Numerous advantages exist for employing test automation, and by following established best practices in automated testing, you can guarantee optimal returns on your investment (ROI) in testing. Automated testing streamlines development cycles, eliminates tedious repetitive tasks, and enhances software quality. But where do you begin? These best practices serve as a solid foundation for enhancing your software’s quality.
Thorough examination is pivotal for the success of any software product. If your software fails to function correctly, it’s likely that most users will refrain from purchasing or utilizing it, at least for an extended period. However, conducting tests to identify defects, or bugs, is time-consuming, costly, frequently repetitive, and susceptible to human error. Automated testing, wherein Quality Assurance teams employ software tools to execute detailed, repetitive, and data-intensive tests automatically, aids in enhancing software quality and optimizing the utilization of their invariably limited testing resources. Test automation tools such as TestComplete expedite testing processes, enable testing of significantly larger portions of code, enhance test precision, and liberate QA engineers to concentrate on tests necessitating manual attention and their distinctive human expertise.
Automating all testing procedures is not feasible; thus, prioritizing which test cases to automate is crucial.
The effectiveness of automated testing correlates with the frequency of test repetition. Tests conducted infrequently are better suited for manual testing. Optimal candidates for automation are tests that are executed frequently and involve significant data input.
Achieving success in test automation demands meticulous planning and design efforts. Begin by crafting an automation blueprint. This blueprint aids in pinpointing the initial batch of tests for automation and serves as a roadmap for future testing endeavors. Initially, establish your objectives for automated testing and decide which testing categories to automate. Various testing types serve distinct purposes within the testing spectrum. For instance, unit testing assesses individual components of the intended application. Meanwhile, functional or GUI testing is employed to evaluate specific segments of the application’s user interface.
Once you’ve established your objectives and selected the types of tests for automation, the next step is to define the actions your automated tests will execute. Avoid creating test steps that encompass multiple aspects of the application’s behavior simultaneously. Developing large, intricate automated tests poses challenges in terms of editing and debugging. Instead, it’s advisable to break down your tests into several logical, smaller components. This approach enhances the coherence and manageability of your test environment and facilitates the sharing of test code, data, and processes. By incorporating smaller tests that target specific functionalities, you’ll have more opportunities to update your automated tests efficiently, particularly as you introduce new features. It’s beneficial to evaluate the functionality of your application incrementally as you implement it, rather than waiting until the entire feature set is deployed.
When crafting tests, aim for brevity and concentrate on a singular objective. For instance, differentiate between tests for read-only operations and those for read/write functionality. This approach enables the repeated utilization of individual tests, sparing the need to incorporate them in every automated test.
After developing multiple straightforward automated tests, you have the option to consolidate them into a single, more comprehensive automated test. You can categorize these automated tests based on various criteria such as the application’s functional domains, hierarchical divisions within the application, shared functionalities, or a foundational set of test data. In cases where an automated test relies on other tests, it may be necessary to establish a test hierarchy or tree structure, enabling sequential execution of tests in a predetermined order.
Choosing the right automated testing tool is pivotal for successful test automation. With numerous automated testing tools available in the market, it’s crucial to select the one that aligns best with your overall requirements.
Typically, the development of various tests is contingent upon the skill levels of QA engineers. It’s crucial to ascertain the proficiency and expertise of each team member and distribute automated testing tasks accordingly. For example, crafting automated test scripts necessitates advanced knowledge of scripting languages. Therefore, proficient QA engineers familiar with the scripting language provided by the automated testing tool should undertake these responsibilities.
Some team members may not possess the expertise to write automated test scripts but excel in composing test cases. It’s advantageous when an automated testing tool offers a method to create automated tests without requiring extensive knowledge of scripting languages, such as TestComplete’s keyword tests feature. A keyword test, also known as keyword-driven testing, comprises a simple sequence of keywords with predefined actions. With keyword tests, users can emulate keystrokes, click buttons, select menu items, invoke object methods and properties, among other actions. Keyword tests are often regarded as an alternative to automated test scripts, as they are easily accessible to both technical and non-technical users, enabling users of all proficiency levels to craft robust and potent automated tests.
Additionally, collaboration among QA engineers within the department on automated testing projects is beneficial. Testing conducted by a cohesive team enhances defect detection, and a suitable automated testing tool facilitates project sharing among multiple testers.
Effective test data is indispensable for data-driven testing. Typically, the data to be input into automated tests’ input fields is stored in an external file. This data may be retrieved from various sources like databases, text or XML files, Excel spreadsheets, and database tables. A proficient automated testing tool comprehends the contents of these data files and iterates over them during the automated test. Utilizing external data renders automated tests reusable and simplifies maintenance. To accommodate diverse testing scenarios, data files can be effortlessly expanded with new data without necessitating alterations to the actual automated test.
Conventionally, test data is manually created and then stored in the desired data repository. However, TestComplete provides the Data Generator feature, facilitating the creation of table variables and Excel files to store test data. This approach enables the generation of data of varying types (e.g., integers, strings, boolean values) and automatic saving of this data to the specified variable or file. Leveraging this feature reduces the time spent on preparing test data for data-driven tests. For comprehensive guidance on generating test data with TestComplete, refer to the “Using Data Generators” section in TestComplete’s help documentation.
Although creating test data for automated tests may seem mundane, investing time and effort into crafting well-structured data is imperative. With access to high-quality test data, the process of writing automated tests becomes significantly streamlined. Initiating the creation of good-quality data early in the development cycle facilitates seamless extension of existing automated tests alongside the application’s evolution.
Automated tests constructed using scripts or keyword tests rely heavily on the application being tested. The application’s user interface may undergo alterations between builds, particularly in the initial phases. These modifications can impact test outcomes, causing automated tests to become incompatible with future iterations of the application. The challenge arises from automated testing tools utilizing a set of properties to identify and locate objects within the application. Sometimes, a testing tool depends on specific location coordinates to locate an object. For example, if the control’s label or position changes, the automated test may fail to locate the object during execution, resulting in a test failure.
To ensure successful execution of automated tests, it might be necessary to update old identifiers with new ones across the entire project before executing tests on the updated application version. However, assigning unique identifiers to controls enhances the resilience of automated tests against such UI alterations. This approach guarantees that automated tests remain functional without requiring modifications to the test itself. Additionally, it mitigates the reliance of automated testing tools on location coordinates for object identification, which is prone to instability and frequent failures.
The recommended strategies outlined in this article serve as the blueprint for achieving successful test automation implementation. TestComplete offers a myriad of functionalities designed to facilitate adherence to these best practices:
By embracing these recommended practices and leveraging TestComplete’s capabilities, you can circumvent common pitfalls and elevate your automated testing regimen. This translates to accelerated testing processes, cost savings, and timely product releases. If you have yet to explore the capabilities of TestComplete, it’s worth considering for your testing needs.