Test automation is crucial if businesses want to release their web application in a timely manner. Replacing manual testing with automated software testing removes many repetitive steps, human errors, and defects, thanks to increased coverage over the development lifecycle. Automation helps you test applications in a way that a human simply cannot; API test automation and more sophisticated scenarios can pick up difficult-to-find bugs and preemptively stop defects from occurring in the future.
Within this article we’ll look at how you can make the switch from manual to software automated testing, expediting the testing process and making your job as a QA so much easier.
Read on for more information.
Convince All Involved About Software Testing
As a tester, you’ll know the benefit of automated testing. However, you still need to put yourself in the shoes of the management and practitioners involved with the web application. Consider ROI and ensure the cost of automation is worth it in the long run.
Management will expect cost savings, risk mitigation, and high-quality results. They’ll also expect an expedited work time and maximum coverage. As a tester, you must help practitioners understand that automated testing can eliminate repetition and make them much more productive.
In short, everybody involved in the application’s testing process needs to understand the ROI of automated testing.
Decide Which Processes You’ll Automate
Any new form of testing will come with a steep learning curve. If teams are new to automation, they’ll need to get their heads around many new concepts, technologies, and practices; this includes deciding which tests you’ll automate and who will implement the automation process.
Consider the skills and resources required to transition from manual to automated. Do you have any testing team members with those skills? Does your team have the budget to hire additional personnel to code the necessary changes? These are the questions you’ll need to ask ahead of time.
Consider Frameworks
Once you’ve made the decision to switch automated testing, you need to pick a framework. There are many frameworks available. For example, Espresso, Appium, and Quantum are suited to mobile testing; Selenium and others are better for web testing. There are also rising frameworks like Flutter and Cypress that may suit your requirements.
Each framework has its pros and cons. For instance, Selenium is one of the most flexible frameworks and open-source, though it can present usability issues for testers.
Choose Your Tools
When taking your first steps into test automation, you need to choose the right tools. For example, there are plenty of record and playback tools that are used less frequently than in previous years, new codeless automation tools that use machine learning, and comprehensive reporting tools. All of these serve a purpose in the present and future. Consider whether the tools will benefit you five years from now and if they have adequate support and regular updates.
Your tooling should play to your strengths, offer solutions to challenges, and integrate with your automation requirements.
Start Small And Learn From Failures
While test automation represents a more efficient and productive future for testers, if you plan too much too quickly, you can run into a whole set of challenges further down the round.
As the old adage goes: learn to walk before you can run. If you start small and set manageable goals, you can develop your practices and work out your kinks without too much pressure.
Testers will have an easier time replicating minor successes from a single test case and adapting it to more automation processes. You’ll also be able to identify the faults in your test case and isolate the issue without going through all the variables in a comprehensive rollout.
Clarity Is Key
Collaboration is key in software automated testing.
Manual testers need to work with coders or SDETs to ensure automation runs smoothly. As such, both teams need to offer clarity regarding test cases and their expedited results. For example, shift-left testing is popular due to shorter release cycles and a smaller gap from development to testing. If implemented correctly, automation achieves those same results, but your team requires continuous feedback to ensure everybody is on the same page.
There is no such thing as over-communication when it comes to testing automation.
Automation Need to Work in the Short and Long-Term
Testing teams should have goals and understand their achievement aims. Try to figure out what successes you want in the short term. Whether you want to automate your first case or execute a specific number of tests, keep your goals in mind and look to the future.
Once you have completed one goal, set another one, then another. Continually hit your targets and you’ll notice that your testing time decreases and productivity increases.
Final Thoughts
As aforementioned, software automated testing can benefit all facets of an organization, but you’ll only see the difference once you’ve automated your practices. While there are many things you need to replace manual testing completely, the above points are an excellent place to start.