good software is hard. Shipping it fast and still keeping quality high? That’s even harder. If you're working in tech, you've probably felt the pressure. Stakeholders want faster releases. Customers expect bug-free experiences. Developers are juggling feature work, bug fixes, and fire drills. QA is stuck trying to keep everything from falling apart. And somewhere in the middle of it all is your software development life cycle (SDLC), trying to hold things together. This is where test automation starts to make a real impact—not just as a tool, but as a mindset. The Everyday SDLC Struggles

Jose Burner

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4min read

Test Scripts: A Cornerstone of Effective Software Testing

As someone who's been in the trenches of software testing, I can attest that test scripts are the unsung heroes of our field. They provide the structured instructions we need to ensure that software functions as intended, giving us confidence that our applications will meet user expectations. In this guide, I'll share my insights on how to harness the power of test scripts for beginners. Understanding Test Scripts When I first started out, I was overwhelmed by the complexity of software testing. But once I grasped the concept of test scripts, everything fell into place. A test script is essentially a detailed guide that outlines the exact steps testers need to follow to validate a particular feature or functionality within a software application. There are two main types: Manual Test Scripts: These are like recipes for testing. You follow each step manually, interacting with the application just like an end-user would. Automated Test Scripts: These are written in programming languages and executed by automation tools, allowing for fast and efficient testing processes.

Maximilian Leodolter

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6min read

The Hidden Cost of Flaky Tests: How to Identify and Fix Them

Introduction: The Nightmare of Flaky Tests   Imagine this: Your team has a solid CI/CD pipeline in place, with automated tests running smoothly—until they don’t. A test that passed yesterday is now failing, and nobody changed the code. After multiple reruns, the test magically passes again. Welcome to the frustrating world of flaky tests.   Flaky tests are tests that produce inconsistent results, sometimes passing and sometimes failing without any meaningful code changes. They erode trust in test suites, waste engineering time, and slow down development. In this post, we’ll explore why flaky tests occur, how to systematically identify them, and—most importantly—how to fix them.   Why Are Flaky Tests a Big Problem?   Flaky tests introduce multiple challenges, including:  

Maximilian Leodolter

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6min read

When to Unit, E2E, and Integration Test

TL;DR Unit Tests: Small, fast, and focused on individual functions or components. Break often when code changes, making refactoring harder. Good at catching small bugs, but don’t guarantee the system works as a whole. Integration Tests: Test multiple components together, ensuring they interact correctly. Slower than unit tests but catch real-world issues better. Easier to debug than E2E tests. E2E Tests: Simulate full user workflows across the system. Find real-world failures but are slow, flaky, and hard to maintain. Often ignored when they break too frequently.

Jose Burner

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7min read

Integrating AI into Your Projects With OpenRouter and DeepSeek-R1

In the previous parts of this series, we explored the potential of AI agents in software testing, discussed real-world applications, and delved into essential AI concepts. While commercial AI testing tools dominate the market, open-source alternatives are now making professional-grade AI testing accessible to everyone. Now, let's get practical and explore how you can integrate open-source AI technologies into your own projects.

Jose Burner

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5min read

Implementing AI Agents in Software Testing

In part 1, we explored the potential of AI agents in software testing. Now, let's take a closer look at how you can integrate these intelligent systems into your QA processes, explore real-world applications and dive deeper into the specific techniques and technologies—such as NLP, HITL and computer vision—that make AI-driven testing possible. Real-World Applications of Popular AI Agents "Testim is helping to make the CI/CD dream possible—you can’t get to continuous delivery without proper test coverage." - Ran Mizrachi, Principal Software Engineer Manager @Microsoft "Applitools Ultrafast Grid integrates seamlessly with our testing framework and consists of everything I need to achieve comprehensive cross-browser coverage at the speed of a single test." - Omri Aharon, Frontend Team Leader @Autodesk "Our partnership with Functionize has marked a pivotal shift in our QA processes. We’re navigating the complexities of global digital landscapes with unprecedented efficiency and precision. Our testing is dramatically accelerated, times reduced from hours to minutes, and our coverage expanded across global markets with agility. This leap in efficiency is not just a win for McAfee but a forward step in ensuring a secure digital world more swiftly and effectively." - Venkatesh Hebbar, Senior QA Manager @McAfee

Jose Burner

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4min read

Introduction to AI Agents for Testing

In today's fast-paced world, speed, efficiency, and reliability are more important than ever, this is especially true when it comes to software development and testing. This is where AI agents come in, helping to streamline the testing process and significantly cut down on the time and costs associated with traditional testing methods. What are AI Agents? Artificial Intelligence (AI) agents are software systems designed to perform tasks autonomously or semi-autonomously, often emulating human intelligence. These agents can simulate user interactions, analyze code, predict potential failures, and even generate test cases on their own. Unlike traditional automated testing tools, which follow predefined scripts, AI agents can adapt and learn from data, making them more flexible and capable of handling complex scenarios. Benefits of AI Agents in Testing AI agents can execute tasks much faster than human testers, which can greatly reduce the time spent on repetitive or boring tasks.

Tino Böhme

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5min read

Enhancing QA with Continuous Testing

In the ever-evolving world of software development, quality assurance (QA) is a critical component to ensure the delivery of robust and reliable software. Traditional QA processes often fall short in today's fast-paced environment, where rapid releases and continuous integration are the norms. This is where continuous testing comes into play, revolutionizing the way QA is performed by embedding testing activities throughout the development lifecycle. What is Continuous Testing? Continuous testing is the process of executing automated tests as part of the software delivery pipeline to obtain immediate feedback on the business risks associated with a software release candidate. This practice is integral to Agile and DevOps methodologies, where the emphasis is on frequent, incremental changes and fast feedback loops. Key Principles of Continuous Testing Automation Extensive use of automated tests to ensure comprehensive coverage and quick feedback.