This Glossary is intended to assist newbies and experienced Qa members to understand and associate the Key Terms used in Testing and relate their usage in Worksoft SaaS.

For each Key Term, you will see a description along with an Example/Use case and a Reference Article, where applicable. This helps you not only with basic knowledge but also to get a deeper understanding, with which you will be able to confidently and independently work on Worksoft SaaS.

Incase the Key Term you are looking for is not available, please feel free to add in a suggestion and we'll get back to you with a response.

A

Keyword	Description	Example/Use Case	Reference Article
Analytics	Worksoft SaaS provides a rich list of analytics/Reports that can be used to review the Test results. These Reports are broadly classified under three headings; Quality, Planning & Subscription. Different Reports available under these categories provide insights into the quality of the application under Test, usage of Worksoft SaaS and also provides information that can be used for planning purposes.	Let's say you have had multiple deployments to your application over a couple of weeks and have performed Tests against this application. While it is possible to review these results without using Reports, however, for Reporting to the management and for performing trend analysis (on quality of the deployments) the Reports under Quality will come in handy.
Attribute	In Worksoft SaaS, Test data is fed to a Test using data files that are defined as a table structure using data definitions. Each column/field in the table data is identified by a name (Attribute.) A list of Attributes makes up a data definition.	For Testing a typical “sign up” page, there is a need to fill in the detail for 6-8 fields. In Worksoft SaaS, this data can be loaded to the system using data files and each field would be an Attribute in the corresponding data definition.
AUT (Application Under Test)	An application under test is typically the application you want to use for your testing.	Insurance Premium Calculator is a tool developed in Worksoft SaaS and it is used as AUT to verify the success of functionalities developed.
Automation Assets	The entities which are created for automation or Testing are called automation assets.	Test Scripts, Scenarios, Run Definitions, Data Definitions, and Data Files are all referred to as automation assets.

C

Keyword	Description	Example/Use Case	Reference Article
Capacity Utilization	Based on your Worksoft SaaS’s Subscription, there’s a space allocation and limit allocation done for you. These limits are controlled using Capacity & Concurrency. Capacity determines how many minutes of Test executions you can perform in the system. Typically, it would be 24 hours for a small Subscription and the total execution time cannot be beyond 24 hours in a given UTC calendar day. The capacity/minutes are reset at 00:00 UTC Hours on a daily basis. Any unused capacity will lapse and cannot be forwarded to the next calendar day.	If you have taken a small Subscription with Worksoft SaaS, you would get 24 hours of execution time. Every Test you execute in Worksoft SaaS will be used to calculate Daily Capacity and once you reach 24 hours of utilization, Worksoft SaaS will block you from further executions.
Cloud execution	Worksoft SaaS allows you to execute Tests on various device/browser combinations. In addition, you can also execute Tests on your local browser. Executions performed on Worksoft SaaS infrastructure are typically classified as Cloud executions. At present, executions performed on one’s machine (local executions) will not consume any capacity.	Execution is done virtually on the cloud using a configuration like Windows 10 MS-EDGE.
Command	Worksoft SaaS allows for scriptless automation and executions. A Test case in Worksoft SaaS is recorded using QaSCRIBE and is a series of actions. In simple terms, these are referred to as Commands in Worksoft SaaS. Worksoft SaaS has 1000+ commands to perform various activities like clicking a button on a page to making calls to REST APIs by preparing XML and/or JSON strings.	To perform a click action on the web page, command “click” or “clickAt” can be used.
Concurrency Usage	Every Worksoft SaaS Subscription has two limits; Capacity & Concurrency. While capacity is used to account for Worksoft SaaS usage specifically in terms of executing Tests, Concurrency is defined as the number of parallel Tests that can be executed in the Worksoft SaaS cloud.	Typically small Subscription in Worksoft SaaS allows for 3 Tests to run in parallel at any given time.

D

Keyword	Description	Example/Use Case	Reference Article
Data Definition	Data Definitions help you define the structure of your data that you want to feed into your automated Tests during the execution.
Data Files	Data Files are CSV files uploaded to Worksoft SaaS and contain all the “data” combinations (of Test inputs and expected Test outputs) you want to include in your Test coverage.	Consider Product Details as a Data File, which consists of data related to Product Name, Price, Publisher Name, Seller Details, etc.
dbCONNECT	dbCONNECT is a feature of Worksoft SaaS, that offers a very powerful and highly secure way to integrate your automated Tests within Worksoft SaaS platform with database(s) behind your company's firewalls and perform CRUD (Create, Read/Retrieve, Update and Delete) operations.	While executing a Test case, you can feed data either by using data files or can have Worksoft SaaS pull data from one of your databases that are maintained behind the firewall in your network. To connect and read from the database in a secure fashion, Worksoft SaaS supports dbCONNECT (light-weight utility to be installed in one of your machines) and a variety of commands.
DOM (Document Object Model) Structure	DOM stands for Document Object Model. It's a way of representing a structured document via objects. It is a cross-platform and language-independent convention for representing and interacting with data in HTML, XML, and others.
Domain	A Domain in Worksoft SaaS is a space created for you/your company upon taking the Subscription. Your domain in Worksoft SaaS is typically identified by “https://*.web.worksoft.cloud” and is provided a login to access the domain.	A domain can be set up to manage multiple Projects for Testing multiple modules of the application.

E

Keyword	Description	Example/Use Case	Reference Article
Worksoft SaaS Subscription	Subscription in Worksoft SaaS is "Consumption-Based Pricing" that is better suited for Testing in a SaaS+Cloud platform. It basically means you pay based on the amount of Testing you do. Our Subscription levels are designed to suit a wide range of Testing needs. You can pick the level that is right for you. Each Worksoft SaaS Subscription plan comes with: ‘Daily Capacity’ (maximum number) of hours of Test execution allowed/day that is reset at 00:00hrs (UTC) & ‘Maximum Concurrency' that allows you to execute a defined number of Tests in parallel.	If you have taken small Subscription with Worksoft SaaS you get 24 hours of capacity and a concurrency of 3.
Exception Handling(Commands)	While at a high-level Worksoft SaaS is based on scriptless execution, it does allow for the needs of advanced automation developers in terms of some of the best practices available in scripting languages. “Exception handling” is one such feature in Worksoft SaaS that allows for the automation developer to catch an exception and do the needful.

H

Keyword	Description	Example/Use Case	Reference Article
Hybrid Apps	Hybrid applications are web applications (or web pages) in the native browser, such as UIWebView in iOS and WebViewin Android (not Safari or Chrome). Hybrid apps are developed using HTML, CSS, and Javascript, and then wrapped in a native application using platforms like Cordova.	Instagram app

I

Keyword	Description	Example/Use Case	Reference Article
Implicit/Explicit Data Looping	By definition, a “loop” is a sequence of tasks that are repeated. Worksoft SaaS also provides such a feature wherein a list of Test Scripts can be repeated by putting in a loop. This looping can be either “Implicit” or “Explicit”. If you do not define a loop but have a contiguous set of Test Scripts mapped to the same Data Definition, Worksoft SaaS will identify such occurrences and prompt you while you assemble a scenario.

L

Keyword	Description	Example/Use Case	Reference Article
Labels	“Labels” is one of the strongest features of Worksoft SaaS. It helps to categorize Test artifacts into multiple categories and also helps in Report generation.	You can create a Test case ID, Requirements, Release and Sprint as different labels and map the entities to respective Labels.
Locator	A locator, in the context of a web page, is a target that identifies an element in the content of the web application Locator uses path expression to identify the location of an element on the web page by its unique identities like id, name, CSS or XPath. When a Test Script is recorded using QaSCRIBE, the tool would automatically detect all of these available locators and store in the Test Script when it is saved to the cloud. During execution, Worksoft SaaS uses one of these locators to uniquely identify the element on the web page for interaction.	Example: XPath is a locator that can be used to navigate through elements and attributes in an XML document.

M

Keyword	Description	Example/Use Case	Reference Article
Metadata	By definition, Metadata refers to a set of data that describes and gives information about other data. In the context of Worksoft SaaS, Metadata is often referred to when talking about Data Definition. Data Definition is a tabular structure of data that is to be stored in Worksoft SaaS as a form of CSV files and Field Names/Attributes, that make up the Data Definition, is what is commonly referred to as Metadata.	Analytics

N

Keyword	Description	Example/Use Case	Reference Article
Native Apps	A native mobile app is a smartphone application that is coded in a specific programming language, such as Objective C for iOS or Java for Android operating systems. Native mobile apps provide fast performance and a high degree of reliability.	Amazon app

P

Keyword	Description	Example/Use Case	Reference Article
Parameterizing	“Parameterization” is a short alternative name for the longer process/terminology we use for “Binding Data Definition’s Attributes to Targets and/or Values within Instructions of your Test Scripts”. The “Parameterization” process prepares the ground for a Test Script to be run in a Data-Driven mode. We do this by “Binding” (or mapping) Target and/or Value fields of Instructions within that Test Script to Attributes from one of the Data Definitions you had created within your Worksoft SaaS Project.	Attributes binding at command level.
Predecessor	In Worksoft SaaS, the term “Predecessor” is heard in the context of assembling a Scenario. During Automation, there can be a requirement where you might have to perform certain mandatory actions before(Predecessor) a workflow. Worksoft SaaS allows you to add a Scenario as a Predecessor for another Scenario(the main action); This way it helps in eliminating the need to add all dependent Test Scripts in a single Scenario that would lead to more maintenance.	Sample Predecessor Scenario is Login to the AUT before performing the Test in the AUT.
Product	A Product in Worksoft SaaS represents an "application" for which you want to develop and execute automated Tests. A Project may involve developing Test automation in the context of more than one application. In Worksoft SaaS, the automated Test Scripts are at the Product level whereas the 'Scenarios' and 'run definitions' can span Test Scripts across Products. A Project must have at least one Product. There is no limit on the maximum number of Products that can be created.	Hierarchy: Project ---> Testing Product

Q

Keyword	Description	Example/Use Case	Reference Article
QaCONNECT	Worksoft SaaS provides a rich set of REST APIs under the umbrella of QaCONNECT. These APIs are defined to do various activities like integrating with/within your Continuous Integration (CI) tools or custom-created programs (for example a Dashboard type application) and will let you " remotely" manage these.	Trigger Test executions in Worksoft SaaS and optionally feed in the Test data to drive the data-driven Tests, Inquire upon the status of those executions, Download the Test execution results and execution assets (screenshots, video, and logs) Stop (abort) the Tests in progress.
QaSCRIBE	QaSCRIBE is our cloud-based Test script "authoring" tool that can help you rapidly create, run, and debug robust automated Tests with just a browser. It includes a script recorder, editor, debugger, and the local execution engine. It is developed based on WebExtensions API and works as a browser add-on for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. QaSCRIBE browser add-on only takes seconds to install or upgrade.
QaSCRIBE Execution	You can execute a Test (a script stand-alone or in the context of a scenario or run definition) "locally" (either Firefox or Chrome in the local machine.) As this is done in QaSCRIBE, it’s referred to as a QaSCRIBE Execution.

R

Keyword	Description	Example/Use Case	Reference Article
Regression Testing	Regression Testing is defined as a type of software testing to confirm that a recent program or code change has not adversely affected existing features. In Regression Testing, a full or partial selection of already executed Test cases are re-executed to ensure existing functionalities work fine.
Run Definition	This is an assembly or grouping of Scenarios in a specific order/sequence. Test Run Definition in Worksoft SaaS typically represents a 'Test suite' that executes on a specific schedule. For example, you can create a Run Definition called 'Smoke Test Suite' or 'Mini Regression Suite' or 'Full Regression Suite'.	Sample Run Definition for an e-commerce application: Scenario 1: Login, Search Product and Logout from a Web Page Scenario 2: Place Order and Payment

S

Keyword	Description	Example/Use Case	Reference Article
Scenario	This is an assembly or grouping of Test Scripts in a specific order/sequence. A Scenario in Worksoft SaaS typically represents a Business Use Case/scenario that you want to be independently Tested.	Sample Scenario for Login, Search Product and Logout from a Web Application: Test Script 1: Login to Web Page Test Script 2: Search for a Product Test Script 3: Logout from the Web Page.
Secure Cloud Tunnel	The entities which are created for automation or Testing are called automation assets.	Analytics
Successor Scenario	In Worksoft SaaS, the term “Successor” is heard in the context of assembling a Scenario. During Automation, there can be a requirement where you might have to perform certain mandatory actions after(Successor) a workflow. Worksoft SaaS allows you to add a Scenario as a Successor to another Scenario (main action) thereby eliminating the need to add all dependent Test Scripts which would lead to more maintenance.	Sample Successor scenario can be emptying the cart and Logging out of an e-commerce website.
System Defined Variables	“System Defined Variables” in Worksoft SaaS is designed to cater to the need to reuse a single Test Case that can fit well with different behaviors and layouts. Worksoft SaaS provides you to handle such behavior based on Testing Contexts (like different devices, browsers, browser versions, etc.), Environments and Automation Assets (Data Files, Scenarios & Run Definitions).	Consider a scenario where you have to verify the Product details on mobile devices and desktop. Assign the System Defined Variables in the script that will have to execute on mobile devices and desktop. The execution condition would be based on the Testing Context selected during the Test Run.

T

Keyword	Description	Example/Use Case	Reference Article
Test Artifact (US)/Artefact (UK)	In layman’s term, Test Artifacts are deliverables or documents which are prepared during the Testing process. In Worksoft SaaS, this roughly translates to the building of automation i.e. Test Script, Scenarios, etc.
Test Cycle	A "Test Cycle" in Worksoft SaaS represents a series of Test Runs that are executed, to achieve your Testing Goal and assure the quality of your application(s) (functional/regression Testing) or the scalability or reliability of the application(s) under stress, load (performance Testing).
Test Environment	A Project may involve developing Test automation in the context of more than one application. Typically you define 'environments' at the Project level. For example, you may have a 'dev/integration environment', 'QA environment' and a 'Production environment' for all apps (Products) that your project involves.	An environment like staging, QA, Production.
Test Flakiness	By definition, a flaky Test is an analysis of web application code that fails to produce the same result each time the same analysis is run. This can happen for varied reasons and is a bane for any automation tool. While Tests built-in Worksoft SaaS have some flakiness but the AI/ML in Worksoft SaaS limits/reduces these to quite an extent.	While executing Tests against a web application, for some unknown reason the action (like click on a button) is not performed in one of the Tests while it does that perfectly when executed again.
Test Script/Test Step	'Test Scripts' are the lowest level of an automation artifact in Worksoft SaaS within a Project. Test Scripts are akin to the lowest level of Lego blocks and are built by a series of Instructions. Test Scripts are maintained within a Project-level 'Test Script Library' in your Worksoft SaaS domain. They are common to you and your peers that have access to the Project within your Worksoft SaaS domain. You all can collaborate to create and maintain the Test Scripts.	Sample Test Script for Logging in to a Web Application: Instruction 1: Open URL Instruction 2: Enter User Name Instruction 3: Enter Password Instruction 4: Click Login
Test Strategy	A Test strategy is an outline that describes the testing approach of the software development cycle. It is created to inform Project managers, Testers, and Developers about the key issues of the Testing process. This includes the Testing Objective, Methods of Testing new functions, Total time and Resources required for the Project, and the Testing environment. They are created based on development design documents.
Testing Context	A Testing Context in Worksoft SaaS is a combination of capabilities configured to execute your Test Runs. Testing Context with respect to your application can mean the Testing Platforms on which your application is certified to work on. However, a Testing Context is just more than the Testing Platforms as it is the combination of Cloud Platform, Device, Operating System(Version), Browser(Version), Log Capture Options, Location Settings and many more. In Worksoft SaaS, all these options are classified into Basic & Advanced Options.	Environment: Production Operating System: WIN 10 Browser: CH 70

U

Keyword	Description	Example/Use Case	Reference Article
User-Defined Variables(UDV)	User-Defined Variables are name-value pairs that you can define and maintain a Project as well as Product level. In automation, UDV is bound to the Test Scripts. Relatively, they are based on Global Variables in a program i.e. the context is specific to the program. In Worksoft SaaS, the context of a User-Defined Variable is for a Test Run.	A User-Defined Variable can be created for userName & password for an application. Given that they can be different for a different environment, creating and maintaining these as User Defined Variables instead of hard coding in Test Scripts allows for maintaining and changing these are specific to the Test environment.

W

Keyword	Description	Example/Use Case	Reference Article
wsCONNECT	wsCONNECT (ws stands for Web Services) is a Product of Worksoft SaaS that offers a very powerful and highly secure way for you to integrate your automated Tests. This can be done within Worksoft SaaS platform with web service(s) behind your company's firewall (or publicly accessible web services). The most interesting part is that you will be able to integrate your automated Tests with your web services behind your firewalls without any programming or coding.