QA Automation aka Automation Testing refers to developing automation scripts to run tests on the software using automation tools. It uses automation scripts that can be executed repeatedly. Basically, QA automation tools perform repetitive testing tasks that were previously performed by testers manually. QA automation increases test coverage and eliminates any chance of human-prone errors.?
With the help of third-party reporting libraries, automation testing can showcase test results with various statistics such as Passed, Failed, Skipped, environment details, execution time, steps details, graphs, trends, etc.
Apart from performing repetitive tasks with such ease, automation testing also helps to perform more advanced tests that are not-possible/ time consuming to test manually. It also frees up the software testing team to focus on complex test cases which cannot be tested through automation.
- For Repetitive Tests: If your project demands execution of the same set of test cases again and again for every release, then automating it is the best choice. Automating such scenarios would not only frees up the tester’s time but also speed up the execution with no human error.
- Data Driven Testing: There are scenarios where we need to run the same set of test cases with the same or different set of data for every iteration. With manual testing, it would only add boredom to the tester’s life by testing the same functionality repeatedly, making them prone to missing some data sets. Data-driven automation testing frameworks allow us to reduce the time and effort spent in testing these cases.
- Number of test cases: Whether test automation is required for a project depends upon the number of the testcases in a test suite. If the project is too small and has a lesser number of test cases, manual testing should be preferred over automation. On the contrary, if the project is huge and has a large set of test cases, automation is a must.
- Regression or smoke testing: Regression testing helps testing teams ensure that the software didn’t develop any defects after introducing new functionalities in its system. These test suites have a selected number of test cases that we must test after every defect fix cycle. Likewise, Smoke testing should be run at the beginning of each test cycle to ensure whether the basic features of an application are working according to our expectations. Automated testing is ideal for regression/smoke testing suites as it must be executed whenever we release any new feature.
- Order of executing test cases: For some projects, test cases order execution plays a vital role. There are some test cases which need to be executed before in order to execute other test cases in the test suite. If it is performed manually, QA team members must remember the order of execution for every iteration making it more complex, time consuming and error prone. With automation we can set the order/ priorities to the test cases in the way it should be executed.
- Cross Platform Testing: Executing multiple tests on multiple environments/systems is time consuming and error prone if done manually. Also, it would require testers equivalent to the number of systems to be tested to execute those tests. With automation we can run the same automation script on multiple systems at once.
- Define Goals: Before starting QA automation, be clear about your long-term and short-term goals of test automation. Discussing the road map with higher management and stakeholders would be best.
- Test Approach Planning:?There are different testing levels; automation is often confused with?end-to-end testing, but there are many levels. The best approach is to create?test pyramids.
- Choose a Framework:?Once you know the business value, the most critical part is the type of framework you choose. There are different types of?automation frameworks; you need to discuss them with the team and choose the right one.
- Test Automation Environment:??You should also know which environment the application under test will be used for validation, such as dev, staging, production, or all of these. Additionally, the ideal test grid should enable?parallel testing. This means testers should be able to run multiple tests on multiple devices simultaneously.
- Risk Analysis:?Analyzing and communicating the risk to management is essential. Automation testing may have some risks based on your tools and strategy.
- Create, Execute, and Maintain Tests:?Start creating the automation tests for the critical features first. Once you?create the test cases, execute them often. Timely maintenance is expected for automation test cases as there will be active development in the background.
- DevOps Integration:?A?DevOps integration also reduces the dependency of the testing team; anybody can execute and get the report.
- Reporting: The report must have numbers of total test cases, passed, failed, etc. The report must be understandable for any non-technical person.
- Review and? Retrospect:?Continuously review your test scripts, and understand what is causing false failures and what is impacting test case creation. How can you do it better? This task is not only for test case creation. This may also include modifying the automation strategy, which should not deviate from your original goals.
