The latest version of HP-QTP that is going to hit the market will be known as HP Unified Functional Testing(UFT) 11.5 . Here are some prominent features and points you should note (that I gathered from the latest webinar conducted by HP)

Unified Functional Testing(UFT) = QuickTest Pro(QTP) + Service Test(ST)

I think this is going to be a major change on how we see QTP. Going forward, QTP and Service Test will be a part of UFT 11.5 software. Acc. to HP, this has been done to serve end-to-end testing needs. QTP(GUI testing tool) and Service Test(API testing tool) will be available from a single interface, so you need not download two separate tools from now on.UFT New Features

HP UFT Insight

HP is quite gung-ho about this new feature and it would be interesting to see when UFT 11.5 actually comes out in the market. HP claims that

With Image-based object identification you can now learn an object’s (or images) different states and convert that into a recognizable object within the object library.

and

HP UFT Insight breaks down [these] barriers with innovative image-based object recognition, which allows the testing software to recognize and record any application, irrespective of the tool used to build it.

Multiple script Debugging

This was a much needed and requested feature. You will now be able to debug two or more scripts at the same time from within UFT’s IDE.

PDF CheckpointsPDF Checkpints in QTP

You can now directly compare PDF files and run checkpoints on them.

Support Open Source CI Systems

HP UFT 11.5 will support open source Continuous Integration(CI) systems like Jenkins and Hudson. [For people with non-development background – CI is a practice normally used in a multi-developer environment where all  developer codebases are merged with the main codebase several times a day]

Mobile Testing SupportMobile testing with UFT

Realizing the ‘explosive’ growth of mobile (smart-phones + tablets) platform, HP is putting a lot of focus on this new age tech. UFT 11.5 will provide a better support for mobile testing. With the help of HP UFT Mobile, HP claims that you will be able to create mobile platform agnostic scripts, hence a script created for iOS would be expected to work for Android. The mobile application testing solution will support emulators as well as real devices. The real devices can be sourced from the public cloud of shared real devices and/or private cloud of dedicated real devices.

Download

The latest word from HP is that, UFT 11.5 would be released for public download by the end of Dec 2012. [However, HP ALM 11.5 is already available now. You can download ALM 11.5 using the step by step instructions here.]
[Update: UFT 11.5 is available for download now. Check this article.]

Thoughts?

I really like the fact that the team at UFT is working hard to improve the ‘quality’ and lives of fellow testers and QTP(UFT) is being continually improved for last so many years. With the big name change, overhaul of UI and added features, I think this version deserved to be released as a major version and not the minor one.

What are your thoughts on this new version?

Check the UFT 11.5 promotional video from HP