Nehemiah Security

Business Need

The AtomicEye Solution Suite offered by Nehemiah Security helps companies determine their security posture, manage attack surfaces and protect endpoints from targeted threats. The AtomicEye ASM and AtomicEye CP solutions within the suite run on-premises on client devices.

A critical factor in the effectiveness of the software is how well the interface performs and facilitates end-user interactions. Each time the software solutions go through a major release or patch update, the QA team needs to react quickly.

“We have approximately 1,800 test-cases for which we might need to run user-interface tests,” says Heath Howe, a Senior QA Engineer with Nehemiah Security.  “We typically have very quick turn-around times, particularly when patch releases occur.

Automating the regression testing process is particularly critical for helping Howe and his team meet the deadlines. Windows forms, Web forms, services and other components all need to be tested.

“If we fall behind schedule, it impacts the software development timeline, which means a delay in delivering new functionality to our customers,” says Howe. “We need to make sure we stay on schedule, even on short notice.”

Targeted Solution

To take on this challenge, the QA team responsible for testing AtomicEye ASM and AtomicEye CP user-interfaces has relied on SmartBear TestComplete for more than five years. “I also used TestComplete at two other companies I previously worked for, so I was glad to see it was part of our testing tool kit when I joined Nehemiah Security,” Howe points out.

SmartBear TestComplete features a best-in-class object identification algorithm that enables QA teams to build stable, scalable, and easily maintainable automated GUI tests. Testers can automate anything on user-interfaces and can choose from more than 50K object properties across more than 500 control types—including all major frameworks and third-party controls.

“The flexibility in how automated tests can be built is one of the key features for us,” Howe points out. “Among our team members, we have individual preferences in the way we like to build tests. For example, I like to create a lot of script extensions. TestComplete gives us that type of freedom so each tester can work the way they prefer.”

Benefits and Results

As in past years, SmartBear TestComplete continued to play a key role in the software development lifecycle at Nehemiah Security as the frequency of releases increased over the past 12 months. Major releases now occur approximately every four months, and patches are released in between.

“The primary benefit for us is in regression testing,” Howe says. “We can build simple tests to save our sanity each time we run through a cycle as well as speeding up the process. Looking ahead, we anticipate the cycle frequency will even be shorter.  TestComplete will help us handle the faster pace.”

When patch releases occur, TestComplete automation is particularly helpful because those are on short cycles and often contain major software changes. QA typically has a very quick turn-around time window.

“To beat our deadlines, we put a lot of effort into organizing mapped objects so they can be found faster,” Howe says. “We set up the structure in a way that gets to objects the fastest while also reducing the path within aliases to make objects more accessible. This is particularly helpful for the Web component of our application, which has numerous panels, forms and frames. The search can take a long time to find an object on a page if it’s not well-structured.”

Looking ahead, Howe plans to begin presenting TestComplete results to developers—including screen shots, snap shots of virtual machine groups, and recordings. “TestComplete is powerful, flexible, accessible and easy- to-use,” he concludes. “It’s definitely worth a look for anyone who is considering automating their UI testing.”

Business Challenges

• Ensure client software interfaces perform well and facilitate end-user interactions.
• Automate user-interface regression testing to accelerate the QA process.
• Test user interfaces of Windows forms, Web forms, services and other components.
• Maintain QA testing schedule (even with short notice) to help keep software development on time.

SmartBear TestComplete

• Save time and improve test quality with Object Engine with 1k Rules Covering 50k properties and 500 controls
• Leverage on-demand, cloud-based test lab to test applications on various combinations of operating systems, browsers, and resolutions
• Create advanced tests without scripting, using simple point-and-click actions to setup your sophisticated testing scenarios
• Generate automatic regression tests that don’t fail when the UI changes
• Separate data from test commands to ease maintenance efforts
• Leverage custom plug-ins to extend functionality (no programming experience required)

Measurable Results

• Plays key role keeping the software development lifecycle on schedule.
• Speeds up process for creating and running regression tests.
• Provides flexibility so testers can build automated tests in their own unique way.
• Facilitates organizing mapped objects so objects can be found faster.
• Generates feedback on user-interface defects that can be presented to developers.