World’s first dedicated test automation for Lotus Notes, Domino apps unveiled
TestDrive-Gold scores a first for out-of-the-box automated testing
September, 26, 2004 – Over the past twenty years Lotus Notes has grown one of the world’s largest user bases, supporting mission-critical applications for companies across the globe. But there has never been a dedicated resource for automated testing of these applications – until now. Original Software, Inc creators of some of the world’s most widely-used and innovative software testing solutions, has unveiled an enhanced version of TestDrive-Gold, a powerful automated testing solution that analyses Lotus Notes and Domino GUI screens at the object level and flags defects so developers can fix them before they confound end users.
‘Double-digit revenue growth’
Since it acquired Lotus Development Corporation in July of 1995, IBM put Notes on the map by turning 2 million users worldwide into 200 million. The Lotus Notes and Domino family of products now includes IBM Lotus Workflow, Domino Document Manager, Domino, Notes, Domino Web Access, Access for Microsoft Outlook, Designer, Enterprise Integrator and Domino Express. Since 2003, the number of business partners, developers of third-party applications, systems integrators, and consultants that focus on Lotus products has also increased dramatically.
“IBM Lotus Notes and Domino had a strong 2004 where we acquired many new customers and grew the business,” says Penny Scharfman, IBM Program Director for Lotus Domino Products. “We are not showing any signs of slowing down. We’ve just closed the books on the first quarter of 2005, in which Notes and Domino achieved double-digit revenue growth.”
Lotus Notes-developed collaborative business applications improve mission-critical workflow processes. Says Colin Armitage, CEO of Original Software: “Loyalty to Notes applications runs high since they are often deeply rooted in daily business practices. Notes applications form the nucleus of many organizations. Yet prior to the release of TestGUI 4.0, no tool existed that was capable of genuinely testing these mission-critical applications ‘out-of-the-box.’”
New use for Accessibility controls
Microsoft’s Accessibility controls were originally developed to help people with disabilities interact with computers through the use of things such as screen readers, Colin Armitage, Original Software’s CEO, realised they had other uses, too.
“We discovered that it could be used to talk to the content of applications,” Armitage says of the Accessibility controls. “With .NET, there is now a standard for every form of visual control, whether it’s a text box or drop-down list box. Accessibility protects you from all that.”
