Overview

Applitools is used by the world’s top organizations to help expedite time to market with Visual AI-powered functional & visual testing. Applitools easily fits into existing toolchains, turbo-charging CI/CD pipelines with AI-infused cross browser testing reducing test maintenance and slashing build times, allowing developers to test more, earlier.

With GitHub boasting over 56 million users as of September of 2020, it’s no surprise that a deep integration with Microsoft’s popular source control solution is critical to our customers’ app-dev workflows and thus success.

This article provides an overview of all the ways in which Applitools integrates with GitHub & GitHub Actions.

Use cases covered in this article:

• What is UI Version Control? (read more)
• Integration with GitHub via GitHub app (read more)
• Integration with On-prem GitHub server (read more)
• [Legacy Integration] with GitHub cloud and on-prem via direct integration (read more)
• Integration with GitHub Actions (read more)

What is UI Version Control?

By enabling the Applitools / GitHub integration, you instantly unlock UI Version Control. With UI Version Control enabled, developers can easily correlate code changes with UI/UX updates for Visual UI version control across web and mobile apps. As branches are created in GitHub, Applitools UI Version Control automatically mirrors the branch and allows for a new set of baseline images. This process simplifies the automated testing of feature branches without impacting the trunk and its tests. Next, as PRs are merged back, UI Version Control automatically updates the target branch with the source branch’s baseline images while ensuring that no conflicts exist between branches, eliminating test maintenance overhead.

Integration with GitHub via GitHub app 

With Eyes 10.11, Applitools now officially supports visual source control via the GitHub app. This interface requires fewer permissions than the Applitools direct integration and is thus the officially recommended integration by the Applitools product team. For step by step instructions on enabling the GitHub integration via GitHub all, visit the integration documentation.

Integration with GitHub server which is installed on-prem

Another great addition to Eyes 10.11 is the ability for GitHub on-prem servers to leverage a new proxy service to eliminate the security challenges IT teams previously encountered with the legacy “direct connect” integration. Setup is quick and easy, simply enable the integration, get the GitHub app, and install the Applitools GitHub Proxy Service.

[Legacy Integration] with GitHub cloud and on-prem via direct integration 

Existing cloud & on-prem deployments who have our legacy direct integration already enabled can continue to enjoy backward compatibility. 

Integration with GitHub Actions

Microsoft describes GitHub Actions as an easy way to automate all your software workflows including with world-class CI/CD. Build, test, and deploy your code right from GitHub. Make code reviews, branch management, and issue triaging work the way you want.

The Applitools integration requires your Applitools API Key and for you to pass Git Commit SHA as Applitools Batch ID. Once it’s all configured, GitHub Actions workflow understands when changes are made to code, and it automatically kicks off the workflow complete with your Visual AI powered test suite.

For more information, check out the article “How Do I Link GitHub Actions with Applitools?” from Satish Mallela 

Additional Links on GitHub & Applitools

• Get a Jump into GitHub Actions
• How to Setup GitHub Actions with Cypress & Applitools for a Better Automated Testing Workflow
• Webinar – Intro to GitHub Actions for Test Automation — with Angie Jones and Brian Douglas
• How to Test Your GitHub Pull Requests so You Don’t Break Your UI

Additional Source Control Integrations to unlock UI Version Control

• GitLab
• BitBucket
• Learn more about rich Applitools ecosystem by visiting our SDKs and Integrations page

(heart icon in header from Kiranshastry at www.flaticon.com)

The post Everything You Need to Know About Integrating Applitools with GitHub appeared first on Automated Visual Testing | Applitools.

Applitools finds functional & visual bugs for the world’s largest organizations; Rally® is leveraged by the largest enterprises to manage their agile development at scale, including quality management and the tracking of bugs. We collaborated to design a new integration to make this process faster and provide developers with the in-depth details they need to reproduce and triage bugs faster than ever before. 

Rally & Applitools

Rally Software is an enterprise-class platform that is purpose built for scaling agile development practices. Rally serves as a central hub for teams to collaboratively plan, prioritize and track work, from strategy all the way down to stories and bugs through the entire SDLC.

Applitools is building the next generation of test automation platform for cross browser and device testing powered by AI assisted computer vision technology known as Visual AI. Visual AI helps Developers, Test Automation Engineers and QA professionals release high-quality web and mobile apps enabling CI/CD.

Better Together – A Transformative Workflow

Applitools & Rally share enterprise customers. Like all modern businesses, our shared customers are looking for ways to gain an edge over their competition – and oftentimes that edge is gained by improved workflows and automation that saves time and allows teams to release better quality software faster. It’s a never ending battle to improve time-to-market, and for our shared customers, we have just added an integration that can do just this.

The integration allows users to log a bug in Rally without ever leaving the Applitools Eyes user interface and workflow. This means no context shifting, no copy / paste, no additional logins or lost browser tabs. It’s designed for both workflow efficiency and to ensure that every detail gets logged so developers can have everything they need to triage the bug and move on. It’s not only developers and testers who benefit from this integration, now any stakeholder in the entire appdev process from product managers to UX designers can automatically pinpoint the exact cause of issues using the Applitools Root Cause Analysis capabilities, send the results instantly to Rally and have everything needed to reproduce and fix defects on the spot.  

Setting up the Rally Integration

Your Eyes admin can setup the Rally integration via the Admin screen →  Integrations tab. The process takes less than a minute. First you’ll enter their Rally server & API key – then a run through a quick authentication process requiring a Client ID & Client Secret.

Once authenticated, all Rally projects will be available to choose from, so simply choose the first project you will link to Applitools along with the default work item type for issues created from within Eyes (most likely it will be ‘defects’). You can optionally add one or more defined fields by simply choosing the field name and and the default value – repeat as needed. For detailed setup instructions, please visit our Rally integration documentation.

Automating the Defect Feedback Loop

The beauty of this integration is in its simplicity. When a bug is found by Applitools, Users can gather all relevant information including screenshot and full steps to reproduce with a single region-drag and click using the bug region feature. The detailed information is instantly sent to Rally for teams to immediately begin triage.

Applitools Integration Ecosystem

The Rally integration is a continuation of our commitment to extending the Applitools integration ecosystem and fitting seamlessly into customers’ existing workflows and tools. Applitools customers now benefit from seamless integrations with over 60 SDKs for you to choose from. This includes:

• Testing frameworks and languages such as Selenium, Cypress, Appium, and more
• Source control solutions like GitHub, GitLab and BitBucket
• CI\CD platforms like Jenkins, TeamCity and Travis
• Collaboration tools like Slack
• Agile planning and defect tracking tools like Jira

Now, with the Eyes 10.11 release, we’re excited to also include Rally on this list.

The post Transforming Software Development through a Modern Feedback Loop appeared first on Automated Visual Testing | Applitools.

In the ever-changing world of development, new tools are constantly popping up to help developers create and manage complex solutions with the ultimate goal of building a great experience for their customers.

Whether it’s a tool to help that developer become more productive or an entirely new way of thinking about the architecture of the project, developers are able to spend more time focusing on the unique parts of our code and focus on that great experience.

But as technology and tools evolve, we’re often facing the reality that with those new powers, we can support more platforms and more experiences, adding more overhead to ensuring the quality of the product remains high.

How does GraphQL help developers scale to more platforms?

GraphQL is a query language for APIs that allow developers to request only the parts they need from large amounts of data. This includes the ability to create complex queries across different databases, that may previously have required multiple REST API requests to fulfill.

Describe your data, ask for what you want, and get predictable results with GraphQL

With the ability to query for only the data you need, Front End Engineers and App Developers have an easier time managing that data, being able to create lean interfaces with reduced complexity. This helps reduce both up front cost (from a money and time perspective) and maintenance cost.

As that time starts to free up, it becomes more realistic that those developers can support additional interfaces, creating more opportunity to support more platforms.

How can more platforms put you at risk?

The ultimate goal of adding your product to more platforms is that you can provide a better experience for your customers. Having a native application on iOS and Android allows developers to tap into the resources and features of those devices, allowing people to become more productive with those apps.

Leveraging GraphQL to manage content for multiple platforms

But every platform that’s added to your product offering creates additional overhead for the team that’s testing those platforms, whether that’s a single developer or a larger team of Quality Engineers. If your testing process can’t scale to meet the needs of the platforms offered,

This isn’t meant to deter someone from moving to new platforms, but it’s a reality that should be considered before making that jump. What options do we have to mitigate these concerns, scale our testing solutions, and maintain confidence in our platforms?

How can Visual Regression Testing help you scale your testing strategy?

Visual Regression Testing is an automated testing strategy that uses real-world screenshots of your application to ensure your product is working the way it should. It helps you gain confidence with how your application’s front end without having to spend time writing tests that end up testing the same things as your back end.

Starting with a baseline image, every time you trigger a new test, a new snapshot will be compared to the baseline image to see if anything changed, immediately flagging any discrepancies that could mean a feature regression or an issue with the user experience.

Applitools Eyes highlights the visual difference between the baseline and the most recent snapshot

The best part about Visual Regression Testing is it often leads to reduced testing overhead, as there’s much less code required to test a wider surface area of an application or website. These tests are also less fragile, as they don’t require code-specific selectors that could break if a developer decides it’s time to refactor.

How does Applitools use AI to supercharge Visual Regression Testing?

While Visual Regression Testing alone is a great way to level up your testing plan, most solutions will compare those snapshots pixel-by-pixel without any sort of intelligence in those comparisons. This can mean you’re getting failed tests due expected changes like content updates that are expected in any application lifecycle.

Applitools leverages the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to give Visual Regression Testing superpowers, giving your tests the ability to actually understand what’s on the page.

Your app uses the Applitools SDK to extract screenshots and code to assess differences with Visual AI

If your content manager fixed a typo on a page, your tests are no longer getting flagged. If the product team just posted an update to the blog, you can be sure that you’re not spending time debugging failed tests, that Applitools can detect that it’s a content update, and not a layout regression.

Scaling AI-powered Visual Regression Testing to all your platforms with Applitools

On top of the benefits of AI, Applitools allows you to scale these tests across all of your platforms with its vast library of SDKs and the Applitools Ultrafast Test Cloud.

Whether you’re trying to run your tests with Java or JavaScript, there’s an SDK that will let you easily hook into your favorite testing framework like Selenium and Cypress.

If you want Applitools to help cover a wide range of platforms, you can take advantage of the Ultrafast Test Cloud where you write your tests once and make sure all platforms are getting tested.

Running tests on multiple platforms using Ultrafast Test Cloud

Being able to multiply the impact of each test you write can help you scale your testing strategy as you bring on more and more platforms to your product offering.

Grow with confidence

As tools like GraphQL allow your business and product offerings to grow, don’t let testing strategies hold you back or worse, prevent you from testing at all.

By making sure you’re covering a wide range of platforms with Visual Regression Testing, you’re not only keeping your customers happy, you’re able to let Visual AI do the hard work and let you grow and remain confident that you’re maintaining a high level of quality for your business.

The post GraphQL, Data Sources, & Visual Testing appeared first on Automated Visual Testing | Applitools.

With over 1100 registrations and 300 completed submissions – it came down to only 50! It’s an honor to announce the winners of the first ever Holiday Shopping Hackathon. Please join the Applitools family in celebrating the winners of this festive and eye-opening event!

Our top ten diamond prize winners will receive either an iPhone 12 Pro or the cash equivalent. Winners are listed in no particular order.

Next up are our ten platinum prize winners who will receive either a Sony PS5 Digital Edition, Oculus Quest 2, or the cash equivalent. Winners are listed in no particular order.

Last, but certainly not least are our Gold & Silver prize winners – congrats to all our amazing winners!

Gold & Silver Prize Winners

A bit of background on the Hackathon

The software engineering community was tasked with testing the functional and visual quality of the “Applifashion” retail app to ensure it was ready for the busy online holiday shopping season. The hackathon, which took roughly two hours to complete, challenged participants to author tests and catch bugs using the Applitools Ultrafast Test Cloud platform. Participants also practiced modern QA techniques, used advanced features such as root cause analysis, and learned how Visual AI technology compares to pixel-based image comparison.

What the Hackathon winners say

We wanted to leave you with quotes from the Hackathon winners. We are thrilled to recognize them for their achievements and are pleased with their success.

About the Hackathon

• “The Holiday Shopping Hackathon allowed me to gain working knowledge and insight about all the great tools and features that Applitools has to offer. I now interested in looking into using Applitools in my current role.” – Taylor Ellsworth, Automation Engineer
• “Using Cypress + Applitools, setting up tests to run across different browsers, devices, and viewport sizes took less than an hour. With traditional automation tools, this could take days! Even without concurrent runs, I executed 15 tests in multiple browser combos in less than 60 seconds. Applitools and Cypress’ dashboards provide helpful insights into failed tests and track execution history all without any extra setup or reporting integration. Ultra fast!” – Lauren Christianson, Automation Engineer
• “I am a fan of Batman and I like this quote from the movie Batman Begins – “It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.” This is very apt for Applitools and no matter how many competitors arise, they are going to excel always.” – Sainath Ramanathan, Principal Software Engineer
• “Hackathon is a unique way to learn visual testing using such an innovative product. The tool shows the power of complex AI-based algorithms in easy and intuitive features. This is the 3rd time I am participating in the Applitools hackathon and still learning new things (features) about the product. Thank you team for organizing such wonderful events.” – Sakshi Nagpai, Tester
• “Applitools Holiday Shopping Hackathon was fun, interesting & a great opportunity to learn in depth about the Applitools platform. Ultrafast grid is named just right as it checks the visual diffs across a range of devices & viewports within seconds.” – Tarun Narula, Test Manager
• “Great accessible introduction to an awesome testing platform! As a Cypress and Applitools newbie, the platform was extremely easy to use and I was able to hit the ground visual ai testing super quickly!” – Willian Andrews, Developer

About Visual AI

• “Applitools hackathon was a great way of showcasing, yet again, how difficult is to create a robust and maintainable pack of automated scenarios to have a good coverage of our web applications and how important visual testing is in order to provide the best user experience. With the massive matrix of devices/browsers/versions/OS available currently, it brings even more complexity that needs to be handled, unfortunately involving a lot of time and technical expertise. After solving the traditional approach and starting into the modern one with Visual AI and Ultrafast Grid solution, it made me realise how easy it was to setup the same scenarios to run across different browsers, devices, and operating systems into such a configurable tool as Applitools. Ultrafast Grid takes away the pain of having all these available, or integrating with another 3rd party cloud solution. It gives a really powerful solution to have such a broad coverage of visual tests running in different configurations, less code and less maintenance as you don’t need to handle all the required steps or selectors anymore. One screenshot and off you go!” – Ioana Porcarasu, Head of Quality
• “I am so happy to have found this hackathon. It changed my view of Visual AI testing from being good-to-have to a must-have in every project. Applitools Eyes is easy to use and adds a huge value to your test project.” – Bushra Alam, Automation Engineer
• “An extraordinary occasion to profound plunge into Applitools and to investigate Visual AI testing. Hackathon is one method of becoming more acquainted with additional about how to utilize Applitools with the references given in the notes is truly marvelous strategy. Applitools – A Game Changer for Visual Testing.” – Madan Mohan Reddy Badveli, Automation Engineer
• “I have learned a lot in Ultrafast Grid and the power of Visual AI testing through this hackathon. This is the tool that I have been looking for in visual testing.” Yudi Edisugiarto
• “After completing the challenge, I am eager to learn more about visual AI assisted testing tools.” Aabishkar KC, Automation Engineer

Winners from Past Hackathons

• 2020 Cross Browser Testing Hackathon Winners
• 2019 Visual AI Rockstar Hackathon Winners

For More Information

Actions you can take today:

• Sign up for Test Automation University
• Visit the Automated Visual Testing Course on Test Automation University
• Sign up for a free Applitools account
• Request an Applitools Demo
• Visit the Applitools Tutorials

The post Holiday Shopping Hackathon Winners Announced! appeared first on Automated Visual Testing | Applitools.

The Red Herring award recognizes the continent’s most exciting and innovative private technology companies, and Applitools was recognized for its AI-powered test automation platform. 

Applitools is honored to be a winner of the 2020 Red Herring Top 100 North America Awards. We are both excited and humbled to be included on this prestigious list alongside some amazing and innovative growth companies.

Hundreds of companies from verticals such as Tech, Banking, Insurance, Retail, Pharma, and Publishing — including 50 of the Fortune 100 — use Applitools to deliver the best possible digital experiences to millions of customers on any device and browser, and across every screen size and operating system.

The Red Herring Top 100 has been a noteworthy award in our industry since 1996 when the accolade started as a means for discovering and advocating the most promising private ventures. To win the award, organizations must go through a rigorous three-step process during which Red Herring looks at more than 20 criteria to determine the winners. In addition to a thorough report from the company, there is also an interview process where the CEO has a conversation with a Red Herring judge. If the judge determines the company’s business model is deserving of further attention, they move forward. If not, the process stops there. The Red Herring Top 100 is extraordinarily thorough and detailed and is not an easy award to win.

Applitools delivers a Next Generation Test Automation Platform through Visual AI and Ultrafast Test Cloud. We enable engineering teams to release high quality web and mobile apps at incredible speed and at a reduced cost.

Applitools Visual AI modernizes important test automation use cases — Functional Testing, Visual Testing, Web and Mobile UI/UX Testing, Cross Browser Testing, Responsive Web Design Testing, Cross Device Testing, PDF Testing, Accessibility Testing and Compliance Testing — to transform the way organizations deliver innovation at the speed of CI/CD at a significantly lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

This is a recognition we share with everyone who makes Applitools the company that it is today – from our customers and end-users to our partners and investors – congratulations to an amazing team!

Read the full press release.

The post Applitools Wins 2020 Red Herring Top 100 North America Award appeared first on Automated Visual Testing | Applitools.

Ready for a holiday testing challenge?

If you are up for a fun holiday themed challenge and enjoy learning new skills, join the world’s best quality engineers between now until December 17, 2020 to compete in the industry’s premier holiday themed hackathon. Focused on the use of Applitools Visual AI and the Ultrafast Test Cloud, this virtual event seeks to educate and up-skill developers and test automation engineers all over the world. With Applitools, engineers will be able to test at incredible speeds, deliver higher quality software faster than ever, and earn a chance to win one of 50 sought-after holiday prizes.

50 Winners. Amazing holiday prizes!

Diamond prize – 10 winners

Win one of ten iPhone 12 Pro’s or cash equivalent gift card.

Platinum prize – 10 winners

Win one of ten Sony Playstation 5, Digital Edition OR Oculus Quest 2

Gold prize – 15 winners

Win one of fifteen one-year annual pro membership for Ministry of Testing – learn more

Silver prize – 15 winners

Win one of fifteen Epic React Standard License – learn more

Winners will not receive prizes until their eligibility and identity have been verified. US entrants will have the choice of prize or cash equivalent gift card. For Entrants located outside the US, prizes will be cash equivalent gift card based on US market price of prize. Read complete details.

How does the hackathon work?

Software developers, quality engineers, and QA professionals will compete for 50 exciting holiday prizes. For those who qualify, you will be challenged to author three Visual AI powered functional tests and run them against three versions of a real-world e-commerce app using the Applitools Ultrafast Test Cloud. Contestants are free to choose from a variety of popular test frameworks, such as Cypress, Selenium Webdriver, WebdriverIO, or TestCafe, and do so in their preferred language including Java, Javascript, Python, or C#.

Here is what you need to do:

1. Apply here to get access to the hackathon application, instructions on how to complete the challenge, and full access to Applitools Visual AI and Ultrafast Test Cloud.
2. Submit when you’re ready. The instructions will guide you. We expect most submissions to take about 2 hours to complete. There is plenty of help to get it done if you need it. Be sure to follow the instructions exactly as our judging process is automated!
3. All submissions are due by December 17th, 2020 at 11.59pm PT. No exceptions!
4. Winners will be announced in mid January, 2021

That’s it! So why wait? Get started today.

Winning is fun, but there are key take-aways.

Our hackathons were created to make a point. There is a better way to automate your testing. We are challenging you to think different about how you approach test automation – see for yourself how Visual AI and the Applitools Ultrafast Test Cloud can increase app quality, reduce authoring and maintenance time, and speed up your builds – all while using your favorite testing framework!

We’ve done this before, twice!

In November 2019, the Visual AI Rockstar Hackathon was a huge success. Almost 3,000 quality engineers participated and the response was overwhelmingly positive. Following the success of the Visual AI Hackathon, we launched the Ultrafast Cross Browser Testing Hackathon that again put thousands of engineers into friendly competition to catch bugs across a variety of browsers and devices using both their legacy solutions as well as the new Applitools Ultrafast Test Cloud.

Here is what some of our winners had to say about their experience:

We expect the Holiday Shopping Hackathon to be our biggest hackathon yet – so what’s stopping you?

Take The Challenge

Why participate in the Applitools Holiday Shopping Hackathon?

• Learn New Skills – You get hands-on experience seeing how easily you can create and run cross browser Visual AI powered tests.
• Experience a new way of running application validation. If you have your own multi-browser lab today, or if you use a third-party service that requires multiple tests run on multiple setups in parallel, you can see the difference in running the Applitools Ultrafast Test Cloud in comparison. And, if you have not considered running tests across multiple browsers – due to cost or complexity – you can reevaluate your decision.
• Win prizes and bragging rights as a hackathon winner. To show the world, we will proudly display your name on our website. Your success will demonstrate your engineering acumen to your peers and anyone else that matters to you.

Your opportunity to learn something new and stand out in a crowd awaits. Sign up now.

The post Announcing: Applitools Holiday Shopping Hackathon appeared first on Automated Visual Testing | Applitools.

Overview

The intent of this post is to share with you details of the Applitools Ultrafast Grid, an evolution in cross-browser testing designed for modern teams who test modern apps at scale.

The Ultrafast Grid represents the first true breakthrough in cross-browser testing architecture since it’s initial inception many years ago. It’s important to understand the differences between the traditional approach to cross browser testing and the modern approach that Applitools has taken.

Early Web

Taking a look back at how the internet has evolved can certainly be nostalgic. Have you ever visited the ‘Way Back Machine’ and looked for companies that have been around for a while? It’s amazing how far the web has evolved. In its infancy, sites were mostly static, there were few content creators, blinking text and bad gifs were drastically over-used and web applications were just not sophisticated. The internet was often accessed via all-in-services like AOL or Prodigy, and for advanced users, a dedicated browser like Netscape Navigator.

Fast forward to the late 90’s where usage of all-in-one providers diminished and a browser war began between IE and Netscape. At the time, web standards were poorly defined and web applications were gaining popularity. This created the need to test applications across browsers to ensure functional and visual defects were detected. Cross-browser testing was born – and quickly evolved from companies creating a local matrix to the usage of cloud-based VMs.

HTML 5 & Responsive Web

As mobile became dominant, so did the use of HTML5, CSS and responsive web applications. As a result, a new generation of browser wars began with additional players entering the mix, specifically Google Chrome, Firefox (born from Netscape), Safari – and Internet Explorer, which remained widely popular. At this point in time, traditional cross browser testing began to show scalability issues – and naturally so. There are now four main browsers that are updated far more frequently combined with multiple viewports and we haven’t even discussed operating systems.

Traditional cross browser testing executes tests built on your existing testing framework, (think  Selenium), across all browser, viewport, and OS combinations specified by the engineer. This  means a 2 minute test would need to run separately across each combination in the matrix. The issue that began to arise was the result of brittle functional tests, and the need to maintain connectivity and connection of those tests for every single browser, viewport, and OS combination.

The Modern / Intelligent Web

Today, we are in a phase referred to as the “intelligent” web. With chatbots, and more sophisticated omni-channel applications being driven by AI and ML. JavaScript, HTML, and CSS standards are strictly driven by W3C and WHATWG bringing deeper consistency across modern browsers. Additionally, modern JavaScript solutions like jQuery & Babel have smoothed out browser support for JavaScript APIs, making the testing of browser engines themselves relatively binary. In a nutshell, the modern browser engines have been tested to near perfection.

Because of standards, you might expect any combination of browser, OS, device, and viewport size to function identically. And, unless you use platform-specific or device-specific functionality, that’s a reasonable expectation. So, what should you expect from cross-browser testing?

Functional differences between modern standards-compliant browsers happen rarely. You expect the browser to receive and process the same HTML, CSS, and JavaScript from the server.  Rendering differences do occur, though, as each platform uses its own rendering engine. And those rendering differences can result in real-world functional differences from a user’s perspective.

So, if your cross-browser tests run the same DOM across different devices, do you need to keep asking the server to serve up the same content multiple times to find defects caused by rendering?

The Next Generation of Cross Browser Testing

As you’ve read, traditional cross browser testing is not providing the ROI it once did, but a new modern approach is bringing new hope to quality-focused teams.

Applitools Ultrafast Grid leverages Visual AI (AI powered computer vision) to test across browsers faster and with more coverage than ever possible.

Here is how it works:

Your test suite is executed locally on a single browser. During execution, the Applitools SDKs capture the DOM & CSS rules for every browser state and sends it to the Ultrafast Grid. This is a one-way connection thus does not require a reverse proxy or IPSec VPN – something any IT team with a focus on security can appreciate.

Next, the Ultrafast Grid renders the DOM in parallel using containers and grabs a screenshot across each browser and viewport combination. The screenshots are then sent to Applitools Eyes for Visual AI analysis. This entire process is blazing fast – in a matter of seconds you are viewing results from the test run.

Because the tests are executed only once, connectivity and connection to the browser are only required for that single run which results in incredible stability of the run. What’s more – that single run also reduces the required set-up and tear down of data (data consumption).  Parallelization and containers result in incredible speeds and Visual AI can replace many of the brittle locators in your test code resulting in further stability.

Above: Diagram of Applitools Ultrafast Grid

Summary

In summary, your test coverage plan should be focused on your specific needs. If older browsers are still supported – you will want to ensure that you run your regression suite on each of those browsers and versions, plus a modern browser. By combining traditional cross-browser testing with the new modern approach, you can save time with faster builds and save money by reducing dependency on expensive cloud testing providers.

Cover Photo by Marc-Olivier Jodoin on Unsplash

Applitools Ultrafast Cross Browser Testing Hackathon

• 100 Winners; $50K in Prizes – Apply today / Submit by June 30, 2020

Read More and Do More

• Exit The Test Maintenance Road to Nowhere Through Visual AI
• Cutting-edge Functional UI Testing Techniques – Live Coding Webinar w/ Adam Carmi
• How Do You Catch More Bugs In Your End-To-End Tests?
• Sign up for a free Applitools account
• Request an Applitools demo.

The post The Next Generation of Cross Browser Testing is Ultrafast appeared first on Automated Visual Testing | Applitools.

Colleagues past and present suggested that I write a blog post about my tips and tricks in working from home. I’ve never considered myself an expert, but do have some systems in place that work for me.

I’ll begin with a statement – the last 4 weeks are not the normal work from home – there are a host of factors that further complicate the whole WFH experience.

1. Have a morning

Since starting at Applitools, I’ve been able to adjust my schedule and actually have been able to have a bit of a morning ritual and it’s been nice. I am sure to wake up 60-90 minutes before starting work, making it a point to take a breath, have a coffee, breakfast, and reach out to some of my family on the east coast.

2. Bandwidth and WiFi

Invest in the best ISP and speed that you can swing. I average about 330 Mbps down and 12 Mbps up – the upload speed bare minimum I’d recommend is 10Mbps, so I am hovering at the edge of acceptable here. The issue is for some reason in the US, there is a massive up-charge for upload bandwidth – it’s likely due to the fact that you are either using the network for business or running a small server farm, so ISPs take advantage of that. Since most of us connect wirelessly, I’d also suggest a good wireless mesh network, I’ve been happy with the Eero system. Basically, you never want to be the person with the bad connection or choppy video.

3. Be heard – loud and clear

Get a USB headset with microphone, wireless devices just do not work as good.

4. Bond with your colleagues

This may seem obvious, but having a personal relationship with your co-workers is the foundation of effective communication. Finding a point of common interest is a great way to start. Ask questions and learn about them – take it beyond work, but keep it work-appropriate.

5. Embrace your situation/environment

As a natural extension of bonding with your colleagues – don’t shy away from having your colleagues learn a little about you. For example – I usually do not shut the door to keep my cats out, I welcome them into my home office and enjoy when they make an appearance on a video share – however, be aware of where the line is and that they are not interfering with the task at hand or the level of professionalism needed for the call.

6. Share video

This one is easy – turn your camera on for meetings. Even if others are not sharing, I believe it’s nice to show your face and that your colleagues have your undivided attention. Also – hats are your friend and be aware of your hygiene and what is “in the frame” around you.

7. Over-communicate / collaborate.

When you work remotely, it’s important to be as clear as possible. Tools that help with effective collaboration should be leveraged, Slack and Asana come to mind for general purposes, but also seek task-specific tools that offer collaboration such as Applitools Slack integration or bug sharing features. Angie Jones just wrote a blog showcasing some of the great collaboration features in Applitools – check it out:  5 Visual Testing Features that Foster Collaboration Between Remote Workers

8. Lunch & Air

I am guilty of not always taking my own advice here, but when I do – I always feel so much better. Do your best to take a few minutes, enjoy lunch and even get out for a short walk to change the scenery and get some fresh air. Also, I am a coffee fanatic, but at home, do not drink coffee past 12pm as it could impact that night’s sleep.

9. Office space

If possible, have a dedicated office space. I realize this is a luxury in today’s situation, but if you will be working remotely – it’s helpful to put you into a work mindset and to be able to step away from that mind-set when your work day ends. For almost 2 years, I worked from and lived in a 650 sq ft home with my partner – there was no dedicated office, rather a desk in the kitchen / living room – I am not saying you cannot make it work, I am just saying it’s preferred to have dedicated space.

10. Set boundaries and stop working

I end my day routinely on-time – it’s a schedule and it works for me. There are always exceptions that require an altered schedule, but make sure they are just that, exceptions. Being able to step away, and have an evening routine such as workout, cooking a nice meal, having a glass of wine or all of the above will help ensure you return to work every morning, refreshed, recharged and firing on every cylinder.

For More Reading

• 5 Visual Testing Features that Foster Collaboration Between Remote Workers
• Overcome the challenges of Cross-Browser Testing using Applitools Ultrafast Grid!
• A/B Testing: Validating Multiple Variations
• Learn new skills on Test Automation University

The post 10 Essential Tips & Tricks on Working From Home appeared first on Automated Visual Testing | Applitools.

Digital Transformation drives rapid market expansion of Visual AI from automated UI testing and monitoring to holistic support of all visual aspects of software applications

SAN MATEO, Calif., April 17, 2018 – Applitools (https://applitools.com), the leader in Application Visual Management, today announced it has raised $31 million in Series C funding led by OpenView, the expansion stage venture firm, with participation from its existing investors Sierra Ventures, Magma Venture Partners, iAngels, and La Maison. Applitools will use this investment to fuel market expansion of its Artificial Intelligence (AI) Powered Visual Testing and Monitoring solution by scaling its R&D, Operations, and Sales. With tens of thousands of users across more than 300 companies, Applitools Eyes recently crossed a total of 100 million visual comparisons and one billion component level validations. Since it was founded in 2013, Applitools has raised more than $46 million. 

Read more about the next phase of Applitools’ company journey at: (https://applitools.com/blog/the-next-phase-of-the-applitools-journey).

“Our mission is to help customers automate all visual aspects of application delivery, and address the growing importance of providing exceptional digital experiences across any device, browser, operating system, and language,” said Gil Sever, CEO of Applitools. “We are excited to partner with OpenView to scale our enterprise-grade platform to support digital transformation with the velocity and quality that businesses demand.”

Applitools developed the first and only Visual AI Engine that mimics the human eye and brain in a reliable and scalable fashion. Applitools Eyes (https://applitools.com/features), the company’s Automated Visual AI Testing and Monitoring Platform, leverages the largest data set of UI validations in the world and achieves 99.999 percent accuracy, i.e. less than 10 false detections in a million comparisons. The company’s AI engine continues to evolve through machine learning by analyzing millions of new images on a daily basis.

Applitools’ Automated Visual AI Testing and Monitoring Platform v10 is available now. To learn more and open a free trial account, visit: (https://applitools.com/users/register).

“If there’s a single commonality of the fastest growing companies it’s that they understand their brand is the sum of every experience a customer has with you,” said Bill Macaitis, former CMO at Slack, Zendesk and SVP Marketing at Salesforce. “The need to deliver delightful, incredible digital experiences to millions of customers, 24/7, on a breadth of devices, browsers, and operating systems can be daunting. Applitools makes it easy via their Application Visual Management (AVM) approach, which enables automated validation of every aspect of the visual user experience. Applitools is a game changer.”

“OpenView is thrilled to partner with the Applitools team as they solve for one of the few remaining bottlenecks in the continuous delivery process – visual testing,” said Jim Baum, Venture Partner at OpenView who joins the Applitools board. “For modern enterprises, a web or mobile application is the face of their brand and Applitools provides a crucial protective layer.” Jim will bring world class operational experience to Applitools’ Board of Directors, as he was CEO of Netezza and took the company public and later drove its acquisition by IBM in 2010 for nearly $2B.

To help guide Test Automation Engineers, DevOps Teams, Front End Developers, Manual QA experts, and Digital Transformation executives, Applitools created Application Visual Management – a new category framework that simplifies and automates all visual aspects of application creation, testing, delivery and monitoring. The goal is to help shorten application delivery cycles and improve software quality because what the customer sees is what matters most. By helping prevent visual flaws from occurring in the application delivery process, teams can avoid the issues that frequently result from events such as browser and operating system updates, new devices penetrating the marketplace, and the effects of dynamic content on the web.

Today’s DevOps toolchain only supports the functional aspects of modern application delivery in areas like testing, monitoring, Continuous Integration (CI), Continuous Delivery (CD), accessibility, security, bug tracking, collaboration, source control, and more. AVM applies Visual AI technology to add automated visual validation of all the visual aspects of application delivery to the DevOps toolchain, allowing acceleration and full automation of the entire delivery process. Fortune 100 companies have already realized significant benefits through the use of Visual AI technology and those benefits can now be offered to any Enterprise or SMB. This round of funding will be used to expand the offering with new capabilities and to target users across the entire software development, delivery, and monitoring toolchain.

To learn more about AVM, download the Application Visual Management whitepaper for free at: (http://go.applitools.com/AVM-Category-Whitepaper.html).

About Applitools

Applitools is on a mission to help Test Automation Engineers, DevOps Teams, Frontend Developers, and Digital Transformation Executives release, test and monitor flawless mobile, web, and native apps in a fully automated way that enables Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI-CD). Founded in 2013, Applitools uses sophisticated AI powered image processing technology to ensure that an application appears correctly and functions properly on all mobile devices, browsers, operating systems and screen sizes. Applitools has more than 300 customers from a range of verticals, including Fortune 100 companies in software, banking, online retail, insurance, pharmaceuticals, and more. Applitools is headquartered in San Mateo, California, with an R&D center in Tel Aviv, Israel. For more information, please visit applitools.com.

About OpenView

OpenView, the expansion stage venture firm, helps build software companies into market leaders. Through its Expansion Platform, OpenView helps companies hire the best talent, acquire and retain the right customers and partner with industry leaders so they can dominate their markets. Their focus on the expansion stage makes OpenView uniquely suited to provide truly tailored operational support to its portfolio companies. Learn more about OpenView at openviewpartners.com.

Applitools Media Contact:

Jeremy Douglas
Catapult PR-IR
303-581-7760, ext. 16
jdouglas@catapultpr-ir.com

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