Since this thread hits my expertise... We have developed Usetrace (https://usetrace.com) for a few years targeting teams that want non-techies to automate GUI testing. (Disclaimer, I am a founder). So far the feedback has been positive and we're getting healthy revenue. It seems that teams are desperate for faster solutions than coded UI tests. But they will only use a tool that keeps up with frequent UI changes (automatically or semiautomatically) and is really painless and quick to use.
Some lessons learned that we're solving with the product:
- creating basic tests must be doable in 1 minute
- testing is a team effort (testers&devs) - must have collaboration tools built-in
- must be extendable with code (js)
- sync/timing issues must be handled automatically (when possible)
- UIs will change - generate locators and algorithms that adds robustness
- debugging must be speedy: must be able to debug test steps live with the browser context (html5 remote connection to the browser)
- randomness is needed - need an easy way to introduce random data (like random emails)
- testing emails must be as easy as testing a web page - inbox must be an integrated feature
- must handle frames transparently - user does not care if the element is inside a frame or not
- must be pluggable to CI
- must have good, clear reports
- some tests will be flaky - must be a way to keep builds stable & green
- no installations / plugins, just a browser
- fast to update tests when UI changes - the system must do global replacements when it sees duplicate stuff
- duplicate test step/code will cause a major maintenance burden - must have reusable/parameterizable components
- people will want to reuse functional tests for stress testing and monitoring - allow that too
- people need to check for dynamic content - must have a quick and codeless way to use variables
- people want to have quick builds - tool must offer parallel testing
- people will want to integrate to their own systems - must offer APIs
- html pages are responsive - must have support for different screen sizes
Some lessons learned that we're solving with the product: