How can you ensure API test automation reliability in mission-critical web app development?

3 Implement CI/CD and version control

The third step to ensure API test automation reliability is to implement continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) and version control for your test scripts and code. CI/CD enables you to run your API tests automatically and frequently, as part of your development pipeline, and detect and fix any bugs or errors early. Version control allows you to manage and track the changes and updates to your test scripts and code, and collaborate with other developers and testers effectively. Some common tools and platforms for CI/CD and version control include Jenkins, GitHub, GitLab, and Azure DevOps.

4 Handle dynamic and dependent data

The fourth step to ensure API test automation reliability is to handle dynamic and dependent data that may affect your API tests. Dynamic data refers to the data that changes over time or across environments, such as timestamps, tokens, or IDs. Dependent data refers to the data that is required or generated by one API call and used by another API call. You should use techniques such as parameterization, correlation, and extraction to handle dynamic and dependent data, and avoid hard-coding or using static data that may become invalid or outdated.

5 Validate multiple aspects of your API responses

The fifth step to ensure API test automation reliability is to validate multiple aspects of your API responses, not just the status codes or the body content. You should also check the headers, cookies, schema, performance, and security of your API responses, and use appropriate assertions and verifications to compare them with the expected values or outcomes. You should also use negative testing and boundary testing to validate how your APIs handle invalid or unexpected inputs or requests, and handle any exceptions or errors gracefully.

6 Review and refactor your test scripts regularly

The sixth and final step to ensure API test automation reliability is to review and refactor your test scripts regularly, and keep them updated and optimized. You should conduct code reviews and peer reviews to ensure the quality and consistency of your test scripts, and follow the coding standards and best practices of your web app development team. You should also refactor your test scripts to remove any duplication, redundancy, or complexity, and improve their performance, readability, and maintainability. You should also use tools and metrics to measure and improve the coverage, effectiveness, and efficiency of your API tests.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?