The Process of Automated Testing: From the Beginning to The End

Automated testing is a technique whereby testers leverage automation tools to execute different test cases. With today’s advanced technology, every software-dependent organization should invest in automated testing to release quality software products. Through automated testing, you can validate that the custom workflows of your salesforce platform are working as per the expectations.

Automated testing simplifies the testing process with little effort and positively affects the quality of the software product released. Salesforce testing can help quickly identify the system’s working condition and behavior. Unlike manual testing, automated testing is cost-effective because you can execute test cases repeatedly. Imagine how long it will take to carry out thousands of repetitive tasks! Regression tests and other repetitive tests can be left to run at night. Testers spend less time on testing and utilize the time saved on critical tasks like creating new features per user requirements. With the expanded test coverage, you enhance the software quality and performance.

Here is a guide to getting started with automated testing.

Find the right automation tool experts

The first step to getting started with automated testing is acquiring the right automation tool experts. Generally, you can acquire two types of automation tool experts for your organization. This could either be automation architects or automation engineers. It can be challenging to find automation architects, and they are costly to hire for the software development process.

Though they are extremely useful in automated testing, they fully understand the automation frameworks and can do it without facing hassles. Most automation architects have a lot of experience with different tools used in the automation process. Automation engineers convert manual test cases into automated scripts. They usually work under the automation architects and are responsible for creating and executing the test scripts.

Gather the correct tools for automation

After hiring the automation experts, gather the correct tools for the automated testing. To determine the best tool for your software product, extensive research should be done. There are lots of test automation tools on the market that you can use for different test cases. Choose a tool that can easily be integrated into the test automation framework.

The tool chosen should be within your budget and must support all the technologies used in your application. It’s advisable to purchase a single tool that supports different technologies used in the application or separate tools for each technology. Each tool bought should have a good reporting mechanism to display all the results for different execution processes.

Analyze the different test scenarios available

What type of testing are you going to carry out? There are test cases that can be automated and others that cannot be automated. If your organization deals with several applications, you must determine the best test cases for automated testing. Any application in the early stages of its development should not be automated. It’s better to test these different modules manually so that you can monitor how different operations are carried out.

The UI must be stable for the automated testing to work effectively. Any application whose UI frequently changes should not be subjected to automated testing. Automated testing is usually performed to ensure that the software product is bug-free in one build and should remain exactly that way in the next build. Some test cases that should be automated include regression, integration and unit test cases.

Train your team and assign each different role

Train your team on the different roles and how they should be performed effectively. Every team member should know the expected results for the automated test case they are dealing with. Training the new hires will help them understand the working of your application and how it can best be tested. Give them time to create their testing strategy on bug tracking and software requirements management.

They will be able to create an effective test automation framework and execution plan. Coming up with a test framework for different automated processes can be challenging. The framework should support automated testing for the long run, and it should also support scalability. Developing an execution plan may involve selecting the right environments for executing the scripts.

Write test scripts, test and report

After developing an execution plan, you must write the test scripts in an organized manner. Ensure proper naming convention. The source code is usually maintained in the source control to avoid code loss. Run the test scripts you have written to get the expected results. The reporting feature is generally provided by the tools you are using.

You can also create a custom reporting mechanism to auto-email the results to the organization management. This way, the management will always stay updated on the test coverage. But before that, you must compare the results with the expected results. Don’t forget to maintain your test scripts to facilitate smooth updates to cope with future changes.

Conclusion

Getting started with automated testing takes a lot of effort and consistency. The process usually begins with finding the right test automation experts per your software product’s needs. Each stage discussed above should keenly be followed to release quality software products to the users.