Zeenyx Software
Outline-based Testing for Improved Coverage

“It came as a bit of a shock to see how challenging it was for non-programmers to use automated testing tools that had become cash cows for large companies,” recollects Brian Le Suer, one of the original creators of SilkTest and the CEO of Zeenyx Software. In an industry dominated by giant software vendors, Brian Le Suer and CTO Dave Laroche of Zeenyx Software took up the gauntlet in 2006 to build “the next generation software testing solution.” “After having worked as automated testing consultants for almost a decade, we decided it was time to invest the experience in building a testing solution that everyone could use, regardless of their ability to code.” Guided by a zeal to develop user-friendly manual and automated software testing solutions, Hopkinton, MA-based Zeenyx’s testing tools vouched for higher tester productivity and reduced maintenance costs associated with updating the tests. Zeenyx endeavors to reduce the cost of software testing by making testers more productive.

Instead of building components to check boxes on a feature list, the firm employs strategies to build meaningful integration with the best and the most popular version control, defect tracking and requirements management systems. Zeenyx has evolved from being a traditional testing solutions provider to deliver robust automated solutions with a scriptless, drag-and-drop interface.

With a focus on functional testing, Zeenyx provides their customers with an integration experience that is seamless and richer in features than competing solutions that are often cobbled together to form all-in-one packages. The firm implements a step-based testing approach to provide the benefits of data-driven and keyword-driven testing while reducing the complexity and the level of effort required. By forming relationships between application objects, test actions and test data, Zeenyx’s flagship offering, AscentialTest automatically generates the test framework, enabling domain experts to design and create automated tests that are ready to execute without recording or scripting. The tool features a unique, patented snapshot technology that allows users to create tests through drag and drop.

A testing team that understands how the application should be tested can build effective automated tests with AscentialTest without specialized training

The users can create tests that are every bit as robust as those that are hand-coded but without the requirement for programming skills or additional frameworks. “What this means for our customers is that they don’t have to create a special team to build automated tests,” adds Le Seur.

Zeenyx’s AscentialTest enables their customers to start building tests right out of the box. “A testing team that understands how the application should be tested can build effective automated tests with AscentialTest without specialized training,” delineates Le Suer. In one instance a CAD industry firm leveraged AscentialTest to ensure that their web-based system that supports hundreds of designers could support multiple concurrent users over long periods of time. “Within weeks of using AscentialTest, the customer reported about finding and fixing multiple failures that went undetected previously as they had no way to repeat a test over and over to the point of failure,” informs Le Seur.

Zeenyx’s AscentialTest has grown from being an automated testing tool into an Enterprise Level testing solution that supports Test Planning, Automated and Manual Testing, Test Data Management, Test Management and Reporting. Moving ahead, Zeenyx will integrate AscentialTest with Requirements Management in the near future to enable customers to evaluate their testing coverage against their requirements and trace defects back to their root causes. The firm also has plans to expand upon their platform support to include mobile platforms during the upcoming year.