There are number of automation tools in the market today, some old legacy tools, some new. All of the tools are competing against each other to get their own market-share and niche. There is a new player in this space – called MABL. Mabl claims to “Advancing QA using Machine Learning.”

What is Mabl?

Mabl is a startup that is using the power of machine learning and artificial intelligence to enable easy functional testing of applications. The Mabl software, which runs on Google Cloud platform, was developed to help programmers peg their development progress with their QA, which always seems to lag behind and leads to delays in finalizing or launching products. Tools ranging from BigQuery to Google Cloud Functions to Google Kubernetes Engine are used to ensure the smooth development of Mabl.

The brainchild behind Mabl

Mabl is based in Boston and founded by Izzy Azeri and Dan Belcher, two former employees of Google. Earlier, Azeri and Belcher built a cloud-based monitoring platform Stackdriver, which was later bought by Google in 2014. The two founders then decided to spend some time at Google, during which they were able to move Stackdriver to the next level, especially integrating it with the Google Cloud platform. Now they are working on their new testing tool, Mabl, that uses AI and Machine Learning to enable excellent testing, and the results have been welcoming from both the developer and investment communities.

Mabl’s  Investors

Mabl’s technology looks promising and has gained the attention of investors. The startup raised $10 Million in a Series A funding round in February 2018. And it got this funding from CRV and Amplify Partners and looks at a brighter future already. Apart from CRV and Amplify, GV (formerly Google Ventures) has also invested in Mabl.

How does Mabl Work?

Once you signup as a developer, you can simply direct the Mabl application to your web application and allow the software to scan your system for errors. Mabl will undertake default tests on your platform. Whiles it undertakes these tests, its Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning capabilities are used to learn the entire process – learning your system, your code, testing execution, and detecting any defects in the system. When this is done, the program stores this process, and as you undertake more tests, Mabl learns your system and automates everything.

The Mabl Testing Insights is a behavioral observation made by Mabl on your applications and marks out what is called “areas of interests”, which are normally special aspects that need the attention of the development team. The tool, after undergoing two tests of a particular system, uses this “Insights” to mark out major changes in the form of screenshots, which also allow developers to view front-end codes, contents of a JavaScript console, and many other features that might be introduced in the near future.

How is Mabl different from other automation tools?

Mabl’s developers envisaged a lot of problems in the testing ecosystem, the reason for this new innovation. These are what makes Mabl different:

  • Unlike other testing platforms, in order to ensure a smooth interaction with your application, Mabl doesn’t depend on brittle element indicators, but rather uses a smarter, AI-oriented means of front-end element references and test automation, which surpasses almost all testing systems.
  • The Insight’s feature, which takes screenshots of changes in code and marks it has needed attention is not found in other testing environments.
  • Unlike other testing interfaces that rely on historic run data, Mabl uses an AI-based system that takes clues from previous testing exercises. This helps the software to use its ‘Analysis Pipeline’ feature to scrutinize the behavior of your code over a specific period. It goes beyond test logs into images, screenshots, HTML data, errors, and all problems that might emanate from different browsers. This is something current testing environments can’t provide.
  • Instead of building new testing codes all the time, you can just train the Mabl system to learn your testing routines and environments and your next line of tests would be automated. You can’t get this in other systems.

What are the tools that can be integrated with Mabl?

Apart from using Slack and Emails as a way of giving notifications to developers, the team has used a lot of tools, which are all integrated with Mabl, including Google Kubernetes Engine, Cloud ML Engine, Google Cloud Functions, App Engine, BigQuery, and a lot more.

How much does Mabl cost?

You can sign up for a free trial version to test if your application works with Mabl. Mabl’s pricing is subscription based and starts at $59 per month (billed annually). There are higher enterprise level plans available for large testing teams.

What are the skills required to use Mabl?

Mabl doesn’t need a special skill before one can be part of the testing environment. So far as you are a developer who builds stuff, you can use Mabl to test your applications and codes. It also comes with a Google Chrome Extension you can use to make things easier. And since it automates tasks as it learns on the way, you wouldn’t have to worry about future testing codes.

Should software testers be excited about Mabl?

Of course, there are many software testing tools out there. But not all tools are the same. Even with the many testing environments, there are still problems we face as application development team when it comes to testing our code for deployment – the bugs we can’t locate, the loading problems, and the delays in launching our final products because of these issues. For test automation engineers who want something different and better, these are the reasons why you should go for Mabl:

  • No more crumbling tests: since Mabl leverages Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in testing software, it detects all problematic elements automatically and makes sure that everything is seamlessly updated, thus helping solve problems that even the developer’s eye cannot comprehend or see.
  • It uses its powers to compare previously tested code and currently tested one, finds changes, and sends an alert, ensuring that there is stability in code finalization and release.
  • Instead of waiting for your customer to tell you about issues in your program before you solve the issue, Mabl saves you that embarrassment and gives you all alerts, helping you solve problems before launching your software.
  • It also uses AES-256 bit encryption to make sure that your data is safe from intruders.

How to get started on Mabl?

In order to start, you just need to register as a developer and point the Mabl software to your code or application and it would start the basic test as it does to other platforms. No need for any cumbersome stuff. Easiest way is to look at their how to videos and understand the setup and basics of the tool.

Conclusion

Mabl does not magically solve all of the automation problems that we face today. You will still need to use your human intelligence to design your tests and find root cause for the problems test automation tool identifies. With so many test automation tools fighting for our attention, and traditional tools’ approach to solve regression testing with brittle tests, Mabl stands out of the crowd and provides a system that has never been seen before. It is time to get involved.