Automation Testing Tutorial: What is
Automation Testing?
What is Automation Testing?
Automation Testing is a software testing technique that performs using special
automated testing software tools to execute a test case suite. On the contrary,
Manual Testing is performed by a human sitting in front of a computer carefully
executing the test steps.
The automation testing software can also enter test data into the System Under
Test, compare expected and actual results and generate detailed test reports.
Software Test Automation demands considerable investments of money and
resources.
Successive development cycles will require execution of same test suite
repeatedly. Using a test automation tool, it’s possible to record this test suite and
re-play it as required. Once the test suite is automated, no human intervention is
required. This improved ROI of Test Automation. The goal of Automation is to
reduce the number of test cases to be run manually and not to eliminate Manual
Testing altogether.
In this automated software testing tutorial, you will learn Test Automation basics
like-
What is Automation Testing?
Why Automated Testing?
Which Test Cases to Automate?
Automated Testing Process
Test tool selection
Define the scope of Automation
Planning, Design, and Development
Test Execution
Framework for Automation
Automation Tool Best Practices
Benefits of Automation Testing
Types of Automated Testing
How to Choose an Automation Tool?
Automation Testing Tools
Why Test Automation?
Test Automation is the best way to increase the effectiveness, test coverage, and
execution speed in software testing. Automated software testing is important due
to the following reasons:
Manual Testing of all workflows, all fields, all negative scenarios is time and
money consuming
It is difficult to test for multilingual sites manually
Test Automation in software testing does not require Human intervention.
You can run automated test unattended (overnight)
Test Automation increases the speed of test execution
Automation helps increase Test Coverage
Manual Testing can become boring and hence error-prone.
Which Test Cases to Automate?
Test cases to be automated can be selected using the following criterion to
increase the automation ROI
High Risk – Business Critical test cases
Test cases that are repeatedly executed
Test Cases that are very tedious or difficult to perform manually
Test Cases which are time-consuming
The following category of test cases are not suitable for automation:
Test Cases that are newly designed and not executed manually at least once
Test Cases for which the requirements are frequently changing
Test cases which are executed on an ad-hoc basis.
Automated Testing Process:
Following steps are followed in an Automation Process
Step 1) Test Tool Selection
Step 2) Define scope of Automation
Step 3) Planning, Design and Development
Step 4) Test Execution
Step 5) Maintenance
Test Automation Process
Test tool selection
Test Tool selection largely depends on the technology the Application Under Test
is built on. For instance, QTP does not support Informatica. So QTP cannot be used
for testing Informatica applications. It’s a good idea to conduct a Proof of
Concept of Tool on AUT.
Define the scope of Automation
The scope of automation is the area of your Application Under Test which will be
automated. Following points help determine scope:
The features that are important for the business
Scenarios which have a large amount of data
Common functionalities across applications
Technical feasibility
The extent to which business components are reused
The complexity of test cases
Ability to use the same test cases for cross-browser testing
Planning, Design, and Development
During this phase, you create an Automation strategy & plan, which contains the
following details-
Automation tools selected
Framework design and its features
In-Scope and Out-of-scope items of automation
Automation testbed preparation
Schedule and Timeline of scripting and execution
Deliverables of Automation Testing
Test Execution
Automation Scripts are executed during this phase. The scripts need input test
data before there are set to run. Once executed they provide detailed test reports.
Execution can be performed using the automation tool directly or through the Test
Management tool which will invoke the automation tool.
Example: Quality center is the Test Management tool which in turn it will invoke
QTP for execution of automation scripts. Scripts can be executed in a single
machine or a group of machines. The execution can be done during the night, to
save time.
Test Automation Maintenance Approach
Test Automation Maintenance Approach is an automation testing phase carried
out to test whether the new functionalities added to the software are working fine
or not. Maintenance in automation testing is executed when new automation
scripts are added and need to be reviewed and maintained in order to improve the
effectiveness of automation scripts with each successive release cycle.
Framework for Automation
A framework is set of automation guidelines which help in
Maintaining consistency of Testing
Improves test structuring
Minimum usage of code
Less Maintenance of code
Improve re-usability
Non Technical testers can be involved in code
The training period of using the tool can be reduced
Involves Data wherever appropriate
There are four types of frameworks used in automation software testing:
1. Data Driven Automation Framework
2. Keyword Driven Automation Framework
3. Modular Automation Framework
4. Hybrid Automation Framework
Automation Tool Best Practices
To get maximum ROI of automation, observe the following
The scope of Automation needs to be determined in detail before the start of
the project. This sets expectations from Automation right.
Select the right automation tool: A tool must not be selected based on its
popularity, but it’s fit to the automation requirements.
Choose an appropriate framework
Scripting Standards- Standards have to be followed while writing the scripts
for Automation. Some of them are-
Create uniform scripts, comments, and indentation of the code
Adequate Exception handling – How error is handled on system failure
or unexpected behavior of the application.
User-defined messages should be coded or standardized for Error
Logging for testers to understand.
Measure metrics- Success of automation cannot be determined by
comparing the manual effort with the automation effort but by also
capturing the following metrics.
Percent of defects found
The time required for automation testing for each and every release
cycle
Minimal Time is taken for release
Customer Satisfaction Index
Productivity improvement
The above guidelines if observed can greatly help in making your automation
successful.
Benefits of Automation Testing
Benefits of Automation Testing
Following are the Test Automation benefits:
70% faster than the manual testing
Wider test coverage of application features
Reliable in results
Ensure Consistency
Saves Time and Cost
Improves accuracy
Human Intervention is not required while execution
Increases Efficiency
Better speed in executing tests
Re-usable test scripts
Test Frequently and thoroughly
More cycle of execution can be achieved through automation
Early time to market
Types of Automated Testing
Smoke Testing
Unit Testing
Integration Testing
Functional Testing
Keyword Testing
Regression Testing
Data Driven Testing
Black Box Testing
How to Choose an Automation Tool?
Selecting the right tool can be a tricky task. Following criterion will help you select
the best tool for your requirement-
Environment Support
Ease of use
Testing of Database
Object identification
Image Testing
Error Recovery Testing
Object Mapping
Scripting Language Used
Support for various types of test – including functional, test management,
mobile, etc…
Support for multiple testing frameworks
Easy to debug the automation software scripts
Ability to recognize objects in any environment
Extensive test reports and results
Minimize training cost of selected tools
Tool selection is one of biggest challenges to be tackled before going for
automation. First, Identify the requirements, explore various tools and its
capabilities, set the expectation from the tool and go for a Proof Of Concept.
Automation Testing Tools
There are tons of Functional and Regression Testing Tools available in the market.
Here are best test automation tools certified by our experts
1) Ranorex Studio
Over 14,000 users worldwide accelerate testing with Ranorex Studio, an all-in-one
tool for test automation. Ranorex has easy click-and-go codeless tools for
beginners, plus a full IDE and open APIs for automation experts.
Features:
Functional UI and end-to-end testing on desktop, web, and mobile
Cross-browser testing
SAP, ERP, Delphi and legacy applications.
iOS and Android
Run tests locally or remotely, in parallel, on physical or virtual machines
Video playback of test execution
Built-in reporting
Ranorex integrates with leading solutions like Jira, Git, Azure DevOps,
Jenkins, Bamboo, Bugzilla, SpecFlow, NeoLoad, TestRail and more for a
complete testing toolchain
More Information >>
2) Kobiton
Kobiton’s mobile device testing platform offers script-based and scriptless test
automation capabilities. Users can create manual tests that can be re-run
automatically across a variety of real devices. Kobiton fully supports test
automation frameworks such as Appium, Espresso and XCTest, while offering its
own scriptless test automation through their NOVA AI.
Features:
Kobiton’s device lab management will let you connect with devices in the
cloud, your local on-premises devices as well as on-desk devices.
Users can automatically create test scripts by converting manual test
sessions into scripts that can be executed on multiple devices.
Easily integrate your defect management system to automatically log tickets
with debug sessions attached when a test crashes.
Kobiton’s Appium Anywhere technology ensures less flaky test scripts by
making sure your test runs the same on every device
Kobiton scriptless test automation generates 100% open standard Appium
code for flexible use.
More Information >>
3) ZAPTEST
ZAPTEST is a Software Automation solution for any organization that uses software
for operations or development, who is looking to automate it’s back-office
operations or software testing processes and to develop a seamless and revolving
automation framework.
Features:
Functional and Performance Test Automation
RPA (Robotic Process Automation)
Seamless Test+RPA Software Automation
Cross-Platform (Parallel) Execution
DevOps (Mock-ups) Automation
API Testing
Auto-Documentation
More Information >>
4) LambdaTest
LambdaTest is one of the most preferred tool to perform automated cross browser
testing. They offer an ultra-fast, scalable and secure selenium grid, which users can
utilize and run their tests on 2000+ browsers and OS. It supports all latest and
legacy browsers.
Features
Built on latest tech stack, test execution is fast and seamless
Parallel test execution to shorten test cycles
Easy integration with various CI/CD execution, project management, team
communication tools.
Users can perform geo location testing and testing of their locally hosted
website.
Users can utilize various APIs to extract all data they need
Support for all major languages and framework
More Information >>
5) Avo Assure
Avo Assure is a no-code, intelligent, and heterogeneous automation testing
solution. With Avo Assure, you can execute test cases without writing a single line
of code and achieve more than 90% test automation coverage.
Features:
100% no-code
Heterogeneous – Test across web, windows, non-UI (web services, batch
jobs), mobile platforms (Android and IOS), ERPs, Mainframes, and associated
emulators
Accessibility testing
Smart scheduling to execute test cases in a single VM independently or in
parallel. Schedule execution during non-business hours
Easy-to-understand and intuitive reporting
1500+ pre-built keywords and SAP accelerator pack
Integration with Jira, Jenkins, ALM, QTest, Salesforce, Sauce Labs, TFS, etc
More Information >>
6) Keysight Eggplant
Keysight Eggplant allows you to test smarter with AI-powered end-to-end test
automation that delivers DevOps and optimizes your user experience.
Features:
A model-based approach that incorporates linear, directed test automation
with automated exploratory testing.
Combine testing technologies for both image and object-based test
execution.
Test any technology on any platform from APIs, UI, database, cloud, IoT, and
robotics.
Provision test environments in the cloud to scale testing capabilities.
Intelligent test creation and prioritization based on real user journeys.
Intuitive low-code/no-code platform can be utilized by domain experts,
business analysts, and full stack developers.
Monitor, predict, and measure the impact of new releases.
More Information >>
7) testRigor
testRigor helps you to directly express tests as executable specifications in plain
English. Users of all technical abilities are able to build end-to-end tests of any
complexity covering mobile, web, and API steps in one test. Test steps are
expressed on the end-user level instead of relying on details of implementation like
XPaths or CSS Selectors.
Features:
Free forever public version
Test cases are in English
Unlimited users & Unlimited tests
The easiest way to learn automation
Recorder for web steps
Integrations with CI/CD and Test case management
Email & SMS testing
Web + Mobile + API steps in one test
More Information >>
8) Subject7
Subject7 is a cloud-based, “true codeless” test automation solution that unifies all
testing in a single platform and empowers anyone to become an automation
expert. Our easy-to-use software accelerates test authoring, reduces test
maintenance, and scales effortlessly.
Key Features:
Supports functional, regression, end to end, API, and database testing, plus
non-functional testing including load, security, and accessibility.
Integrates easily with DevOps/Agile tooling using native plugins, in-app
integrations, and open APIs.
High-scale parallel execution in the cloud or on-prem with enterprise-grade
security.
Flexible reporting and identification of persistent defects, with video capture
of results.
Simple, non-metered pricing, delivering financial predictability.
SOC2 Type2 compliant
More Information >>
9) Selenium
It is a software testing tool used for Regression Testing. It is an open source testing
tool that provides playback and recording facility for Regression Testing.
The Selenium IDE only supports Mozilla Firefox web browser.
It provides the provision to export recorded script in other languages
like Java, Ruby, RSpec, Python, C#, etc
It can be used with frameworks like JUnit and TestNG
It can execute multiple tests at a time
Autocomplete for Selenium commands that are common
Walkthrough tests
Identifies the element using id, name, X-path, etc.
Store tests as Ruby Script, HTML, and any other format
It provides an option to assert the title for every page
It supports selenium user-extensions.js file
It allows to insert comments in the middle of the script for better
understanding and debugging
Download Selenium
Summary
Test Automation is a software testing technique that performs using special
automated testing software tools to execute a test case suite.
Test Automation is the best way to increase the effectiveness, test coverage, and
execution speed in software testing.
Test Tool selection largely depends on the technology the Application Under Test
is built on.
Test Automation Maintenance Approach is an automation testing phase carried out
to test whether the new functionalities added to the software are working fine or
not.
The right selection of automation tool, testing process, and team, are important
players for automation to be successful. Manual and automation methods go
hand-in-hand for successful testing.
