Blog

This blog seeks to inform test code creators and test automation practitioners about real-world best practices for using and integrating open source software. Many of the missteps described also apply to code published under proprietary / closed-source licenses, albeit with different terms and particulars. It is not intended to scare readers away from open source but rather, to inform test automation practitioners how to avoid the most common missteps, to realize the greatest value from open source software with the least risk.

Open source test automation offers compelling Return on Investment by reducing costs, maximizing efficiency, and enabling continuous quality improvements, especially when implemented strategically and maintained preemptively.

This blog examines how and when organizations participate in, contribute to and appreciate returns from using open source test automation software, and how adopting open source and participating in open source development can offer substantial returns.

6G-SANDBOX is a European research project to support an experimentation ecosystem for next-generation technology and research needed for the emerging 3PPP 6G communications standard. The 6G-SANDBOX targets technologies and research that span the entire 6G service provisioning chain, with reference to user/data, control and management planes. This blog provides a high-level view of the SANDBOX and highlights the role of OpenTAP and Keysight technologies in it.

Test plans play a central role in test automation. Plugins extend the functionality of a test automation platform and enhance the functionality of test plans. But should test plans and plugins be treated as intellectual property (IP) on a par with other types of software, patented tech and methods, and trade secrets?

The practices of open source communities can vary greatly, as can the deliverables. How can users and integrators of open source determine the status, stability and stature of projects under consideration?

This blog lays out example metrics for open source communities and the code they deliver. The KPIs - Key Performance Indicators - include both object/quantifiable metrics, but also more intangible ones.

Concern for product quality, system security and standards compliance serve to highlight the importance of rigorous testing.  Test automation with OpenTAP is key to meeting QA/QC goals, especially in today’s environment of short lifecycles for increasingly complex products and services.

The OpenTAP team caught up with APT tool set R&D manager Haran S. earlier this year for a chat about the advantages of using OpenTAP in off-the-shelf products. This interview focuses on the role of OpenTAP (and its commercial version, PathWave Test Automation) in creating and delivering the 5G Advanced Performance Test Toolset.

The CRA explicitly addresses open source software (OSS) but with important nuances and exceptions: open source software is generally exempt from CRA requirements if it is developed or supplied outside the context of a commercial activity; shared freely for public use, without direct financial gain. This exemption aims to protect non-commercial contributors, such as community-driven and academic OSS projects, from regulatory burden.  However, given the actual mix of commercial and non-commercial OSS development, this language is highly contentious.

Increasingly systems architects are including richer test capabilities in their company's shipping products. OEMs are deploying OpenTAP in development and manufacturing. Device manufacturers are also embedding the test platform, either downloaded directly from the OpenTAP project or from the supported commercial version, the Keysight PathWave Test Automation Deployment System. This blog highlights the many products that are today deploying OpenTAP to provide embedded test automation.

Happy 2025!

In 2024, the open-source landscape saw significant developments across various sectors.  This blog covers some of the most impactful projects and trends across open source in general - AI, cloud-native computing, cybersecurity, OSPOs, and key communities; for open source test automation across the board; and for OpenTAP in particular.

The mission of the OpenTAP Blog is to make connections between test automation and open source software, first and foremost around the OpenTAP platform. But the universe of open source test automation extends beyond our favorite project and includes other test automation platforms and technologies that can complement and extend OpenTAP. There are myriad self-styled "test automation" platforms and frameworks that are developed and distributed as open source, with use cases a broad swatch of functionality.

The EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) was formally approved by the European Parliament on March 29, 2024, following a political agreement reached in December 2023. The regulation establishes cybersecurity requirements for digital products to ensure their resilience against cyber threats and to provide for secure usage across the  European Union (EU). The aim of the Act is to enhance the security of digital products and connected devices across the EU. Its primary goal is ensuring that hardware, software, and IT services sold in the EU meet robust security standards throughout their lifecycles.