What Is Automated Testing and How Does It Work?

It's a fact that businesses rely on software for almost everything. To stay competitive, it's essential to deliver reliable, functional, and secure digital products. This is where automated testing comes into play, helping companies ensure that their software meets the high expectations of users. In this post, we’ll explore what automated testing is, its benefits and limitations, and which test cases are best suited for automation. We’ll also walk through the steps of how automated testing works.

What Is Automated Testing?

Automated testing involves using scripts and specialized tools to perform tests on software without human intervention. Popular tools include Jenkins, Selenium, GitLab CI/CD, and Azure Pipelines, among others. This testing method simulates user interactions with the software, such as clicking buttons or entering data, and verifies that the application behaves as expected.

Automated testing is especially useful in agile and DevOps environments, where continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) are essential. By automating tests, teams can increase the speed and accuracy of testing, ensuring that new features are delivered quickly without compromising quality.

Why Is Automated Testing Important?

Automated testing offers several advantages:

• Efficiency. Automating repetitive tasks saves time and resources, allowing teams to focus on more valuable work.
• Accuracy. Automated tests eliminate the risk of human error, a common manual testing challenge, and produce consistent results.
• Faster feedback. Automated tests provide rapid feedback, helping to identify and fix bugs early in the development process.
• Enhanced coverage. Automation allows for a broader range of test cases, covering edge cases and ensuring comprehensive test coverage.
• Supports CI/CD. Automated testing is integral to continuous integration, ensuring that code changes are tested quickly and efficiently.

Benefits of Automated Testing

• Increased efficiency. Automated tests run faster and more consistently than manual tests.
• Improved accuracy. Scripts follow exact steps, reducing the risk of mistakes.
• Scalability. Automated testing can handle large test suites, allowing for the testing of complex systems and test scenarios .
• Enables regression testing . Automated tests can be rerun to quickly verify application stability after code changes, ensuring updates don't cause regressions or side effects.
• Reusability. Once created, automated test scripts can be reused for future releases, ensuring continuous quality.

Read our case study to learn how TestDevLab helped i-Hub improve testing efficiency with test automation.

Limitations of Automated Testing

While automated testing offers numerous benefits, it also has its limitations. For instance:

• High initial costs. Setting up automation requires a significant upfront investment in tools and expertise.
• Limited scope. Some types of testing, such as exploratory testing or usability testing , are difficult to automate and may still require manual intervention.
• Complexity. Writing and maintaining test scripts can be challenging, particularly for applications with dynamic user interfaces.
• Skill dependency. Test automation demands expertise in programming, frameworks (like Selenium or Cypress ), and app architecture, making it challenging to find and retain skilled engineers.

Types of Automated Tests

There are various types of automated testing. Here are the most commonly used ones:

• Integration testing ensures that integrated components work together by verifying interactions and data exchange between them.
• Smoke testing is a preliminary check to confirm basic functionality and stability before further testing.
• System testing evaluates the entire system’s functionality and performance to ensure it meets requirements. It can include different types of testing, such as functional testing , non-functional testing (e.g., performance testing , security testing ), compatibility testing , and regression testing .?
• Unit testing tests individual components in isolation to confirm they work as expected.
• Regression testing re-runs tests after changes to ensure existing features are unaffected.
• API testing validates the functionality, performance, and security of APIs by testing their interactions.

What Should Be Automated?

Not every test case should be automated. Automation is best suited for tests that are:

• Repetitive and time-consuming.
• Stable and unlikely to change frequently.
• Error-prone when performed manually.

By automating these types of tests, teams can save time, reduce human error, and ensure consistency.

How to Perform Automated Testing

Automation testing involves using specialized tools to run pre-scripted tests on software. Before starting, plan your test automation strategy , including goals, risks, and what to automate first.

Here’s a quick guide to the steps involved:

Step 1: Select the right tool

Choose the right tool like Selenium or Jenkins that best suits your project.

Step 2: Create a framework

Set up a test automation framework for writing and managing test scripts.

Step 3: Write scripts

Develop scripts that define test steps and expected outcomes.

Step 4: Run tests

Execute scripts using the tool to simulate user actions.

Step 5: Gather results

Compare actual results with expected outcomes and log defects.

Step 6: Report

Document test results, highlighting passed and failed tests.

Step 7: CI/CD integration

Integrate tests into your CI/CD pipeline for automatic execution with code changes.

Step 8: Update scripts

Regularly maintain scripts to reflect application updates.

Key Takeaways

Automated testing is a powerful tool for ensuring the quality and reliability of software, especially in fast-paced development environments. However, it’s important to weigh the benefits and limitations before deciding which tests to automate. Combining automated and manual testing often produces the best results, allowing teams to leverage the strengths of each approach.

???? In need of automated testing services? We can help you set up test automation from scratch and even join your existing teams. Get in touch with us to learn more.

?? Want to learn more about automated testing? Read our full blog post—What Is Automated Testing and How Does It Work? (With Example) —for a more detailed overview.