Last updated on March 10, 2021
The software development market is progressing rapidly. The market demands faster development and release. Manual testing seems to be holding back the complete potential of the development team. Thus, companies prefer to use Automation testing tools in their companies. Manual to Automation Testing is a gigantic leap in the history of IT development. In this article, we will discuss everything you need to know about the Automation tester.
Reasons for the hesitation in shifting to Automation testing tools
Automation tester is indeed a solution to overcome issues that might arise due to manual testing. However, the transition from Manual to Automation Testing isn’t a cakewalk.There are many hurdles that you can face along the way. Let us take a look at some of these challenges:
- Caught up with future releases
A company that uses manual testing from the beginning will be busy writing the scripts for manual testing. This process is critical as it will have many softwares scheduled to be released in the future. Thus, the company won’t have sufficient time to develop the scripts for the automation process.
- All the complexities, time and resources involved
Any new process or system will have its share of the learning phase. The automation process is no alternative to this rule as you have to invest a lot of time to learn and understand it. So, companies might find this time non-productive as they could use this time to test some ongoing projects with their existing manual testing process.
- Scalability and stability while testing
In the beginning, you have to ensure that the AUT is stable. The process will ensure that multiple reworks refrain, and the system is easy to maintain. Additionally, an unstable AUT will lead to lesser quality in the test outputs. Moreover, you have to ensure that your tools are scalable to handle the redundancy of the testing process.
- Corporate mindset
It is complicated to convince senior management about significant changes as they want quick outcomes. However, Automation tester is a long-term process rather than being a quick result. So, it is natural that most company executives won’t have the time and willingness to invest in it.
The automation of processes
When it comes to Automation tester, it makes the testing phase automatic, but you have to ensure other processes related to it are automatic as well. For instance, you have to introduce automation in processes like result analysis, deleting past test data, removing redundant features, etc.
Reasons to switch from Manual to Automation Testing.
A company won’t implement Automation services if it isn’t aware of Automation tools’ full potential. Let us take a look at some of the prominent advantages of Automation Tools:
- Regression testing
It is a test that needs to be executed after every release. This test’s primary function is to ensure that no new or old software function has errors and that every function is working correctly.
The testing is an essential part of creating high-quality websites. You must ensure that you create a responsive web application. Your web app should be accessible irrespective of the browser that the user is using. Automating testing tools ensure that you can simulate testing in different browsers to ensure that your web application functions in the way it is intended to.
- Complex Functionalities
There are certain phases in the testing process that involves complex functions. While using manual testing, humans often cause errors in these areas.
- Smoke testing
Running Automation testing tools in most of the areas will not only help to save time, but it will also help to uplift the quality of the development. Thus, it will save both time and trouble for the development team, as there will be no need to run in-depth testing.
- Data-Driven testing
There are certain testing phases where you have to use specific data. In manual testing, it becomes difficult to keep track of all these data.
- Repetitive tests
In the case of development companies, they are developing new software’s and web apps daily. It means that there are specific tests that you have to repeat for every new software that you want to release. Thus, Automation tools will help you save time by conducting these repetitive tests.
- Performance testing
For software to be complete, it is all about the performance that it has. So, a successful company will always want to ensure the best performance of its applications. Thus, automation tools test the web apps thoroughly to ensure that there isn’t even a minor flaw in its performance offering.
The process of automation in testing
What to automate
To understand this better, let us break it up in the following criteria:
- The Frequency of testing
The frequency of testing is an important segment to understand the limits of your automation. For instance, if you are a development company, it is safe to assume that you have higher software development rates. So, you can automate the smoke testing and regression testing as both of these tests are repetitive for most softwares. So, automating them will help you save a lot of time and uplift your application’s quality.
- Business requirements
You need to understand the business habit and requirements of your company. This data will help you to understand the process that needs automation at the earliest. Furthermore, you can also separate the processes that don’t need automation based on the lesser frequency of usage.
- What can be automated
This area deals with the dependency and limitations of your company. For instance, the tools you use and the power you have will determine the areas you can automate. Conduct complete research on all these areas before you implement the automation process.
How to automate
The common mistakes that most companies make are that they consider that every function can be automated. So, the first step of automation is to get over this unrealistic dream and start thinking about automation’s possible areas. Furthermore, starters should implement automation in a small function before expanding it further. This will help you analyse the impact on your business and also, it is also easier to write small scripts for automation tests. You can also label the functions so that your developers can understand what processes to automate and what functions to conduct manually.
Basically, for a new company to automation, it is always recommended to use automation in smaller functions as it allows the companies the time and liberty to explore the massive possibilities that automation has. Additionally, you should also make a list of your users and their browsers to understand the impact of Automation testing tools on your users’ experience.
Moreover, it would help if you sorted out all the functions that you will run manually. Manual testing in certain operations is as important as implementing automation in your testing process.
Selecting the right automation tool
To unlock the full potential of automation tools, you must use them properly. Let us take a look at the guidelines to find the perfect tool for you:
- The domain of your application
The target platform is significant in finding the perfect tool. Meaning depending on whether your application is web-based on mobile-based, you have to change your choice of automation tool. For instance, for a web application, you can use tools such as selenium, QTP, etc. And, for mobile-based applications, you can use tools such as Appium, Robotium, etc.
- Programming experience
It is dependent on the comfort level of the developer. The developer can choose the tool depending on the programming language he has the experience and is comfortable with. You can choose from the top languages such as JavaScript, Java, Ruby, etc.
- Open source or Commercial
The commercial is a category that is ruled from the organization’s point of view. This factor depends on the budget restrictions of the company. Thus, the company has to choose the tools depending on how they can invest in the entire process. For instance, if they choose open source, they can go with tools such as Appium, and for commercial, they can go with tools like QTP.
Selecting the Right test grid infrastructure
It is an essential factor to ensure the best testing environments. A testbed or a test grid helps you simulate the environment of various devices, platforms, and browsers to test your application in various scenarios. This helps you ensure that your software works perfectly in all environments and that the application’s quality is on par. The most common testbeds are:
- On-premises test grid infrastructure
In this case, various devices are stored in the company for testing. This process can be costly as you have to buy and maintain various devices involved in the testing process.
- Cloud-based test grid infrastructure.
It is a more popular and scalable alternative to the above process. Here, you use a series of hardware and software simulations to create the environment of various devices and platforms. Furthermore, you can access this service from anywhere in the world. Thus, it will help you reduce the time and cost of your previous testing methods. Well, this also helps you to test your software on the newly released devices. Additionally, cloud-based infrastructure needs very less maintenance. Thus, it won’t put much pressure on your business investment. LambdaTest is one such recommended tool.
The Verdict
Thus, we can say that Automation tester tools play a crucial role in improving your software quality and significantly reduce your development time. However, companies should never forget that certain functions just can’t be automated. So, you must maintain a proper infrastructure for the manual testing of those functions.
Therefore, we can conclude that automation testing plays a vital role in your growth in the rapidly expanding software market. We recommend that in the beginning, you must take baby steps while implementing automation. It will help you to understand the process and will not hamper your ongoing projects. Furthermore, it will save your company from incorporating massive losses. After all, you should never ignore the resources that you already have at hand.
