Software Testing has become a non-negotiable, if not the most crucial, aspect of software success as the world seeks software/applications for everything. Test Automation has proven to be a great tool for speeding up the software development cycle. A solid test automation strategy is the cornerstone of software success.
Any software application has many expectations. It is difficult to create an application or software that can be released to the public. What happens if the software has bugs? Does it not work as planned? It can also be vulnerable to security breaches. Automation testing is necessary to ensure that the software application works flawlessly and protects its security.
You can make sure your application is bug-free by implementing a test automation strategy. How do you implement this? You might think about hiring more testers, and then moving on to manual testing. However, it is not cost-effective to hire more testers. Second, manual testing can’t be used to fully understand all scenarios and test functionality as well as automation testing.
Automation testing is a vital part of a software development cycle. The software team and software become more advanced, and so does the need for the best automation tool and a test automation strategy. This article will highlight some key components of an effective test automation plan.
Automation improves your processes, saves time and money, and produces better-quality software. But you cannot expect automation to produce the results you want. You need to have a strategy for your releases if you want them to be successful. Without a test automation strategy, all the benefits from automation testing could backfire. An effective test automation strategy is essential in inculcating automation testing and ensuring a well-planned development cycle. Let’s have a look at the key components of an effective test automation plan.
6 Key Elements You Need To Follow For A Successful Automated Testing Strategy In 2023
1) Always Have A Goal Oriented Strategy
When we have a goal, we all plan and strategize. A strategy cannot be prepared if there is no endpoint or goal. A team or organization works on software that has a goal. To achieve the goal, strategies are created.
Test automation strategies must achieve the desired endpoint. Set achievable objectives. Keeping this in mind will make it easier to create a testing strategy that achieves the objectives.
Automation Feasibility Assessment is the initial step in the test automation lifecycle. Automating every software test is impossible. To determine which tasks can be automated, and which testing scenarios you should not automate, perform an automation feasibility analysis. You can automate the following:
- You can test across multiple interfaces.
- Repetitive testing cases, such as login and entering OTPs or captcha.
- Multi-input processes, such as filling out forms to validate validations.
- It is time-consuming and challenging to manually test tasks.
- Time-bound Asynchronous and Batch processes
All of these scenarios can be analyzed for automation feasibility. It is all about finding out which tests can be automated.
Once the functionalities that need to be automated tested are identified, it is possible to decide on the tools and strategies to use. This allows us to create an effective test automation strategy.
2) Define The Right Test Approach
The next step after analyzing the results is to plan your approach. Now that you know what you need to do, you can plan how you will get there. The first step in this situation is to determine:
- What are the things that need to be included in automated testing?
- How is the team planning for the execution of the automated test?
The test approach is defined by allocating the appropriate framework and deciding how to proceed with different types of testing. This includes deciding the order in which multiple types of testing should be executed, including integration testing and unit testing.
The automation testing pyramid is here to help. The testing pyramid helps you choose which tests you want to include in your test automation strategy. It also guides you on the order of execution.
Strategizing the execution and timing of various tests will result in more precise and better results. As an example, suppose you have software that has a login page. To receive user inputs, you have used form validations. How will you proceed with testing? Which tests should you include?
This demonstrates the importance and correct testing approach of automation testing. This also includes various elements of test case design. Setting up a test environment is a priority. But, it is important to know what you want to test and how to do it.
3) Setting The Right Set Of Tools & Testing Environment
They can become discouraged if they don’t have the right tools/frameworks or if they are unable to implement a test automation strategy. While automation testing is a great benefit to a software development cycle, it can be tedious to select the right tools.
How do you choose the right tools? The following considerations will help you choose the best automation tool for yourself. The decision to use test automation tools requires consideration of your budget, needs, and team experience. Here are some points to keep in mind when choosing a tool for test automation strategy.
i) Selecting The Right Set Of Framework And Tool For Automated Testing
There are many test automation frameworks on the market. They come in different formats: commercial, open-source, or licensed. You can choose the best test automation frameworks according to your preferences and budget. Then, you can classify them based on applications that you are willing and able to test, such as mobile app testing.
Selenium, for example, is the most popular web automation framework, with 21.4% preferring it to other frameworks in the same category. Appium is the best choice for mobile app testing with 15.4% of organizations preferring it.
Because software can be utilized on a variety of platforms, it’s better to select the right type of tool that can be tested on the majority types of platforms as well as operating systems.
Selecting a cloud-based infrastructure platform like LambdaTest allows you to access more than 3000 devices running real operating systems that can be used to conduct automated testing. Furthermore, this cross-browser testing platform lets users test local or public web applications on a variety of operating systems, browsers, and devices.
ii) Give Priority To The Testing Team
The project team is also composed of testers. These are the ones who eventually will make use of the test automation tool. It is essential to think about the level of experience and size of the team of testers. It is vital to choose an instrument that is easy for the team of testers to operate and use.
It is vital to choose a tool that testers feel comfortable with. The different testers will have their own experience and options for technology stacks. With the variety of testers in the group, it’s crucial to select a method that is beneficial to all. The testing team must be in sync with the chosen testing automation tool.
iii) Plan Your Budget
What’s your budget? What is the budget for testing automation? In truth financial constraints are the main aspect of these decisions. Since there are free as well as paid options, you are able to select the one that is most suitable for your requirements and budget.
If properly planned, the cost of testing automation is lower than manual tests at the organizational level. Cost of maintenance, renewal/buying, and the cost of training for testers and others. It is therefore better to determine the ROI of automated testing in addition to choosing the budget.
There could be other things to take into consideration either on the level of a person or organization when selecting a test automation tool. As we have mentioned in the previous section, selecting the appropriate tool is the third step of the automation testing cycle.
If you’re worried about the financial consequences of testing tolls Don’t be. LambdaTest can bring this percentage to a considerable extent. LambdaTest has several plans that can meet a variety of requirements for testing. Choose a plan that meets your requirements, get the most efficient automatic browser test platform, and get it out of your wallet!
4) Designing The Right Test Scripts & Write Test Cases
Based on the three initial factors, you are able to decide which collection of automation tools is according to your team’s compatibility and budget, as well as the requirements for software and the test method. The fourth essential aspect of a successful test automation plan is to create test scenarios along with test scripts.
Many people confuse test cases and test scripts. We must first determine the difference between them. What is the definition of a test program? A test script is an application that tests specific functions automatically. Test scripts are usually created using a set of commands, and also some programming. If you’re unfamiliar with automation and want to know what you should write for your very first test program, read this article about how to write test scripts using Selenium to learn more.
What are tests? Test cases are an assortment of documents that contain necessary conditions as well as test data values and expected results and more. for carrying automated tests. For each function the test case or collection of test cases is necessary. Every test scenario is created to rigorously test the feature and find a problem or defect if it exists.
A test case is comprised of a variety of variables, like the test case ID, the description of the steps, test information, and expected results and test scenarios.
The more clear and more concise the test cases, the more straightforward to test and achieve the desired result. There are a few guidelines for designing and making efficient test cases A few of these are as follows:
- i) Since each test case is built on an existing template, it’s always a good idea to create templates that can be utilized for multiple scenarios and projects. Additionally, it saves the number of hours and effort later on.
- ii) Since the team is composed of numerous people, it’s more effective if the cases made are simple to comprehend and straight to the point since nobody wants to read large and clunky documents.
iii) Create test cases using the software’s flow, and keep the user in mind.
If you do not have any experience writing test cases or scripts, it is always possible to use test cases of other and ongoing work.
5) Plan The Executions
After you have written the cases it is crucial to organize the executions. Understanding the best time and method to conduct automated tests is just as crucial as writing the test case. Making a test execution strategy involves incorporating the top tools for CI/CD such as Jenkins and defining the sequence in which test executions need to be conducted and setting up an environment for version control.
LambdaTest is a testing platform that comes with the ability to integrate different control systems for version control into the pipeline for CI/CD. It is possible to set up any of your preferred systems for managing your version with LambdaTest and then conduct tests in real time.
It is crucial to understand the priority of execution, that is, each test case must be completed first after which regression and integration testing must occur. Additionally, each change or deployment has to be checked for regression to ensure that the changes are correct and are working as expected.
Furthermore, some steps could be carried to or from the requirements of the project. So when you have set up the automation tools for testing and writing the test scenarios, a test execution plan is required to determine the desired testing procedure and the desired result.
It is recommended to plan the execution of text to coincide with the development cycle.
6) End To End Documentation
A well-designed test automation method is not complete without finalization. In the end, the results of an automated test will verify whether the software or functionality functions as it should. If it’s working, great! Transfer on to step. What happens if tests fail or detect a bug?
If the test causes an error or defect There must be a proper procedure for the procedure to be followed for getting it addressed or to whom it will be assigned for the next actions. It is much simpler to deal with when the proper documentation is in place.
The complete documentation for the end of the project includes the test scenarios, the list of tests that must be performed for functionality, results analysis of results and assigner, assignee workflow, and more. In the document. The process of including automated testing into a program may seem like a lot of work but it’s documenting and making decisions that will get the job accomplished better.
Wrapping Up
The initial setup and plan of automation testing may be filled with gaps and can seem like a daunting task However, as time passes and the lessons are mastered and mastered, the pieces begin to fall into place! When the first steps are followed, automation testing could yield huge profits for you.
LambdaTest is the instrument to complete your task quicker and more efficiently. It also supports more than 35 automation frameworks as well as the entire Selenium version, the tool offers you the ability to run automated tests on and off an internet-connected device farm that includes 3000+ browsers, as well as a variety of operating systems.
In addition, you are able to test automation on your actual devices. This includes mobile and desktop, Windows, iOS, or Android. With the cross-browser test feature of LamdaTest, it is possible to run tests using a broad range of browsers and browser versions, devices as well as the operating system.
Do these terms or the automation process generally, confuse you? Don’t worry, LambdaTest also provides 24×7 assistance. Try it Now!
