What are the Key Test Automation Requirements

When it comes to software quality, organizations should strive to achieve the best. The quality directly affects the product success and in the face of changing market dynamics, high quality is essential for user satisfaction and to gain the competitive edge. The need for high efficiency of the QA process has made test automation emerge as the solution. There are several benefits that it can bring, including improved accuracy along with greater productivity and efficiency.

With the widespread popularity of the agile methodology which focuses on continuous testing, it has found a vital place in the software development process today. However, what really makes it work is an effectively designed system. Here are 4 key test automation requirements that are common to new-age tools with integrated platforms, such as Cucumber, QARA, Appium and Watir.

1] Scalability and Customization

One of the most valuable attributes of a system, scalability is one of the key test automation requirements. Scalability refers to the ability of a system to function optimally even under increased demands. If your requirements increase from 100 scripts to say, 10000 scripts, will your tool be able to function with the same level of efficiency?

Along with scalability comes customization. The ideal tool is one that supports customization i.e. it can be customized to cater to the needs of an organization. A platform that facilitates the creation of generic test cases by customizing the testing at runtime through the web-based GUI is what organizations need today.

2] Support for Multiple Devices & Platforms

With so many devices and platforms to test for, software testing today has an all new dimension of complexity added to it. In order to meet this challenge, you need an automation tool that works across multiple platforms and browsers. It’s all about the “create once and use everywhere” approach which saves time and effort of the members of your QA team.

3] Minimal Need for Writing Codes

A zero coding test automation tool is great feature to have as it ensures a short learning curve and lesser dependency on subject experts. Also, the need for extensive coding being diminished, the overall productivity of your QA team drastically improves. Also, it can help you maintain leaner QA teams.

4] Flexibility in Execution

Does your tool support different types of testing, such as smoke, regression and customized suites? The requirements of your organization can change with time, and the tool you use should be flexible enough to accommodate the different test cases with ease and with optimum results.

There are other test automation requirements such as cost-effectiveness, ease of maintenance, ease of debugging, automated reports, and process development. If you’re looking for a test automation solution, these are the criteria you should focus on to ensure you have a winner at hand.