The Importance Of Automation Testing In Organizations

What is Automation Testing?

Automation testing is a Software testing technique used to test and compare the actual outcome against the expected outcome.  This can be achieved by using any automation testing tool and writing test scripts.  Test automation is used to automate repetitive tasks, regression tests and other testing tasks which are difficult to perform manually.  The goal of automation testing is to complete test execution efficiently and in the least amount of time.

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What are the Benefits of Automation Testing over manual testing?

• Automation testing is faster and more efficient
• The testing cycle time for regression, integration and smoke testing is reduced
• The rejection of defect fixes is reduced
• Test coverage is improved
• Feedback is given early and often
• Product testing is ensured end to end
• The risk on quality is reduced because of less dependency on resources
• ROI and payback
• Reusability
• Reliability
• Continuity and Simultaneity

The Importance of Automation Testing in Organizations:

1.  Increased Scope of Software Testing: 

• Automation testing can execute test cases that are impossible to achieve with manual testing.  For example, regression testing which involves executing a test against multiple sets of data or inputs, can turn out to be a mammoth feat for manual testers but can be easily accomplished with automation.

2.  Increased Test Coverage:

• Automation testing can significantly improve test coverage because it allows lengthy tests to be covered in less time.  This allows more tests to be covered under the tight timeframe which software development teams work on today.  This is possible not just because of the speed of automation but also the fact that a test automation tool can perform tests unattended, which results in better utilization of time.

3.  Faster Testing Process:

• Automation testing is significantly faster than manual testing simply because it involves the use of tools and scripts.  This increased speed can give an additional advantage to QA teams as it helps them execute tests multiple times with ease and still meet the deadlines.

4.  Improved Accuracy:

• Manual testing holds the possibility of human error even if the most dexterous tester is executing the tests.  This scope of error, no matter how minimal, is completely eliminated with automation testing.

5.  Earlier Detection of Bugs:

• Automation testing makes it possible to detect bugs during the early stages of the software life cycle.  While this may seem inconsequential, it can go a long way in saving the time and costs incurred in fixing the bugs later.  Whenever there is a change in the source code, the tests can be run automatically to detect any bugs and/or issues.  Moreover, the simultaneous running of test cases makes it possible to generate detailed reports for easy comparison.

6.  Reusability of Test Cases:

• With automation testing, the same set of test cases can be re-used to test different versions of the software and can be upgraded when required to incorporate the addition of new features and the discovery of new bugs.  Software testing can get repetitive and an automation testing tool can easily take care of the repetitive steps while eliminating the risk of human error.

According to Smartsheet, these are the Top 7 Automation Tools available in the market as of 2019:

• Selenium
• Maven
• Jenkins
• GIT
• Cucumber
• JUnit

• IntelliJ IDEA

The Growing Importance of Test Automation Skills in DevOps

In order to improve delivery speed, software development teams have adopted a DevOps culture that prioritizes concepts that support continuous delivery which needs continuous testing.  This is also known as Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD).

Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD)

Continuous Integration (CI) is the process of implementing end-to-end automated testing throughout all possible phases of the delivery lifecycle.  This process can be utilized with any type of application (web, mobile etc.) by employing the concept of continuous testing, the DevOps team makes an effort to catch bugs earlier in the development process where they are less expensive to fix, thus lowering the risk posed to the delivery schedule.  In addition to lowering risk, continuous testing ensures that the incremental changes made to the application can be reliably deployed at any time, making the application continuously deliverable.

Continuous Delivery (CD) is an approach to application delivery that prioritizes being able to deliver application changes at any point in time.  When an organization is properly utilizing a strategy of continuous delivery its applications always exist in a state that can be deployed.  Through the use of this approach the organization would experience a lower level of risk when releasing changes to an application by doing so incrementally with shorter development cycles.  This process of CD is made possible through the use of continuous testing, which relies heavily on test automation.

Continuous Deployment

The final stage of a mature CI/CD pipeline is continuous deployment.  As an extension of continuous delivery, which automates the release of a production-ready build to a code repository, a continuous deployment automates releasing an app to production.  Because there is no manual gate at the stage of the pipeline before production, continuous deployment relies heavily on well-designed test automation.

Here are some of the top used DevOps tools as of 2019:

1. Buddy
2. BuildMaster
3. Jenkins
4. Bamboo
5. GitLab

CI/CD practices make deployment of an application less risky, so it’s easier to release changes to apps in small pieces, rather than all at once.  As software development organizations make the move to processes that prioritize continuous delivery, the value of implementing continuous testing through test automation continues to rise.  With the ongoing growth of test automation, it becomes necessary for all involved in software development to maintain a great understanding of the test automation frameworks and tools that make test automation possible.  For more information contact us today!