Software projects aim to provide a high-quality output while reducing the cost and time when it comes to completing the project. To do this, entities should be able to go about testing software regularly. Software testing is an integral element of any IT project. Software are tested to detect bugs and look for issues that may negatively impact the user experience. Testing is generally classified as manual testing and automation testing.
In this article, you’ll get to know the processes by which automation testing works. Plus, there will also be a discussion on the best automation testing tools and so much more information on test automation you need to learn. Read on.
Table of Contents
What Is Automation Testing?
Automation testing or test automation pertains to utilizing the help of tools, scripts, and software to conduct test cases through repeating pre-defined actions.
Automation is necessary for software development teams to keep in the loop with the rising demands for higher-quality platforms that perform at lightning speed.
Once you start testing, among the primary decisions you’ll make is whether you’ll use manual or automated testing. There are differences between automated testing and manual testing.
Automation Testing Vs. Manual Testing?
Generally speaking, manual testing allows a human mind to seek insights from a test that might
be missed by automated testing. Automated testing is ideal for large projects that require testing similar areas repeatedly.
The next question you may have could be: Should every test case be automated? Keep on reading.
Which Test Cases To Automate?
It’s actually quite impossible to automate every test, so it’s crucial to determine which test cases must be automated. Among the test cases where automation can be applied include repetitive tasks, load testing, test cases that run on many different hardware or software, and more.
You may invest in an automation strategy that’ll perform your tasks and implement automation for tests that require multiple data sets.
Now that you’ve known examples of test cases where to perform automation testing, the next part tackles the automation testing processes.
How To Perform Automation Testing
To succeed in test automation, you must adhere to careful planning and design. Here are the procedures followed in the automation process.
Procedure 1: Test Tool Selection
Before the actual test automation, you must define the goal of automation. Then, you need to
choose the tool. Many testing tools are available, so choosing the right automation tool involves considering its features and whether they’re suited to your needs.
Procedure 2: Identifying The Scope Of Automation
Afterward, you must define the scope of automation since you need to decide which test cases to automate.
Among the pointers to consider include scenarios with large amounts of data, test cases with common functionalities across applications, technical feasibility, the scope to which business components are re-used, and the complexity of the test cases.
Procedure 3: Planning, Design, And Development
After finding out your goals and which tests to automate, you must decide which actions the automated tests will perform.
For one, this step involves developing test cases or test cases of your choice. Avoid creating test cases that test the behavior of the application at once. Remember that large and complex automated tests are always very difficult to debug and edit. It’s advisable to separate your tests into many simple, logical, and smaller tests.
Second, you must develop test suites to hold your test cases. These test suites ensure that your automated test cases run one after another without manual intervention. How to do this? Well, you can create a test suite that has multiple test cases, a library, and a command-line tool running the test suite.
Procedure 4: Test Execution
In this step, automation scripts are executed. You can do this with the automation tool directly or via the test management tool that’ll invoke the automation tool.
To acquire the most out of your automated testing, you should begin testing as early as possible and execute as often as needed.
Procedure 5: Maintenance
After executing the test cases, reports are created, so actions performed during the testing are recorded. Automation scripts will be added, reviewed, and maintained for every release cycle.
These steps must strictly be followed when conducting automation testing. Next up, you’ll get to know the various approaches to automation testing and then some of the best automation tools today.
What Are The Various Approaches To Automation Testing?
Here are the three major approaches when performing automation testing.
1. Code-Driven
In this approach, the focus is mainly on executing the test case to see if the different code sections are performing according to how they’re needed. This approach is popular in agile software development.
2. Graphical User Interface Testing
Applications that have graphical user interfaces or GUIs can be tested with this approach. Various programming languages can write the test cases, such as Java, Python, and more.
3. Test Automation Framework
Frameworks are utilized to produce the best results in automated testing. It fuses test data sources, function libraries, object details, and other reusable modules.
There are various kinds of frameworks, and they include:
- Linear scripting framework – Recording and replaying test scripts in a linear or sequential manner
- Data-driven framework – Separating test scripts logic and test data from each other
- Keyword-driven framework – Based on keywords, test scripting is implemented
- Modular testing framework – Testers divide the application into various modules and individually create test scripts
- Hybrid testing framework – Combining different frameworks while leveraging each of their strengths
These are the ways to implement automation during software testing. Continuing with this guide on how automation testing works, we find out some of the best tools for automation testing.
What Are Among The Best Automation Testing Tools To Use?
As you’ve learned earlier, choosing your automated testing tool is crucial for test automation. There are various automated testing tools, so it’s vital to elect the automated testing tool that suits your needs.
Before getting to know the best automation tools, it’s important to consider factors when choosing your automated testing tool, such as understanding your project requirements, looking for tools that suit these needs, determining the budget for the automation tool, and knowing the advantages of these tools.
Part of this guide on how automation testing works or this automated testing tutorial is knowing some of the best tools utilized for automation testing. Here are they:
- Selenium – A popular tool that works on platforms like Linux, Mac, and Windows
- Watir – A testing tool comprising Ruby libraries
- Ranorex – A GUI testing tool that lets you flawlessly execute automated tests across various scenarios and devices
- Appium – An open-source mobile test automation software
Know this: you actually don’t have to do the automation testing yourself. There are several companies that will provide all the resources you need for automation testing. One of these is Test Guild. These companies also offer everything you need for unit testing, identifying the best test automation tool, how to use these test automation tools, the testing process, software testing technique, and many other concepts that include regression testing, test coverage, integration testing, software tests, software test automation, and so much more.
We hope this guide on automation testing has helped you understand how automation testing works.
