In today’s article, we will be talking about what is automation testing in software development, what are its types and frameworks, and more…

What is Automation Testing? A Beginner’s Guide

Testing is a very crucial phase of software development. It ensures the software or application is ready to enter the market. Different kinds of tests help the development teams find anomalies in various aspects of the software like user interface (UI), security, performance, etc. However, as crucial as it is, testing also demands significant time and energy.

Especially in the times of manual testing, the testing phase involved the following challenges:

• Manual testing of each code and feature was time-consuming and tedious.
• It mostly involved boring, repetitive tasks.
• It required a separate group of manual testers which added to the business’s costs.
• Like any other manually performed task, it was prone to human error.

In short, manual testing was inefficient and unproductive. Resources that could be spent on designing and developing new features, were instead spent on testing the old ones. This inefficiency called for automated testing or test automation…

What is automation testing?

Automation testing or test automation simply refers to the use of tools to automate the testing phase of software development.

It involves the following processes:

• Firstly, developers create a test script using a programming language. A test script is a set of instructions that an automation tool is supposed to follow to verify an application. In other words, it tells the tool what to do in order to confirm if the application is working or not.
• Then the test scripts are run using the automation tools and the data is collected and analyzed.
• Failed tests indicate problems in the software. The tests can be re-run after corrections.

Benefits of automation testing

• Automation testing requires minimal human intervention, thus allowing the development teams to focus on designing and innovating new features and updates.
• It saves time and costs while maintaining a high quality of work.
• It helps in performing more number of tests in less time, thus improving test coverage when compared to manual testing.
• It helps in the early detection of defects.
• It reduces the chances of the human-error which was quite inevitable in the case of manual testing.

Types of test automation

• Unit testing: Unit testing is the first phase of testing. It involves testing individual units or components of the software in isolation. It helps in the early detection of bugs and flaws.
• Integration testing: After unit testing, comes integration testing which tests the integrity of the software. It makes sure that all the units or components effortlessly function together to make the software work as a whole.
• Smoke testing: Also known as ‘build verification testing’, smoke testing is used to check the stability of the application. If the application passes this test, it goes for further testing. Smoke testing is usually done by QA (Quality Assurance) engineers.
• Regression testing: Regression testing is used to ensure that the new codes or updates do not negatively affect the existing features. It is run after every time a new code changeis developed.
• Performance testing: As the name suggests, performance testing is used to test the performance i.e. the speed and responsiveness of the software under a particular workload. It helps to optimize the software during peak hours and heavier workloads.

Test automation framework & its types

Test automation frameworks are a set of guidelines, tools, and practices that facilitate software testing. They include test scripts, coding standards, libraries, etc. to speed up test execution and aid in continuous testing. Linear, modular-based, and hybrid are some of the most common types of frameworks we will be talking about here:

• Linear framework: Linear framework is the most basic and common framework used for smaller applications. In this, the tester interacts with the software in a defined order while the framework records its actions in a script. Now, the tester simply plays back the script to automatically perform the testing. Hence, it is also called a ‘record and playback’ Because of its simplicity, it requires minimal expertise and is suitable for beginners.
• Modular-based framework: In this framework, the application is broken into smaller and independent units or modules. A test script is created for testing every module in isolation. Modular-based framework allows independent scaling and easier maintenance of each module. However, creating the framework requires time and good programming knowledge, making it suitable for experienced programmers.
• Hybrid framework: Hybrid framework, just as it sounds, is a combination of various kinds of test frameworks. It combines the strengths of the above-mentioned and many other frameworks for maximizing test effectiveness while mitigating their drawbacks. However, as powerful as it is, it demands a high level of expertise and proficiency in programming.

Challenges of automation testing

• Shifting from manual to automated testing can require high initial investments in the form of money and time. Choosing the appropriate tools and softwares requires time and experimentation.
• Not all kinds of tests can be automated. For example, exploratory testing which mimics the user actions is better performed manually.
• Different automation tools require knowledge and expertise in different programming languages.
• Automation tests can sometimes wrongly detect flaws in the codes when there’s really no issue.

Conclusion: