Automation Testing - An Overview

Getting Started with Automated Testing

Automated testing is a software testing technique that leverages automation technologies rather than human testers to control the execution of tests.

Benefits of Test Automation

· Simplifies testing: Automation testing simplifies the typical software testing routine and operations in tech companies by using automation test tools and test scripts that can be reused for different test cases.

· Speeds up the testing process: Automated tests shorten software development cycles because automation tools and machines are faster than humans. This way, the testing phase of the SDLC is faster and more accurate.

· Reduces the risk of human error: Automation testing can be run at any time of the day without human intervention. It also increases the accuracy level because it reduces the risk of human error due to manual testing.

· Saves time and money: In the long run, automation testing is more cost-effective and time-saving compared to manual testing, which takes longer and requires paying staff to do work that machines can do. Plus, automation frees employees to focus on other tasks like designing new functionality that can increase revenue.

· Improves bug detection: Automated testing provides wider coverage for analyzing and detecting bugs that humans might not be able to see during manual testing.

· Comprehensive reporting capabilities: Automated tests provide extensive visibility into testing reports through dashboards and insight views which are not possible with human tests. These detailed automation test reports give developers and business teams an in-depth analysis of the SaaS product, its functionality, and what needs to be done to improve it.

· Reliability: Automation testing is less likely to cause errors – hence, it is more reliable.

· Parallel testing: Automated tests can be run on multiple devices at the same time, which is impossible with manual testing. This increases the volume of tests that you can do within a given timeframe and shortens the test cycle dramatically when large tests can be carved up into smaller (atomic and autonomous) test cases that are run in parallel.

· Information Security: The effectiveness of testing is largely dependent on the quality of the test data provided as input to the automation tool. Using a good automation tool will ensure the security of the test data when manipulating, creating, and protecting the test database (which manual testing does not achieve in most cases).

Test Automation Test Cases

In software testing, a test case is a detailed document containing specifications, input, steps, testing conditions, and expected outcomes related to the execution of a software test on a particular application

The following are some of the test cases that can be automated:

· Regression tests: Automation testing is ideal for sanity or smoke tests because they require significant human resources and are time-consuming.

· Performance tests: To perform stress and load testing on the application, automated tests repetitively query the desired coverage, which is tedious and time-consuming when done manually.

· Data-driven tests: Automation tests use input data to analyze the SaaS product and minimize human error.

· Unit tests: Automation testing supports unit tests due to their reusability and low maintenance costs.

· Functional tests: Automation testing can also test whether frameworks and development codebases meet the desired specifications.

· Integration tests: Automation testing helps identify integration faults and provides a reliable way of ensuring robustness between different modules and interfaces.

Test Automation Strategy

The success of automated testing is determined by the testing strategy: you must create a test automation plan that identifies the initial set of test cases (these will serve as the groundwork for future tests) and the testing tools you’ll be using.

Choosing the right automated testing framework for your organization is one of the keys to mastering test automation.

The “Test Pyramid” concept was created by Mike Cohn and has been written about by thought leaders across the industry. The automation test pyramid (illustrated below) flips the original test pyramid by placing unit testing at the base followed by API or integration (service) and then UI testing.