Automation testing refers to the usage of an automation tool to execute your test case suite. Apart from assuring successful test results, it also ensures maximum return on investment (ROI). Big ventures have started practicing automation testing to improve the software quality as well as to avoid the ponderous repetitive tasks and shorten the development cycles.

The main benefit of performing automation testing is that it compares the actual and expected results, and generates detailed test reports. So, accordingly, you can see the areas of weakness and improvement, which is indispensable for every organization to grow in the future.

If you want to ensure the success of your subsequent development cycle and software product, in addition to the execution of the same tests repeatedly, thorough testing is required. At times, your software does not work properly and it is difficult to find bugs and defects at that time as it is quite expensive, time-consuming, and maybe because of some human error. This is where the automation test can facilitate your tasks as the quality team uses software tools to run repetitive, detailed and date intensive tests automatically.

Its main aim is not to eradicate the manual testing completely, but to reduce the number of test cases which are run manually.

Why Automation Testing?

Here are some points which prove how automation testing is more beneficial than manual testing.

Multilingual sites can be operated smoothly with automation testing.

All the tasks, workflows or fields are easy to perform in automation as it saves time and money, rather than doing it manually.

You can run it unattended (overnight) without any human intervention.

The speed of testing is also enhanced when performing it with an automatic process.

It increases the test coverage and is not prone to error.

The Process to Perform Automation Testing: Plan and Execution

In order to perform the testing through automation process, one should be aware of the steps to be followed correctly-

1. Selection of a Test Tool

Its selection mainly depends on the technology and the application under which the test is built on.

There are a lot of tools available in the market but you have to choose the right testing tool for your business.

First, think about languages and frameworks your tool supports. For example, if your automation testers are comfortable with JavaScript and your automation tool doesn’t support it, then you may have to face issues. So consider a tool that supports the frameworks and languages that your team is comfortable with.

Does the tool support mobile application testing? Or have mobile browsers to perform tests on mobile devices? Well, mobile testing is yet another method of testing and it is mandatory to have your website mobile-friendly. So make sure that your tool supports mobile device testing.

Does the tool have all the features that your team require? You need to make sure that the tool you choose fits your team’s requirements and have all the features like analytics, dashboards, debugging tools, logs, error reporting, etc.

So, choose your automation testing tool wisely. There are a lot of tools to choose from like LambdaTest. These tools provide you online Selenium Grid for automation testing, with the support of over 2,000 browsers and devices combinations.

2. Defining the Scope of Automation

The scope of automation is the part of the application under test which will be automated. You need to find out which tests can be automated and if it is wise to perform automation tests.

If we are talking about the scope, some factors that will help determine that are:

a) Scenarios in which there is a large amount of data

b) Features which are crucial for the business

c) Using common functionality across the fields or tasks of a business

d) Technical feasibility and sorting out the complexity of test cases.

e) The amount to which business components are reused.

f) For cross-browser testing, competence to use the same test cases

3. Planning, Designing, and Development

When you have selected the test tool and know the scope of automated testing in your business, you create an automation plan or strategy which should be strategized keeping these aspects in mind-

Design of the framework and its features

Out-of-scope and in-scope items of automation

Preparation of automation tests

Timeline and schedule of scripting and execution

Automation testing deliverables

4. Test Execution

After the planning and designing of automated scripts are done, it’s time to execute the script during this phase. Scripts can be executed in a group of machines or even in a single machine. On your local machine, this can be done very easily but when it comes to running on multiple machines, you’ll need to use a cross-browser testing tool on the cloud which helps you run your scripts on various machines using a gird.

Before you can run any script, the input test data is essential. Once it is implemented, detailed test reports are provided. Execution can be performed either way- that is using a test management tool or automation tool.

5. Maintenance

With the successive cycles, new functionalities are added to the system under test. Automation scripts are required to be added, reviewed, and maintained for every release cycle. If you want to improve the efficiency of automation scripts, maintenance becomes necessary.

Automation Testing Tools

To perform automation testing, tools play a major role in that. So. let's now talk about the tools used for automated testing. There are many tools available, but which tool best suits your overall requirements is what you need to know.

Selenium

Selenium is an automation testing tool to perform web application testing across various platforms like Linux, Mac, and Windows. You can write the tests in different programming languages like Java, Python, Ruby, Perl, and Groovy.

TestComplete

TestComplete is a functional testing platform which has introduced many solutions to automate the testing process for the web, desktop and mobile applications by smart bear software. It includes features like GUI testing, scripted testing, test visualizer and scripting language report. Through this tool, you can maintain and build automated GUI tests efficiently.

You can create scalable and complex automated UI tests hassle-free with replay and record capabilities. The intelligent recommendation system will keep up the application updates and makes test maintenance effortless.

Ranorex

Ranorex offers many automation tools for testing which includes all mobile, desktop and web-based applications. It includes features like reusable test codes, GUI recognition, bug detection, and integration with various tools.

Sahi

Sahi is mainly used to automate web application settings. It provides features like record and playback on browser testing, multi-browser testing and supports Ext JS, Dojo, YUI frameworks.

Final Words

We should be clear with all the concepts of automation testing as it does not reduce the time for all types of tests. Without any sequence, proper planning, and execution automation of tests will raise the maintenance cost, sometimes even fail or need a manual intervention too.

Automating and grouping the right candidates will certainly prove out to be cost and time efficient as well as provide all the benefits of automation. In addition to the planning, consistent execution is also required in the testing process.

Manual and automation testing go side-by-side for ensuring the testing is done the right way. The best practices are defined in this article which will lead you to the path to successfully implementing automation testing. This will help you save money, test faster and will ensure your products are released on time.





If you enjoyed this article and want to learn more about Automated Testing, check out this collection of tutorials and articles on all things Automated Testing.