Test automation brings a lot of opportunities to companies relying on software that is difficult to test manually. Automated testing significantly saves time and money and improves the value of test results. To utilize its full potential, it is necessary to consider best practices for test automation.
Outline Test Scope for Automation
The success of test automation starts with the choice of adequate test scope. This step should come before you start analyzing the assortment of tools for automation available on the market.
Not all tests should be performed automatically. For instance, UX/UI testing requires human attention. Meanwhile, there are many areas where automation can be highly beneficial.
Repetitive testing, especially one covering a large volume of data, several data sets or frequently utilized functions, is the best candidate for automation. Tests working with multiple units of software can also be automated. Additionally, it will be easy to automatically test applications which operate on platforms with different configurations and run on different pieces of hardware. Finally, any tests in which humans can easily make a mistake should be automated.
Choose Adequate Tool for Automated Testing
Once you know what exactly you would like to automate, you are prepared to select your testing tool. The range of options you can utilize for testing is quite large. Remember that not all of them will work well under your specific conditions.
There are two important decisions you will have to make. The first one is whether to pick an open-source or commercial solution. The second one is the choice between a universal tool that can be used with different software and one dedicated specifically to testing a certain digital product.
Open-source solutions like Selenium look tempting as they are available free of charge. Yet, they usually come with hidden costs which can be quite substantial. Such frameworks and libraries require building and maintaining the infrastructure. These tasks cannot be handled without technical specialists. This can make the testing routine highly dependent on humans and generate high expenses.
Many commercial solutions, although not all of them, are dedicated to particular software. For instance, Executive Automats is a product designed specifically for testing Microsoft Dynamics 365. It is already optimized for both functional and performance testing of the applications included in this ERP and CRM system.
Note that some tools for automated testing are codeless and can be deployed and utilized without any programming knowledge. Executive Automats (https://www.executiveautomats.com/) is also an example of such a product.
Make the Most of Your Data
To get a better understanding of the tested software, it is extremely helpful to record the progress of the test execution and create detailed reports. Since you are planning to go for test automation, it is sensible to have these functions automated, too.
Executive Automats mentioned above illustrates this point perfectly. It has an inbuilt feature for automatic test recording, which will give you all required information when your tests are failing. This makes it possible to manage bug tracking more effectively and increase the business value of testing procedures.
Reporting functionality is also of paramount importance. Reports summarizing test results can deliver essential information about the software’s health. There is simply no point to automate testing procedures only to spend countless hours afterward on manual report preparation.
If you choose an open-source tool, you will need to build features for automated reporting on your own. Some commercial tools like Executive Automats already come with this essential functionality.
Break Free from Manual Testing Practices
Companies unfamiliar with manual testing usually do not have trouble making the most of their test automation infrastructure. However, those who had extensive experience in manual testing in the past might require some time to switch to automated tools.
Quite often, there is an issue with the approach to testing when organizations are so used to manual practices that they do not utilize all the capabilities provided by automation. For example, while scheduling testing, they tend to forget about the flexibility provided by automation and avoid running tests at night or on weekends. Additionally, they might still expect the same stringent limits on test coverage as they used to do with manual testing.