In the world of industrial automation, SEW-Eurodrive stands out as a pioneer-renowned for its commitment to innovation and quality across drive and automation technology for over 90 years. As manufacturing processes grow ever more complex, so too do the software solutions required to manage, test, and optimize them. For Paul and his team at SEW-Eurodrive, the challenge was clear: how to ensure the reliability and performance of their highly specialized software, packed with custom plugins and deeply nested menus, when traditional testing tools simply couldn’t keep up.

Enter AskUI-a visual, AI-driven test automation platform that promised to transform SEW-Eurodrive’s approach to quality assurance. In this interview, Paul shares the journey from manual, unstructured system testing to a scalable, automated framework that now underpins SEW’s continuous integration and delivery pipelines. He discusses the reasons behind choosing AskUI, the measurable impact on product quality and customer support, and how flexible scripting options have empowered his team to innovate faster and more confidently.

Paul’s insights offer a candid look at the real-world challenges of digital transformation in industrial software, and how the right automation tools can make the difference between reactive problem-solving and proactive, high-quality delivery.

📊 Results at a Glance

1. Why did you choose AskUI?

The Challenge:

SEW Eurodrive develops their own software with many highly specialized plugins and deeply nested menus. This complexity led to a critical question: How can we test this better? Traditional tools fell short, and performance suffered.

Paul had prior experience with another automation tool but found it frustrating and slow. AskUI came recommended by his team lead, Daniel, as a more visual and intuitive approach.

The Solution:

AskUI impressed from the start. It offered excellent performance and a gentle learning curve.

"I was positively surprised by how quickly everything worked. The learning curve was very manageable, and the performance was excellent."

Even complex UI scenarios like clicking through 10 nested menus became feasible.

"I was also surprised by how fast AskUI could click through individual menus."

SEW has now relied on AskUI for over three years.

2. What problem were you trying to solve with AskUI?

The Challenge:

Before AskUI, SEW Eurodrive only had unit and integration tests. System testing was manual, and the infrastructure for scalable, automated testing simply didn’t exist.

The Solution:

AskUI enabled the company to create full end-to-end system tests across its entire CI/CD process. Today, each of their ~15 specialized plugins is tested via Azure DevOps pipelines, and 30 system tests now cover critical functionality.

"Before AskUI, we simply had no setup for fully automated system testing - and implementing one would’ve been extremely difficult without it."

3. Were there any concerns before purchasing?

While Paul didn’t make the purchasing decision himself, SEW's open mindset toward innovation helped ensure a smooth adoption process.

The financial model was considered fair, and even in the early days, AskUI met nearly all of SEW's expectations.

"AskUI is seen internally as very affordable - the subscription model is considered fair."

"Most of our requirements were met from day one."

Frequent early check-ins with AskUI also ensured SEW's needs were heard and addressed quickly.

4. What do you like most about our product?

The Challenge:

Many tools restrict users to one language or framework, limiting flexibility.

The Solution:

Paul values AskUI's flexibility in allowing test creation using both Python and TypeScript. For him, Python is the standout:

"Python is fantastic - super performant and easy to use. That flexibility is a real plus."

He primarily works in Python but appreciates the simplicity of jumping into TypeScript when needed.

5. What has changed the most since introducing AskUI?

The Challenge:

Prior to AskUI, bugs slipped through manual testing, and there was no structured system test process.

The Solution:

AskUI enabled a scalable, automated testing framework that caught issues even after release.

"Our product quality has improved. We’re now catching bugs that wouldn’t have been found manually."

The OCR and retraining features greatly boosted test stability, and the team now runs ~100 tests with modularized logic.

"We’re likely managing between 20,000 and 30,000 lines of test code."

Pipeline-generated junit reports now surface errors automatically.

"These days, there are no more issues - and if something does go wrong, it's usually on our end."

They’ve also seen a decrease in customer support tickets since automation began.

6. How would you describe what AskUI does?

For techies: AI-based test automation that analyzes the user interface and uses inference to perform actions automatically.

For non-techies: AskUI looks at the interface, takes a screenshot, analyzes it, and clicks through the application automatically - just like a human would.

Why SEW Eurodrive Trusts AskUI

✅ Enables complex system test automation

✅ Flexible scripting with Python & TypeScript

✅ Fast support and product evolution

✅ Delivers real QA value and fewer support issues

‍