Perforce unveils AI Validation to enhance testing efficiency

Perforce Software has announced the introduction of AI Validation, a new feature in its Perfecto platform for continuous testing of web and mobile applications.

Designed to meet the demands of increasingly complex applications, AI Validation employs advanced artificial intelligence to validate applications visually and contextually. This feature allows organisations to avoid creating multiple scripts and frameworks which do not scale well across platforms. The solution dynamically adapts to application changes without requiring human intervention, enabling faster delivery of software while maintaining quality.

The AI-driven capability simplifies testing with natural language prompts, facilitating the validation of dynamic and context-rich application elements without the need for technical expertise. AI Validation is also designed for seamless integration into CI/CD pipelines, offering faster release times, reduced costs, and increased efficiency across various platforms. This innovation has already shown tangible benefits, with the client Hoopla reporting a 20% reduction in testing time during pre-production use.

Perfecto is a cloud-based test automation platform that aims to ensure the quality and performance of web and mobile applications. With its comprehensive suite of continuous testing tools, including functional, performance, and real-device testing, Perfecto helps teams accelerate release cycles and improve user experiences. It integrates with CI/CD pipelines and offers AI-driven insights to enhance identification and resolution of issues across a range of devices and browsers.

Stephen Feloney, Vice President of Product Management at Perforce, commented on the effectiveness of AI Validation, stating, "The success that our early adopters have already experienced with AI Validation is a huge validator to our approach with testing. Creating more frameworks and more code in co-pilot does not help testers do what they have always wanted: validate exactly what appears on the screen. This is what AI Validation provides them. Our early customers are already experiencing a reduction in their time by around 20%, but we anticipate this will be closer to 50% or more as we continue to innovate in this area."

Existing clients like Midwest Tape, a distributor of physical and digital media, have already benefited from AI Validation by reducing their overall testing time by 20%. A QA Automation Lead at Midwest Tape explained, "AI Validation has proven to be extremely beneficial and critical for our testing processes, as it eliminates the dependency on traditional [object] locators. Given that our application relies heavily on [object] locators, which can often be unreliable and prone to flakiness, the use of AI-driven validation significantly enhances stability and efficiency."

Byron Chan, Digital Delivery Quality Assurance Lead at Servus Credit Union, also expressed optimism about the new feature's potential. "We are excited about where this can go," he said. "I see tremendous potential because eventually you could come up with test cases in this prompt format before development even starts, and then once developed/deployed, you could potentially avoid manual testing and automation test development because it's already done."

AI Validation is especially beneficial for enterprise teams dealing with the complexities of multi-platform testing. It integrates smoothly into CI/CD workflows, enabling continuous testing that can adapt to the agile and DevOps frameworks. The solution promises to maintain high standards of quality and speed across development life cycles while improving efficiency, lowering maintenance requirements, and reducing costs.

Perforce plans to introduce further enhancements in the coming months, including autonomous testing, low-code workflows, and AI-guided suggestions, alongside real-time adaptation capabilities, AI-driven dashboards, and more. These developments are positioned to redefine industry standards and advance continuous testing methodologies. Current Perfecto users can contact their system administrators to enable AI Validation for their testing environments.