What is software test automation and how does it work?

Software test automation plays a productive and prominent role in the software testing domain. Companies across the globe have benefitted heavily through the strategic implementation of test automation. For repetitive, common and high-volume testing activities, automation testing is considered to be a feasible option.

High-coverage test suites can be easily built by automation testing tools. There are a number of test automation tools available in the marketplace; hence, the testing team can decide the right tool that best suits their project and testing specific requirements. In this article, you will get a detailed overview of automated testing.  


What is software test automation?

It is a testing method through which software’s functionality is assessed to know whether it can meet the required business and functional requirements. Scripted sequences are used and then executed by automated testing software. Examinations of the software are executed by these tools, outcomes are reported and results are compared with earlier test runs.

An organization can apply automated tests for a wide range of cases, such as regression, API and unit testing. The main benefit of software test automation is that the manual effort is simplified into a set of scripts as much as possible.

Following are the five steps required to perform automation testing:

1. Selecting the right test tool: Identifying an appropriate test tool largely depends on the technology that is being used to develop Application Under Test (AUT). For example, Informatica is not supported by QTP, which means Informatica applications cannot be tested by QTP. A Proof of Concept (PoC) can be conducted to ascertain the right tool for AUT.

2. The scope of automation needs to be defined: The scope of automation takes into consideration the application under test that needs to be automated. The following are a few points that need to be pondered upon to understand the scope:

·       The specific features that are significant for the business

·       Those scenarios that have a huge amount of data

·       Those functionalities that are common across applications

·       The test case complexity

·       The same test cases can be used for cross-browser testing.

3. Plan, design and develop accordingly as per the project plan:

In this step, an automation strategy and plan are developed that contains the following points:

·       Selecting the right automation tools

·       Designing the framework along with its features

·       Out-of-scope and In-scope items of automation

·       Preparing the automation testbed

·       Timeline and schedule of scripting and execution

·       Automation testing deliverables.

4. Executing tests: Execution of automation scripts takes place in this step. Before the scripts are run, input test data is needed. Detailed test reports are provided once they are executed. Automation tools can be used for performing the execution directly or by using the test automation tool, which will, in turn, invoke the automation tool.

For example, the Quality center is a test management tool through which QTP is invoked for executing automation scripts. A group of machines or a single machine can be used for executing scripts. Time can be saved to a considerable amount by carrying out the execution at night.

5. Maintaining test automation activities: When new automation scripts are added, maintenance in test automation is executed. These new automation scripts need to be maintained and reviewed so that the effectiveness of automation scripts is enhanced with each successive release cycle.

Benefits of software test automation:

·       Broader test coverage for application features

·       Consistency is ensured and time and cost are saved

·       Efficiency is increased and accuracy is improved

·       Tests are executed at a faster pace and test scripts can be re-used

·       Tests can be carried out frequently and thoroughly.

Conclusion: If you are looking forward to implementing automation testing for your specific project, get connected with a reliable software testing services company that will provide you with tactical testing solutions that align with your project specific requirements.

Location: Ontario, Canada

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