Automation testing is an effective way of testing when you are racing against time. It is highly effective when you have a long list to achieve within stringent timelines.
Automation testing is done using a third-party tool that checks various functionalities of our project. This form of testing complements the manual testing as it saves testers’ time to test new features rather than finding regression bugs in the current modules.
Automation testing also requires proper planning, monitoring, and control to check testing results. It should be implemented correctly, and it can become an asset to the entire testing team.
Why should automation testing be used?
- This testing is useful for performing routine tasks such as smoke tests and regression tests.
- It helps in preparing test data as well.
- It can also easily execute test cases without implementing business logic.
- It can be used across all the platforms (OS and browsers)
- It can efficiently execute the test cases which were difficult to test manually.
- It saves time when the number of iterations in test cases is not known.
Automation testing improves testing capabilities, effectiveness, and efficiency. It also saves time but also improves the accuracy of testing results.
How to write test cases in automation testing?
We can easily translate the manual test cases into automation scripts using the following steps:
First to identify the parameters that will help you in deciding the candidate for automation
The number of test cases to be automated is:
- Test case executed across browsers
- Test case executed with different environment
- Test case performed with a different set of data
- Test case implemented with complex business logic
- Test case completed with a different set of users
- Test case Involves a tremendous amount of data
- Check for test case dependency
- Test case requires Special data
What are the challenges faced in automation testing?
Few critical points should be considered while automating the test suite for testing.
- Identify the need for automation testing.
- The tool uses a fix standard tool to automate test cases.
- We can customize the fixed standard as per the requirement.
- The process needs support from management as well.
- Automating the complete application testing isn’t a feasible solution as it requires comprehensive planning and monitoring in due course of time.
- It is a capital intensive solution as it would need more testers with automation skillset.
- The automation testing strategy requires various attributes of data and environment to be validated, thus requires a strategy to automate.
- The automation strategy is mostly applied for important and repetitive test cases which would lead to teams’ burnout. But, there should be a criterion to automate such test cases based on business logic, risk-prone areas, or functionalities.
- A test case management tool is also beneficial in monitoring, tracking test cases, and their results to keep track of testing progress.
- The framework is the most important to automate the test cases.
- A framework helps in providing support for automating testing. Designing and developing a framework is more time consuming than scriptwriting to automate test cases as the framework is the foundation of performing automated testing.
- It should be stable, robust, and easy to use.
- Automation testing requires skilled testers to develop a logic of automation testing.
- Manual testers can also learn to perform automation testing and can contribute to the testing activities for the project.
- It is challenging to customize the testing result report in automation testing.
- Reporting the test results requires team coordination and maintenance, which adds to the project cost.
- Maintaining scripts and their stability is another challenge faced in automation testing.
- The team who does the automation test should be trusted for their efforts and hard work.
Conclusion:
Implementing automation testing is challenging and involves a one time cost in developing and designing a framework. But, it is preferred for regression, smoke testing as this testing can execute a more significant number of test cases in less time. We can automate the test cases in batches and can find the results.
