In today’s fast-paced software development landscape, delivering a flawless and functional product is paramount. Ensuring that your software meets its intended requirements, functions correctly, and provides an excellent user experience is crucial for success. That is where functional testing tools and frameworks come into play.
With an array of functional testing tools and frameworks available in the market, choosing the right one for your project can be daunting. In this guide, we’ll explore the top functional testing tools and frameworks that have proven to be invaluable in today’s dynamic software landscape. Let’s dive in and explore them.
Table Of Contents
- 1 What is Functional Testing?
- 2 What is a Functional Testing Tool?
- 3 Functional Testing Tools Features
- 4 The Top 10 Functional Testing Tools For Automation Testing
- 5 Functional Testing Tools Comparison
- 6 Criteria to Select the Right Functional Testing Tools
- 7 Why Choose Testsigma for Functional Testing?
- 8 Automated Functional Testing with Testsigma
- 9 Conclusion
What is Functional Testing?
Functional testing is a type of software testing that helps verify that the software application works correctly and behaves according to its specified requirements. The aim of functional testing is to ensure that the software works accurately and reliably.
It helps identify defects, deviations from requirements, and usability issues, allowing developers to make necessary corrections and improvements before the software is released to users.
What is a Functional Testing Tool?
A functional testing tool helps automate and streamline the functional testing process in software development. These tools help QA engineers execute test cases, assess the functionality of different software components, and identify defects, if any.
Functional Testing Tools Features
Here is a list of some top features commonly found in functional test tools,
- Easy test case creation and management
- Automate web, mobile, desktop, and API testing in one place.
- Supports both code-based and codeless testing
- Record and play feature
- Support multiple platforms
- Easy test data management
- Integrates with CI/CD tools
- AI-powered capabilities
- Support scripting languages
- Reusable scripts
- Cross-browser testing
- Parallel test execution
- Custom Test Report
Let’s take a look at the features in detail.
Test Scripting: The ability to easily create, edit, and manage test cases or scripts.
Record and Playback: Allows users to record user actions and run them as automated tests on the cloud.
Test Data Management: Tools should offer options to manage test data effectively, including data generation, import/export, etc.
Cross-Browser Testing: Supports testing across multiple web browsers to ensure compatibility.
Multi-Platform Testing: Ability to test applications on different OS, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, Mac, etc.
Parallel Test Execution: The ability to run multiple test cases concurrently to save time and resources.
Reusability: The ability to reuse test scripts, test cases, and test data to reduce duplication of tests.
Test Execution Reports: Supports custom report generation, including detailed logs and dashboards.
API Testing: Ability to test APIs and web services for functionality and performance.
Database Testing: Tools should support database testing, including SQL query execution and validation of database states.
Integration with CI/CD Tools: Smoothly integrates into your DevOps and CI/CD pipelines to automate testing as part of the software development lifecycle.
Regression Testing: The ability to automate regression testing to verify that new changes haven’t broken existing functionality.
Support for Various Testing Types: Tools should be versatile enough to support different types of functional testing, such as smoke testing, sanity testing, and user acceptance testing.
Supports Scripting Language: Support scripting languages such as Java, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, etc.
High Scalable: The ability to handle a large number of test cases and users, especially for enterprise applications.
When selecting a functional test automation tool, consider the specific needs of your project and the features that align with your testing objectives and requirements.
The Top 10 Functional Testing Tools For Automation Testing
Various functional testing tools are available to help automate and streamline the testing process. Here is a list of the top 10 functional testing tools,
1. Testsigma
We couldn’t leave our brainchild out of the equation, could we? So, the USP of Testsigma is simple! It is a robust cloud-based, low-code AI-powered test automation platform that works with web, mobile, desktop, and API tests. That’s helpful if you have your product on multiple tech stacks and are testing all of them.
Support for different operating systems and browsers is also present, along with the capability to provide continuous feedback. This capability is helpful, especially when you’re committing changes and want to check whether everything is working properly.
And given that it can efficiently run tests in parallel, devs can save a lot of time without waiting for threads to finish up. Then comes the insight, arguably one of the best things about automated tests. Everything is presented with easy-to-understand timelines and reports within short and long intervals.
Moreover, the overall integration of this suite (through the software development kit and APIs) seemed pretty smooth. That smoothness improved even more with the utilization of additional plugins like data generators from its extensions/add-ons collection.
2. Selenium
No matter where you go, Selenium is a name you’re bound to hear for automated web testing. This open-source framework is primarily designed for web apps and has been around for a long time.
As expected, it supports most mainstream OS and browsers — from Linux and Windows to Chrome and Edge (and the good-old IE — RIP). You can also write the tests in a bunch of languages, depending on your preference. The options include Java, Python, C#, PHP, JavaScript, Ruby, Perl, and many more.
Creating tests on this is fairly intuitive, and the whole thing becomes much more effortless, given how long it has been around.
3. TestComplete
TestComplete is a test automation tool developed by SmartBear, and it is rather powerful and versatile. For one, it comes with a prebuilt test editor for keyword-driven workloads. It supports languages like C#, JS, Python, and C++.
It covers a plethora of tests, including unit testing, coverage testing, data-driven testing, regression testing, and many more. Another impressive bit is that it utilizes AI to recognize UI elements. Having such capabilities reduces the load on the tester.
What I like about this tool is its impressive continuous testing capabilities. Users can integrate it with all sorts of frameworks, ranging from Jenkins to Jira. As expected, cross-browser testing is as good as it gets when it comes to testing web apps.
4. Worksoft Certify
Certify is a robust test automation tool designed by Worksoft. It works flawlessly on multiple platforms and operating systems. The best thing is even large-scale software developers rely on it, meaning the scalability and capability of this tool are beyond doubt. Even large enterprise applications like Oracle utilize it.
The setup process and design are rather intuitive, and it supports all of the common testing methodologies. Moreover, this tool works exceedingly well if your testing team includes non-technical people in it. Users can write codeless tests with it, which allows everyone to play a role.
However, it may not be the ideal way to go for small-scale applications. The biggest reason behind that would be its price, which may not be feasible unless you have a comparatively large-scale application.
5. Micro Focus UFT
Micro Focus Unified Functional Testing (also known as UFT) is another popular tool utilized for functional test automation across multiple platforms and environments. This tool also features a quality object recognition capability, which reduces the load on your shoulders.
It works on a wide array of elements, including APIs, mobile, desktop, and web apps and services. You could use this to run through the interface and both the service and database layers efficiently. This is not an open-source tool, so you’ll have to purchase the license.
The insights that it presented were easy to figure out and utilize to create swift decisions, cutting time off the testing process.
6. Ranorex
Ranorex is another GUI testing tool for the trio of desktop, mobile, and web applications. It is an excellent solution if you require continuous tests during your development cycle. That also means you’ll get quick feedback to get things running swiftly.
Another benefit of Ranorex is its intuitiveness. You can even take a no-code approach with this tool, which is especially beneficial for beginners. It also has support for all of the major platforms and browsers for cross-browser testing.
What this automated functional testing tool excels at is its object identification capability. For example, if you make changes to an element on the user interface, Ranorex will be able to update that repository accordingly without any intervention from the testers.
Moreover, it comes with a video reporting capability. That way, users can rewatch the whole test without actually running it. This certainly saves users time and resources.
7. Marathon
Marathon is another open-source automated functional testing framework. It’s primarily developed with Java and Swing.
While Marathon is better suited for smaller applications, it has another version (MarathonITE) to work on larger and more complex programs. The environment is well-integrated and makes test automation straightforward, even for beginners.
8. Sauce Labs
Another efficient tool for tasks like continuous testing would be Sauce Labs. What makes it unique is its cloud-based testing design, which gives you an edge for frequent tests.
It also comes with a low-code testing capability, meaning you can write the test script without any programming language. That’s pretty handy if you’re new to automation tests. Furthermore, the insights and reports are well-detailed and helpful. It also works with Selenium, Appium, and even Playwright.
9. Leapwork
Leapwork is another reputable testing platform that supports functional testing. It is a no-code automation platform designed to streamline and simplify functional testing of web and desktop apps. However, it does not allow testers to automate functional testing of mobile apps.
10. Virtuoso
Virtuoso is a low-code test platform that lets you automate functional UI testing. It is a cloud-based platform that supports only web application testing, not mobile or desktop.
The choice of a functional testing tool depends on various factors, including your project’s requirements, the technology stack, your team’s expertise, and your budget. So, choose wisely.
Functional Testing Tools Comparison
Below list will discuss the comparison between different tools for functional testing,
Criteria to Select the Right Functional Testing Tools
Selecting the right functional testing tools is crucial to ensure effective and efficient testing processes. Here are the criterias to consider when choosing functional testing tools:
Alignment with Objectives
Ensure the tool aligns with your testing objectives, such as regression testing, compatibility testing, or API testing.
Ease of Use
Choose a tool that offers an intuitive and simple user interface to minimize the learning curve for your testing team.
Scripting Options
Assess whether the tool offers both scriptless and scripting options, depending on your team’s expertise. That way, you can make testing accessible to everyone on your team, including developers, QA, stakeholders, and project managers.
For example, Testsigma supports both scriptless and script-based testing, which makes it the best option for technical and non-technical users.
Low-code Automation
The tool should support low-code test automation, where testers with no coding knowledge can also easily create and maintain automated tests.
Third-party App Integration
A tool that fits into your delivery pipeline to streamline your testing process. For example, a tool like Testsigma can integrate smoothly with CI/CD, bug tracking, project management, and collaboration tools.
Custom Test Reports
Evaluate the tool’s reporting capabilities, including the format and detail of the generated test reports. Choose a functional testing tool that lets users create custom test reports in any format they want.
CI/CD Integration
A tool that perfectly fits into your DevOps and CI/CD pipeline. That is, the functional test tool should integrate with CI/CD tools like TravisCI, Circle CI, Jenkins, etc.
Active Customer Support
Check if there is an active user community for knowledge sharing and issue resolution. Also, check the quality and responsiveness of the platform’s customer support and technical assistance.
High ROI
Before choosing a tool, consider the overall cost, including licensing fees, training, maintenance, and any additional infrastructure requirements. If you want to calculate ROI on test automation, check out this blog here.
Why Choose Testsigma for Functional Testing?
Testsigma is a low-code cloud-based test automation platform mainly used for functional testing of web, desktop, and mobile applications.
There are several reasons why Testsigma can be a perfect tool for automated functional testing. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits it offers to users,
Key Benefits
- Automate web, mobile, desktop, and API tests in one place
- Create test cases using simple English, as it supports NLPs.
- Comprehensive cross-browser testing where you can test over 3000+ real devices/tablets and 1000+ browser/OS combos.
- Supports continuous testing and data-driven testing
- Supports both codeless and code-based testing
- Create custom test scripts using Java
- Run parallel testing across multiple environments simultaneously
- Provides a record-and-play feature that allows you to record user actions and automate them as tests on the cloud.
- It supports visual testing. You can just compare images and identify visual bugs.
- It provides a Chrome extension, Testsigma Recorder, that users can use to create automated tests as they use websites on the go.
- Extended 24×7 customer support via phone, chat, email, and community.
- Testsigma also offers free tools and add-ons to help with testing.
- Seamlessly integrates into your DevOps and CI/CD pipeline.
- Offers AI capabilities like self-healing and in-built test case review management.
- Automate different types of functional testing, like,
- Integration testing
- Regression testing
- API testing
- UI testing, and more using the same platform.
- It is available as both open source and Enterprise ready.
Testsigma offers various pricing plans. Try the pro version, Testsigma Cloud, for free and benefit from all the automation and AI features with the 21-day free trial. Sign up to start automating tests in less than 2 minutes.
Automated Functional Testing with Testsigma
It is very easy to automate tests using Testsigma. Just follow the below steps to start automating your functional tests,
Let’s take an example and see how quickly you can automate tests using Testsigma.
Sample Page –
Step 1 – Sign in to Testsigma Cloud. Navigate to Create New – Create Test Case, or use Create Project to create a new project.
Step 2 – Create your test steps using the appropriate NLPs from the drop-down and proceed. Alternatively, you can use the Record button to record user interactions to create test steps.
Step 3 – Once the test steps are created, click Run to execute the test cases.
Step 4 – After the test execution, you will get the test case results along with what failed and details.
Conclusion
The above-mentioned functional test tools are the unsung heroes behind creating flawless software. Each tool brings its unique strengths to the table. Leveraging these tools will help streamline your testing process, catch bugs early, and deliver a seamless, high-quality user experience. Remember, the right functional testing tool should align with the specific needs, technical stack, and goals of the project at hand.