Automated Software Testing
There are two approaches to perform software testing
. One is manual testing where test cases are manually executed with different scenarios; the other is automation testing in which pre-set steps are executed using external tools. Today, many organizations are using Agile Methodology to make their software processes more interactive and responsive, and thus, test automation becomes a requirement. Basically, it is a process to automate manual steps and tools are used to perform tests repeatedly against an application. The main purpose of software test automation is repeatable performance at lower price.Software Test automation improves efficiency of a software testing process. We can automate various types of testing - functional testing, to check the applications operations; regression testing, to determine the applications behavior after sets of fixes have been made; exception testing, to verify applications error handling capacity; performance testing, to assure various application characteristics like response time, speed, throughput, efficiency of the system. Stress testing and load testing check the robustness and determines the capacity of an application, respectively.
An organization needs to make right choices of tools and targeting areas for better automation benefits and Return on Investment (RoI). The key areas which must be automated first are: stable areas, high scenario based or redundant tasks, time consuming tasks, and repetitive test cases, which can be very boring to perform again and again manually and may cause human error.
Every technology has some advantages and disadvantages. The major advantages of automated software testing are: it is fast, reliable, comprehensive, reusable, and programmable. Manual testing takes a lot of time to create and execute test cases, whereas, in automated software testing, once the test script is ready, we can repeatedly execute test cases in comparatively lesser time duration and document in a more disciplined manner. Test script eliminates human error while performing the same set of actions again and again. A test suite covers all features of an application and provides comprehensive testing. We can re-use the same test scripts in different versions of a system having different user interference, saving time and cost of a project. Sometimes, automated tests pull out applications hidden information or elements which may not be brought out manually, and that makes testing thorough. Rapid regression testing and a number of test cases can be executed in a small time frame with less number of resources. It improves software quality and reduces overall cost.
Automated functional test cases are not always beneficial. If the user interface of an application changes frequently, then its not possible to rewrite test scripts every time, as they are complex and large in size. Delay in delivery of build for testing and tight deadlines prevent a tester from getting enough time to automate test cases. In all the above cases, if we compare, then manual testing is a more appropriate option.
To achieve success, an automation engineer must follow the following guidelines: test scripts should be simple and easy to understand, efficient, should cover all functional requirements, test should be repeatedly performed without human interference, tests should be robust in nature and unaffected by external environment, and test should be run independently in specific order.
by: qathoughtleader