Automated Testing means using special software for tasks that people usually do when checking and testing a software product. Nowadays, many software projects use automation testing from start to end, especially in agile and DevOps methods. This means the engineering team runs tests automatically with the help of software tools . It will help to keep the testing team to make the process faster. Continuous delivery (CD) and quickly sends the new code to users.
Automated testing is important for this because it converts the manual steps into automation. Continuous integration (CI) checks the new code changes to prevent issues. CD gets after CI done everything well. Automated testing, CI & CD will together prove that the new code is error-free and ready for deployment quickly for the project purpose.
What is Automation Testing?
On the other side, it’s a technique where the Tester writes scripts independently and uses suitable Software or Automation Tools to test the software. It is an Automation Process of a Manual Process. It allows for executing repetitive tasks without the intervention of a Manual Tester.
It is used to automate the testing tasks that are difficult to perform manually.
Automation tests can be run at any time of the day as they use scripted sequences to examine the software.
Automation tests can also enter test data compare the expected result with the actual result and generate detailed test reports.
The goal of automation tests is to reduce the number of test cases to be executed manually but not to eliminate manual testing.
It is possible to record the test suit and replay it when required.
Automated Testing uses specialized software to replace manual testing tasks, speeding up the process and integrating seamlessly with CI/CD pipelines. It allows for continuous code verification and quicker deployment. To master automation testing and streamline your processes, check out the Complete Guide to Software Testing & Automation by GeeksforGeeks . This course offers essential insights and techniques to optimize your automated testing approach.
Quality Assurance: Manual testing is a tedious task that can be boring and at the same time error-prone. Thus, using automation testing improves the quality of the software under test as more test coverage can be achieved.
Error or Bug-free Software: Automation testing is more efficient for detecting bugs in comparison to manual testing.
No Human Intervention: Manual testing requires huge manpower in comparison to automation testing which requires no human intervention and the test cases can be executed unattended.
Increased test coverage: Automation testing ensures more test coverage in comparison to manual testing where it is not possible to achieve 100% test coverage.
Testing can be done frequently: Automation testing means that the testing can be done frequently thus improving the overall quality of the software under test.
For more refer – Manual Testing to Automated Testing
What Kinds of Software Tests Should Be Automated First?
- End-to-End tests
End-to-end testing is a type of software testing used to test whether the flow of software from the initial stage to the final stage is behaving as expected. The purpose of end-to-end testing is to identify system dependencies and to make sure that the data integrity is maintained between various system components and systems. End-to-end testing: End-to-end testing, also known as end-to-end functional testing, is a type of testing that validates the flow of a system from start to finish. - Unit tests
Unit testing is automated and is run each time the code is changed to ensure that new code does not break existing functionality. Unit tests are designed to validate the smallest possible unit of code, such as a function or a method, and test it in isolation from the rest of the system. - Integration tests
Integration testing is the process of testing the interface between two software units or modules. It focuses on determining the correctness of the interface. The purpose of integration testing is to expose faults in the interaction between integrated units. Once all the modules have been unit-tested, integration testing is performed. - Performance tests
Performance Testing is a type of software testing that ensures software applications perform properly under their expected workload. It is a testing technique carried out to determine system performance in terms of sensitivity, reactivity, and stability under a particular workload.
What Kinds of Software Tests Should Be Done Manually?
Automating tests will save the time and speed up the productivity, but not every test needs automation. sometime the investment in creating automated tests the benefits of manual testing.
- Exploratory testing
Exploratory Testing is a type of software testing in which the tester is free to select any possible methodology to test the software. It is an unscripted approach to software testing. In exploratory testing, software developers use their learning, knowledge, skills, and abilities to test the software developed by themselves. Exploratory testing checks the functionality and operations of the software as well as identify the functional and technical faults in it. - Visual Regression Testing
Visual regression testing is a software development technique for identifying unintentional visual modifications made to the user interface (UI) of a web application. To find any differences, screenshots of the user interface (UI) of the application are compared before and after code changes. Developers can guarantee that changes to the coding don’t bring about unexpected visual changes that could degrade the user experience by automating this process. - Building a test automation framework for your DevOps team
Automated testing do not have one is not fit for all. When setting up automated testing for your team, consider a few important things. - Frequency of release
For software that releases regular, like in every month or week, manual testing is might be okay. But for faster purpose, the automated testing is a more helpful because it is need for the continuous integration and delivery. - Available tools and ecosystem
Every programming language it has been its own set of tools and utilities that work well with it. with the same, each type of automated testing has its own tools for testing, which may not be available for every programming language. for successfully implement automated testing, you need tools which match the both the programming language and the testing pattern you are using. - Product market fit and code base maturity
Product-market fit refers to the alignment between a product or service and the market it serves. It signifies the degree to which a product satisfies strong market demand and effectively addresses the needs or problems of a specific market segment. Product market fit means being in a good market with a product that can satisfy that market.
Automation Testing Types
Below are the different types of automation testing:
Unit testing: Unit testing is a phase in software testing to test the smallest piece of code known as a unit that can be logically isolated from the code. It is carried out during the development of the application.
Integration testing: Integration testing is a phase in software testing in which individual software components are combined and tested as a group. It is carried out to check the compatibility of the component with the specified functional requirements.
Smoke testing: Smoke testing is a type of software testing that determines whether the built software is stable or not. It is the preliminary check of the software before its release in the market.
Performance testing: Performance testing is a type of software testing that is carried out to determine how the system performs in terms of stability and responsiveness under a particular load.
Regression testing: Regression testing is a type of software testing that confirms that previously developed software still works fine after the change and that the change has not adversely affected existing features.
Security testing: Security testing is a type of software testing that uncovers the risks, and vulnerabilities in the security mechanism of the software application. It helps an organization to identify the loopholes in the security mechanism and take corrective measures to rectify the security gaps.
Acceptance testing: Acceptance testing is the last phase of software testing that is performed after the system testing. It helps to determine to what degree the application meets end users’ approval.
API testing: API testing is a type of software testing that validates the Application Programming Interface(API) and checks the functionality, security, and reliability of the programming interface.
UI Testing: UI testing is a type of software testing that helps testers ensure that all the fields, buttons, and other items on the screen function as desired.
Test Automation Frameworks
