Described are techniques for testing an application. A test script including one or more instructions is received to test an application. A user interaction with a user interface of the application is emulated. Emulating includes executing a first portion of instructions in the test script. An output is received including information displayed using the user interface in response to the user interaction. Verification processing is performed for the output. The verification processing includes executing a second portion of instructions in the test script. A first instruction in the test script references a user interface data element without specifying a complete path for the user interface data element.