Intro, types, and Procedure of Test Automation

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Running similar or repetitive tests on the application manually is time-taking and increases the chances of human errors. Thanks to the popular trends i.e. Test Automation which uses automated test scripts and automation testing tools to run specific testing tasks on the product or service. Here, manual intervention is minimal or not at all.

About Test Automation

Test Automation is a testing technique or execution of test cases automatically which includes the process of running pre-specified and crafted automated test scripts, using test automation tools for comparing existing and expected outcomes. Automation tools in Test Automation should be chosen wisely based on factors like ease of use with the interface, support to all automated test functions, capacity to identify objects in all environments, knowledge of test script language, ability to develop extensive outputs, and more.

There are multiple benefits to businesses and the development team with Test Automation and some of which are listed below.

  • Offers high speed and performance in testing software or service.
  • Helps in maintaining high-level consistency in testing processes.
  • Aids in performing efficient testing without errors, thus saving extra costs.
  • Delivers faster time-to-market with quick and performance-driven processes.
  • Enhances test coverage, resources utilization efficiency, and reusability.
  • Facilitates high-level accuracy and advanced bug reporting.

It is also true that the testing cannot be completely automated and should be avoided in conditions where test cases are recently designed, need to be modified frequently, or executed spontaneously.

Adopting Test Automation is beneficial for businesses in the following conditions:

  • On repetitive test cases or those cases which need to be run repeatedly.
  • On time-consuming and difficult-to-execute test cases.
  • On business-critical or high-risk test cases.
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Different Types of Test Automation

There are multiple types of Manual Testing that depend on the need and type of performance. Let us discuss some standard ones.

  • Unit Testing: It is the process of isolating a single component of the application and tests its behavior on applied conditions without affecting other components.
  • Integration Testing: In this type, the testing of whole integrated units and their behavior as a group on applied conditions is executed.
  • API Testing: The business layer of the application built on API architecture is validated based on the examination of the request-response combinations of multiple APIs.
  • UI Testing: This type of testing utilizes the UI layer or the application frontend to test the correct functioning of the UI elements of the application.
  • Regression Testing: This type of testing is performed to check upon the effect of recently modified codes in the application over its functionality and performance.
  • Smoke Testing: It is used to test the stability of the application along with the proper functioning of the main features.
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Process for Test Automation

Let us go through the standard procedure involved in the Test Automation process. It is divided into multiple sequential stages each of which needs to be performed carefully to get the process smooth and effective.

Defining the scope for Test Automation>Selecting the optimal Automation testing tool>Planning Test Automation>Executing Test Automation>Test Automation Maintenance

1. Defining the scope for Test Automation: In the first stage, multiple considerations to check the scope for Test Automation are taken into account such as technical feasibility, test cases complexity, critical business features, general app functionalities, resources feasibility, etc.

2. Selecting the optimal Automation testing tool: Here, the selection of the right automation tool from the available ones in the market is performed based on multiple feasibility factors like ease of use, support to test cases execution, system operability, etc.

3. Planning Test Automation: This stage accounts for deciding and planning the strategy for executing the Test Automation process. The considerable factors can be framework design, scheduling for script and test cases execution, the scope for test automation items, deliverables, etc.

4. Executing Test Cases: Automated test scripts are executed in this stage for detailed test reports and with the help of automation tools, test cases are executed directly for automated results.

5. Test Automation Maintenance: To review and modify test automation scripts, maintenance is necessary. It will fix bugs or failure issues by checking script codes continuously.

Along with the knowledge of the basics of the Test Automation process, it is vital to implement the best practices for Test Automation in the existing competitive digital business world and if you need experts’ assistance for this or hire proficient QA engineers, write to us with your project query.