How does Automation Testing work?

Testing is a method that involves auditing a Software product – by assessing the quality while determining the flaws present in the Software product. A software tester, while testing, checks for defects in several aspects of the product – be it on the UI, performance, accessibility, etc. 

Testing in software organizations is performed manually or by using automation testing tools.

Efficient strategies for manual software testing and the development of Automation testing frameworks are imperative to help assess the quality of the Software product. 

This article explains Automation testing – What it is and how it works. Before we get started, let us first understand what automated testing is. 

Automated testing is a method of testing where a Software Tester performs testing using software automation testing tools. These tools help perform testing at a higher speed and ensure accuracy compared to when performed manually. There are many more advantages of Automated testing! 

How does Automated testing work?

Automated testing works by an automation tester triggering automated tests. They use software automation tools to automate the manual testing scenarios. 

Any software organization ideally needs to research which automation testing tool works best per their requirements, client business scenarios. Of course, a well-planned framework serves as a base for efficient automated testing.  Also, the automation test developers should ensure utilizing accurate, realistic test data. 

Apart from this, multiple testers parallelly access The test automation framework. While they do so,  tests are usually triggered against various operating systems, browsers, etc. In this case, it becomes essential for projects to plan whether they would want to deploy the tests on the organization’s premises or the Cloud. Cloud gives you the advantage of swift cross-platform testing and parallel execution.

This section explains how automation works. Following are the aspects –

The usage of Automated testing tools

For automated testing to work successfully, the first and foremost aspect is to choose the right automation testing tool.  Choose the tool as per the requirements of the project. Such as, 

• Type of testing – As per the type of testing involved, choose the testing tool. For example, you may select a performance automation testing tool for performance testing, a UI testing tool for testing the UI, an end to end testing tool for testing several stages of the project. 

For example, TestProject.io is a well-known end-to-end automation testing tool, JMeter is a performance testing tool.

• The programming language – As per the programming language you prefer automating in, you may choose the automation testing tool. Your project needs to check which programming language the tool supports before getting started.

For example, IBM UFT uses VBScript, IBM RFT uses Java.

• Paid, free, or open-source tools?

Based on your requirement and budget, the project may choose between paid, free, and open-source tools. For example, Selenium and Cypress are examples of open-source test automation tools and frameworks. 

The choice of Automation testing framework

A framework that incorporates common processes, testing tools, and standards establishes test automation in an organization. For effective automation testing, the automation testing framework has to be well planned.

For example, frameworks for data-driven and keyword-driven test automation, as well as frameworks for linear scripting and modular testing, are all prevalent.

Here are the several frameworks  –

The linear scripting framework is appropriate for small applications since it allows for the quick usage of a test script, but it does not provide reusable scripts.  

A software tester builds scripts as tiny, independent tests in modular testing frameworks to avoid redundancy, although this approach generally takes longer to set up.

Software testers may use data-driven frameworks to develop scripts that operate with different data sources and give more quality coverage with fewer tests than modular solutions. 

Keyword-driven testing frameworks specify keywords for each function and execution method using table formats; software testers without substantial programming experience may write test scripts using the keywords.

Hybrid frameworks integrate two or more approaches to get the best of both worlds.

The importance of utilizing Test data in Automated testing

Test data is imperative to prove the automation testing to work in its wholeness.

The test data must be  –

• Realistic – By realistic, we mean that the data should be associated with real-life business scenarios.

• Adaptable to various situations – There may be multiple consecutive circumstances in a single scenario; therefore, picking the data wisely to cover as many elements of the situation as possible with the smallest amount of data is imperative.

• Practically valid – This property is more connected to the business logic associated with the automation software. The automated testing scenarios must be in sync and valid as per the valid business scenarios stated by the client.

Standardizing the Automation scripts

When creating automation scripts, projects should follow scripting standards to ensure the robust working of the test automation suite. Some of them include –

• Create code with efficient scripts, comments, and indentation.
• Appropriate Exception Handling – You wouldn’t want the automation crashing if an exception occurs. Hence, the project needs to ensure that the automation code handles the exception in a system failure or unexpected application behavior.
• For Error Logging, user-defined messages should be coded or standardized so that testers can comprehend them.

Where to deploy your test automation suite?

When you plan to build the test automation framework, the projects decide where to deploy the automation – whether on the premises or the cloud. 

As you may have already noticed, software organizations are adopting the cloud strategy due to the several advantages of moving to the cloud.

In case of a cloud deployment, you won’t need to set aside any disk space on your local system to keep the tool and its resources. Instead, testers keep the Project assets in a secure cloud server, including tests, reports, elements, and add-ons. 

Also, in a cloud-deployed method, Sharing of test resources is accessible across the team – You can easily manage your tests and collaborate with teammates. Also, you could utilize cross-platform support without installing them in the laboratory, thus saving many costs for the organization.

Apart from these advantages, On-demand resource availability on the cloud is 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Moreover, anytime you need a resource, it may be made accessible to you according to the resource’s kind and version.

Conclusion

Automation testing is scaling new heights with swift digital transformations. As long as you keep yourself updated with automation testing knowledge, you are bound to scale great heights. 

By understanding the secret ingredients of how automation testing works in detail and by ensuring to apply the best practices, your project is sure to succeed!