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The Challenge
Custom software product developer Tricon Infotech is renowned for delivering rapid and valuable solutions by assigning cross-functional teams of engineers to its client engagements. Embracing an Agile development process, Tricon is constantly generating new code that requires thorough reviews by its test engineers. This review process, which is essential for ensuring code quality and integrity before deployment, involves a combination of manual and automated testing.
Because development teams typically must invest significant time in creating automated testing frameworks, Tricon identified an opportunity to introduce new efficiencies. (For example, frameworks often include reusable functions/methods that must be adapted to each project’s requirements, such as testing APIs prior to finishing GUIs and web applications.) The company decided to empower its development teams to test code in real-time, eliminating the need to wait until later stages.
The Solution
Tricon’s testing engineers crafted an innovative new testing framework using the Open Source Microsoft Playwright testing solution. While Playwright offers rich automation features, many engineers are unfamiliar with it; a steep learning curve and time-consuming approvals make it difficult to adopt. To overcome this challenge, Tricon’s test engineers configured Playwright accelerator, creating a readily deployable framework — an innovative hybrid testing framework that combines Cucumber’s BDD elegance with Playwright’s browser automation for streamlined, behavior-driven web application testing. The new framework serves as an accelerator that enables the development team to promptly test web applications and APIs with minimal training.
This novel set of automated testing scripts allows developers to seamlessly invoke the new function, load the URL, and commence script writing. The framework encompasses various automated tasks, such as extracting values from different file formats (e.g., XML to JSON), PDF validation, UI testing, and API call validation. Importantly, it eliminates the need to create reusable methods for testing different HTTP methods with headers, saving significant time for the organization.
Tricon named the new solution “Nilgiri” after both the picturesque mountain range in Southern India and the woodland-dwelling flycatcher bird.
The Result
The innovative solution has played a pivotal role in supporting Tricon’s shift-to-left philosophy, empowering developers to test their code in real-time. This approach has led to the production of higher-quality and more robust code at every stage of development. To facilitate seamless implementation, the test engineers crafted a comprehensive README document that guides developers through the entire process. The developers, in turn, embraced the user-friendly solution, which has significantly accelerated the release process.
In keeping with Tricon’s commitment to openness, the company has released the Nilgiri solution under an Open Source license, making it available on NPN. Tricon remains committed to the ongoing development of the framework. Future plans include the integration of an accessibility testing script into the framework.