Overview
A test automation strategy consists of several steps that have to be followed in a logical manner. It starts with defining goals and objectives, prioritizing tests to automate, choosing the right tools, integrating automation into a broader DevOps workflow – where services like DevOps staff augmentation can provide the additional expertise needed. Ensuring the quality of Test Data, and regularly updating strategy and test scripts.
If you do not have a proper testing strategy in place, which means you fail to plan and are planning to fail. If you move from manual testing to automation testing without a strategy in place, it will hamper software development and testing process.
In this blog, we will have a close look at 7 test automation best practices to make a successful test automation strategy.
Importance of Test Automation Strategy
A comprehensive test automation strategy is needed to ensure the development of high-quality software which is bug free and efficient at the same time. Let's discuss the importance of test automation strategy in detail.
For the importance of test automation strategy, consider the following:
1. Eliminating manual processes and increasing efficiency
Manual testing can be a long and boring process which can result in some bugs going undetected. Automation can take care of this shortcoming of manual testing and also speed up the testing process.
2. Reducing the risk of human error
Test automation planning eliminates the risk of human error, which may creep in due to long hours at work or due to boredom of repetitive tasks.
Automated software testing tools never get tired or bored and provide comprehensive testing of software along with speed.
3. Supporting Agile methodologies and DevOps practices
Most of the test automation tools support Agile methodologies and DevOps practices judiciously. They streamline documentation and make your testing strategy a living test automation strategy document.
4. Ensuring the business value of automation (boosting ROI)
Manual testing can take months if not years, and manpower employed for the same can cost a fortune. Testing automation planning on the other hand reduces costs upfront and increases ROI ensuring business value.
7 Best Practices for Building a Successful Test Automation Strategy
Hiring dedicated automation testers is a win-win situation both for the development firm and the client. Let's go through 7 best practices which need to be followed for building a successful test automation strategy.
1. Defining Testing Objectives & Goals
You have to start your testing automation strategy with clearly defining your objectives and goals. These should align with your product and business goals. There should be measurable metrics to measure your success.
You should have detailed discussions with all stakeholders and document your testing requirements.
2. Prioritize Tests to Automate First
In this stage, you need to clearly define which tests to automate and which to perform manually. The fact is that not all tests can or should be automated.
The high business-value tests and tests critical for security and stability should be given priority over others.
Frequently repeated or data-heavy tests should also be automated, as manual testing can be cumbersome.
3. Choose the Right Automation Tools
Choosing the right tools will determine the success of your test automation strategy. As the requirements of each software development project are different, you need to choose the most appropriate testing tools for each project.
You should consider various parameters like usability, costs and application support before choosing. Some of the most popular automation testing tools include Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, SOAPUI and TestCafe.
Need Help Choosing the Right Automation Tools?
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4. Integrate Automation into a Broader DevOps Workflow
You should link your automated tests with the Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) pipeline, which will establish a detailed automated testing strategy.
This will ensure that testing becomes an integral part of the development workflow. Tests will be triggered automatically during code commit or deployment. Each code change will trigger several tests ensuring consistent testing.
You also need to define your DevSecOps, which can be done by integrating security measures with an automation testing strategy. Ensure a secure testing environment and protocol for continuous library and code scans.
5. Ensure the Quality of Test Data
You should define your test data requirements by determining the data needed for both future and current automated testing scenarios. Focus on generating high-quality data.
Test data sets should be categorized based on relevance and usage. You should also consider questions like where you will store the test data, whether copies of production data can be used, whether production data can be masked and whether test cases should clean up data after use.
The environment should be very similar to what the end user will experience.
6. Regularly Update the Strategy and Test Scripts
Software development is a long and complicated process and therefore automation test strategy cannot remain exactly the same throughout. As a result, you need to regularly update the strategy and test scripts.
You should ask for feedback from all stakeholders including team members. Lessons learnt should be documented for future reference.
Test automation planning is not a single action but a continuous process. Test scripts need to be maintained and the results monitored. You should update outdated scripts and define timelines and priorities.
7. Adopt a Shift-Left Approach to Testing
The shift-left approach to testing allows developers to find bugs early and more often. In this approach, bugs are identified when the code is being written. These bugs are easier to fix as the code units are small.
There are different types of Shift-left testing which include Unit Testing, integration testing, API Testing and UI Testing etc.
Along with early bug detection, benefits of shift-left testing include cost-savings, increased efficiency, faster development, and greater overall quality.
Some popular tools for shift-left testing include Selenium, Cucumber, SonarQube, and Jenkins.
Examples of Successful Automation Strategies
We have seen 7 test automation best practices for successful automation test strategy. Now, let's have a look at some of the real-world case studies of testing automation.
Case Study 1: US-based Consulting & Coaching Company
The company provides expert tools and industry-leading training services for Managed Service Providers (MSPs). It improves MSP workflows and IT services companies to smoothly transform into successful MSPs.
They wanted to launch a new SaaS-based vCIO (virtual Chief Information Officer) software. As it had complex business logic, the company faced the risk of losing customers in case the software solution was slow and error prone.
The company outsourced the testing requirement to a competent company that could perform automated testing. Functional regression and integration tests were conducted to check if everything was working well.
The software solution was checked over Chrome and Firefox for cross-browser testing. The automation testing services company provided the developers with ready test sets for risky code parts.
Testing tools used included Protractor, Selenium C# WebDriver, Docker, Jasmine, and TypeScript.
Case Study 2: Electronic Health Records (EHR) Integrated with HIE Software
The company provides hospitals, assisted living organizations, and pharmacies with Health Information Exchange (HIE) solutions.
One of its solutions was under development and had several modules which were integrated. The requirement was that the software should be fully functional and stable. It was meant for both web and mobile use.
The software testing company examined the multi-level software requirements and decided on the testing strategy. Compatibility testing was done to find whether it worked without hassles on different browsers and Operating Systems.
Performance testing was conducted to check whether it could handle the maximum number of users at the decided data transfer rate and response time. Some of the smoke tests were automated for faster build verification.
The end result of the entire testing process was software that met the demands of all user groups. Testing tools used included Cucumber and Apache JMeter.
Case Study 3: Global Insurance Company
The company is an insurance company having a worldwide presence. It covers casualty and accident insurance solutions to businesses operating in logistics, inventory, energy, aviation and engineering.
This insurance company had developed a core insurance estimation software, which was supposed to run smoothly and without disruptions. The software testing was done parallel with development, which was a combination of automated and manual tests.
The majority of the tests were automated and some were manual to provide swift response to developers after hotfixes. Functional testing, integration testing and localization testing was done to check various parameters.
The end result was a well tested solution which was running smoothly and the company received a comprehensive package of re-usable automated tests for future use in case of modifications to the software.
The testing tools included Protractor and TypeScript.
Conclusion
Software solutions for various sectors like healthcare, insurance, logistics, travel, manufacturing, banking & financial services, eCommerce, telecom have been around since the beginning of 21st century. We are bound to see many more software applications in the years to come.
Software testing is an inevitable part of the software development process and automation testing is increasingly being used for the same. We have seen the importance of test automation strategies and seven best practices to make a successful automation test strategy. The case studies discussed will further help you in taking important decisions.
