The software development market is progressing rapidly, and users are expecting quicker delivery of products. It has led to massive competition in the software market. For instance, many companies may lose their clients if they take a longer time than others. Thus, automation testing is capturing the market as it fits perfectly in the current market standards. Upgrading the entire development team to Automation testing is a massive change. Many companies might find it challenging to cope up with it. This article will discuss the necessary steps that will help you upgrade from manual to automation testing.
Reasons for which developers hesitate while shifting to Automation testing tools
Automation testing indeed helps to overcome various issues, and almost all developers are aware of it. However, a large portion of the developer community hesitates while shifting to automation testing. Let us take a look at some of these issues:
- Engaged with Future releases
Automation testing requires the testers to write new testing scripts for the automation. Now, it is natural for a development company to be pre-occupied with releases that are already scheduled. Many companies might find it troublesome to leave all these tasks for writing the automation test scripts.
- All the complexities, time, and resources involved
Automation testing might reduce your development time, and it might be comparatively easy to use, but you must have some knowledge to use it. So, developers accustomed to manual testing have to go through a training period to get familiar with the various automation testing features. It is a complicated and time-consuming process.
- Scalability and system stability at the time of testing
To ensure that you can unlock the complete potential of automation testing, you have to make the AUT stable. A stable AUT will help you to carry out multiple refrains and ensure the stability of the system. In case you fail to do so, you can end up compromising the quality of your software and user satisfaction.
- Business Mindset
Many corporate companies want instant results in their companies. Although automation testing is a profitable investment, it is a slow process. As the process takes time, corporate heads might find it uncertain or a waste of money to invest in automation testing.
- The processes that have to be automated
When it comes to automation testing, you can’t just automate the testing process. Instead, you have to automate all the processes that are related to it. For instance, you have to automate specific processes such as result analysis, redundant data removal, and clearance of past testing results.
Advantages of Switching from Manual to Automation testing
There are indeed a few issues that make the transition questionable. However, these minor issues can never overshadow the massive advantages of Automation testing. Let us take a look at some of the prominent advantages of automation testing:
- Regression testing
This test is important to ensure that the application is ready for its public release. The main motive is to verify that all the applications’ new and old function is working perfectly and it is completely bug-free. Thus, this test helps to ensure customer satisfaction.
- Complex Functionalities
There are various phases in the testing process, where things get a little complex. For instance, in some areas, you have to introduce multiple test commands simultaneously. Thus, for manual testing, these areas are prone to human error.
- Data-Driven testing
Certain testing sequences will require you to enter a given set of data for the testing process. Humans often find it difficult to keep track of all these data, and in the end, they mess it up.
- Cross-browser testing
It is unnatural to consider that all of your users will be using the same browser. So, you have to ensure that your application works seamlessly on all browsers without compromising the performance. Automation testing helps you to test your application on multiple browsers at the same time. Furthermore, certain testing applications such as LambdaTest allow you to test your app on a cloud-based platform. Thus, you can test your application on multiple browsers without actually having the device.
- Repetitive tests
For a development company, it is normal that you have to conduct multiple tests that remain common for every application. So, for manual testing, you have to repeat these tests every time, which wastes a massive amount of time. Thus, this hampers the final release date of your software.
- Performance testing
To make the software successful, you have to pay special attention to its performance. For instance, most users consider that their applications must have a loading time of fewer than 2 seconds irrespective of the device. Automation testing checks the entire application thoroughly multiple times to ensure that it doesn’t have a minor flaw.
Steps to switch from manual testing to automation testing
The industry is still learning about automation testing. So, it is a massive jump for companies that want to upgrade to automation., The results might seem to be slow initially, but it will be a massive success in the future. So, let us take a look at a few steps that will help you determine this success:
- Abolish repetitive manual testing
The very first step into the transition is to end your days as a manual tester. As a tester of the modern era, it is time to acknowledge that manual testing has various loopholes and is prone to errors. Furthermore, as a team, it is common that you will get bored by using the same process over the years. To solve this process, many companies automate only small portions of the testing process. For instance, you can start by automating the script you will use to import the testing data.
- Know impediments to switch to automated testing
Now that you have realized that you want to move to automated testing, it is time to determine the factors stopping you from doing so. The primary reason being various companies aren’t prepared for the complexities of automation testing. Furthermore, automation testing will require you to work in close coordination with the development team. Thus, you need to have some knowledge about the development languages. Many teams will find it very difficult, as this is completely different from manual testers’ practices. A simple solution to this problem is to develop a testing team for automation. It will help you to find out the capability of the team in automation testing.
- Have a simple and small stat that is successful
A good beginning is equal to completing half of the entire job. Since your team is still new to automation testing, you must have a gentle and small start. A very effective way is to start with an experienced team in areas that are easy to test. We recommend that you avoid lengthy and complex tests until your team has a good automation testing experience. For instance, it is a good idea to begin by writing automation testing scripts to create a new user or to create a login scenario.
- Choose the correct tools and framework
The tool that you choose is very important for your company. Various tools will help you in different areas of the automation process. Additionally, the tools differ according to the experience of the tester in automation testing. We recommend the developers use a combination of tools and frameworks, as it is impossible to expect that a single tool, will guide through the entire automation process. Selenium will become the base of your automation testing scenarios. This is the most popular tool in the entire industry due to its familiar interface specially designed for starters. For instance, it allows users to conduct codeless testing in various areas of the automation process.
- Learn and practice programming
An important step is to make yourself familiar with the programming language that your team is using. To coordinate with the development team, you must have a basic knowledge of the programming languages. Thus, it will be easy to detect errors and flaws in the software. It reduces the development time for the software and improves the reputation of your company. Furthermore, you must remember that as a team, your basic goal is to develop high-quality software.
- Learn about what to automate
Automation testing might be the future of the testing industry, but certain areas are impossible to automate. As a developer, you must be aware of the areas you should automate and the areas you have to continue manual testing. For instance, certain tests that involve finding the visual flaws in the GUI or the UI cannot be automated. It is because no visual testing application could replace the capabilities of a watchful human eye.
- Do not tolerate unreliable automated tests
To become successful in automation testing, you must develop scripts that have consistency, which means that you should not trust tests that pass at times and fail the other times. Unreliable tests break the confidence in the team and act as the first step to failure. For instance, if you receive a failure message in the initial part of testing, you cannot verify whether there are bugs in the application beyond that. These test results can hamper the reputation of your company.
- Give priority to teamwork
For Automation testing, teamwork is very important. A single tester can’t carry out all the steps in the testing process. Thus, you must have a team that has proper coordination and synchronization. The process will help you keep track of the resources and activities in the testing process. Thus, you will be able to develop software in a short period as you won’t waste your time tracking various testers’ testing progress.
The verdict
As you start to move towards automation testing, you will upgrade your testing skills as well. In the present testing industry, Automation testing has a massive tole. Furthermore, experts have predicted that this role of automation testing will rapidly increase with the passing years. Automation testing helps you save multiple hours of manual testing that you used to waste to test an application on every single browser one by one. So, it is very convenient that you move to Automation testing as it is the software testing and development industry’s future.