The Role of Test Automation in Cutting Edge Technologies

Different industries have reaped benefits of automation, as it offers time and cost-saving solutions. In the software testing industry, It has not been so long ago that QA teams had to go through lines of code and test applications manually, and had to spend time to ensure quality before software releases. However, thanks to automation testing, it allows QA to create test cases manually once, and then run them automatically on predetermined tasks in an agile environment. We know automation has great advantages for its users, but if it is not utilized appropriately, it may not achieve the expected results. 

An independent software testing company should be able to offer test automation services. Test automation helps in achieving cutting edge software products. Let’s have a look at the difference between legacy and cutting edge software:

Testing An Entirely New Product

A cutting edge software application may include new features or capabilities which were not present in previous legacy apps. When creating an entirely new product, it is important for testing teams to balance their time in manual and automated testing. Testers should consider adding a REST API to the application when creating an automated test. In addition to this, testers should also use assigned logical names for all page objects in order for automation to be successful. It also makes the maintenance of an application easy as all the objects can be identified by their unique IDs.

Legacy Apps

Legacy applications consist of existing code which is different from the non-existent code, or other than the one that is still to be created. With respect to test automation, it becomes more difficult to find errors in the application for ensuring success in their automation efforts. As long as the code exists, new features can be added, bugs can be resolved and developers can still continue working on the application with manual testing processes. 

However, the software development process is different in an agile environment. It produces new code quickly in every iteration. Agile poses pressure on speeding up the testing process, but it also emphasizes on automated testing. QA teams often fail at understanding the limitations of automated testing, but they can improve by using different test automation techniques. 

Testers can use the following metrics to ensure the efficiency of automated processes:

Explaining the Limitations and Strengths of Automated Testing 

Some product managers assume that automated testing is a shortcut to achieve quality products. They expect testers to write test cases at the same time the developers write the code. They also expect that these automated tests will identify errors in the new functionality the first time the tests are executed. In order to ensure that testers succeed at automated tests, they need to ensure that their team members understand:

• Automated tests can only verify bugs in the existing functionality and do not detect bugs in the new features
• Testers writing automated tests do not aim at testing the new functionality 
• Automated tests have a maintenance cost

These concepts can clear the team members’ expectations from the outcomes of automated tests. And they can achieve a better understanding of its strengths and weaknesses. 

Using the Right Testing Tools

Many testing teams use automated user interface testing by using tools like Selenium. However, if a website works through an APO, it is important to consider using automated testing tools that support submitting API requisitions and data verification through them. After the maturity of the API, the process of changes in the web designs may slow down, allowing it to verify the data processing functionality closer to the code. 

Make Elements Identifiable

When developers build an interface, they may also give names to elements instead of specifying unique IDs for them. In this case, their code may be dependent on identifying elements such as finding the Register’s form, Edit Box, etc. However, if developers give each box a unique name, the code should be able to find it no matter where it is placed on the web page. 

Writing Automated Tests for Mature Code

When testers start writing automated tests early, they constantly change the code to match the changes in application code. Due to the nature of an agile environment, the change requests appear in the early stages, and often when adding a new feature, the workflow of a feature will also change during the development phase. 

When testers write automated code after a feature is mature, they will need less time to rewrite the test code. They can also schedule their development at the beginning of an iteration after a feature is stable. This is the right time for testers to write automated tests before the new code in an iteration becomes testable. 

Data Handling and Log Writing Separated from Interface Interaction

It is important for testers to separate code that reads the test data, code that writes to log files, and other functions of code regardless of what page it tests. It makes interface code easier to read when it comes to automation, and it also makes it easy to update the test code when changes in the application are required. Thus, testers should separate the data handling and log files writing separate from the interaction with the interface. 

In an agile environment, stakeholders should be able to learn more about automation testing. Without the proper knowledge and expertise, they will not be able to make the most of their automation efforts. Gone are those days when testing was done at the end of the development process, as in the waterfall approach. In the current age of agile testing, small bits of software are produced and tested in the form of iterations. With the help of automation testing, companies can achieve quality assurance at a faster speed and low costs.