RPA (Robotic Process Automation)
RPA in QA & Testing
Key Takeaways
- RPA automates repetitive QA tasks (regression, UI) to cut testing time and accelerate releases.
- Robots provide consistent, errorfree test execution, standardizing test quality across teams.
- Automated evidence capture and reporting eliminates manual screenshot/log collection.
- Nocode RK Series lets testers create/modify scenarios with strong image recognition for custom UIs.
Product and service quality is one of the most critical factors determining a company's credibility. However, the testing process designed to ensure that quality is often plagued by repetitive manual tasks and dependency on individual skills. As a result, testing can become a bottleneck for the entire development cycle, leading to market launch delays and inconsistent quality.
To break through this situation, "RPA (Robotic Process Automation)" is gaining traction as a key to achieving both high quality and development speed through test automation.
This article outlines the challenges faced by QA and testing departments, explains the benefits of RPA adoption, and presents concrete use cases. Discover how KEYENCE's user-led RPA, the "RK Series," can contribute to improving your company's quality and development efficiency.
Challenges in QA & Testing Departments
In the mission to deliver high-quality products to the market quickly, testing departments face the following challenges:
Massive Workload for Regression Testing
Every time a new feature is added or a bug is fixed, regression tests must be run to ensure existing functionalities are not affected. Much of this involves repetitive manual operations, consuming an enormous amount of time.
Inconsistent Test Quality
The perspective and accuracy of tests can vary depending on the experience and skills of the tester, leading to unstable product quality.
Tedious Evidence Collection
The process of taking countless screenshots of operation screens as proof of successful test execution, then renaming and organizing the files, is a significant burden.
Constraints on Testing Time
With the acceleration of development cycles, such as in agile development, there is a need to run tests overnight or on weekends, but this is often difficult due to human resource limitations.
Managing Diverse Test Environments
The same tests need to be performed across various combinations of operating systems, browsers, and devices, which requires substantial effort for environment setup and test execution.
Benefits of RPA Implementation
Introducing RPA into your testing process can solve these challenges and deliver numerous benefits.
- Drastic Reduction in Testing Hours and Faster Development: RPA can run tests automatically 24/7, dramatically shortening the time required for testing. This contributes to accelerating the entire development cycle.
- Elimination of Human Error and Standardized Quality: RPA executes operations according to the test script withaccuracy, eliminating human error. This ensures that the same quality of testing is maintained regardless of who runs it, achieving quality standardization.
- Automated Test Evidence Collection and Management: RPA automates screen captures and log acquisition during test execution, saving them in a designated folder with dates and test case names. This completely eliminates the effort of creating evidence.
- Shift of Testers to Core Tasks: By delegating simple, repetitive tests to RPA, testers can focus on more creative and high-value work, such as advanced test design and exploratory testing that is difficult to automate.
RPA Use Cases in QA & Testing
Here are some specific examples of how RPA can automate testing tasks.
| Task | Automation with RPA |
|---|---|
| Automated Regression Testing | When an application is updated, RPA automatically operates all existing functions according to the test scenario to check for any new defects. |
| Automated UI Testing | RPA performs actions like button clicks, text input, and menu selections, automatically verifying that screen transitions and display results are as expected. |
| Automated Test Data Generation | RPA automatically registers large volumes of test data, such as user accounts or product masters, into the system based on a list in Excel. |
| Automated Test Result Recording and Reporting | If an error screen appears during a test, RPA automatically captures it, compiles it into a test result report, and notifies relevant parties via email. |
| Cross-Browser Testing | RPA sequentially executes the same test scenario on multiple browsers like Chrome, Edge, and Firefox to check for compatibility issues. |
Why Choose KEYENCE's RK Series RPA?
There are clear reasons why KEYENCE's "RK Series" is the preferred choice for test automation in the field.
1. Superior Image Recognition for Any UI
Even with custom-developed applications or special UIs that are difficult for conventional RPA to recognize, KEYENCE's advanced image recognition technology accurately identifies buttons and input fields for stable operation.
2. Empowers Testers to Automate Themselves
No programming knowledge is required. Testers can easily create and modify automation scenarios simply by recording the manual testing operations they perform daily.
3. Comprehensive Support from Start to Finish
From consulting on which tests to automate first, to training on scenario creation and proposing improvements after deployment, KEYENCE specialists provide end-to-end support.
For detailed materials or a consultation on test automation, please feel free to contact us.
