What You Ought To Know About Automation Testing

Before delving into what you need to know about automation testing, it’s important to know the difference between automation testing and test automation. Both of these terms may sound like they mean the same thing, but they actually have different functions and meanings.

Firstly, AUTOMATED TESTING is the conducting of certain, specific tests by using automated means in contrast to conducting them manually. TEST AUTOMATION is the automation of the entire process.

Either way, to have a great software product, certain standards have to be met sometimes outside of client expectations (for ease of use and for future reference), and best practices have to be observed.

For the purpose of improving the quality of the software you’re developing through automated testing, you have to remember these 4 key points -

COORDINATION WITH EVERYONE IS KEY

A common problem with testing and quality assurance (in fact, this might sometimes be a problem in other company segments) is the mistake of not clearly communicating feedback and other points of improvement regarding the software or development project in hand.

It’s crucial for these to be communicated clearly and efficiently to everyone involved in the project, particularly if it’s a case that involved multiple users and multiple test environments.

Read more:- How to choose the right QA tool for your organization

At the end of the day, having everyone involved won’t only make for an efficient software and development testing environment, it’s also going to save up on resources and time.

DEVELOP CUSTOMIZABLE TESTING SOFTWARE

“Develop once, use everywhere” is a good mantra to follow, particularly if you’re developing software that is meant to test another software’s function.

Why is this the case? Despite a potential additional cost, developing other software for testing makes it easier for you to test similar kinds of software in the future. It’s also going to make testing more manageable and without too much of a need for human intervention.

One other major benefit for developing other software is the ability to sell it as a separate product. Other companies would pay droves to get a customizable software platform that can help with their testing processes.

ACCURATE REPORTING OF TEST RESULTS

When dealing with testing in terms of quality assurance, it’s important to remember that details mean everything. Being particularly conscious about the smallest level of detail will not only make your testing more accurate, it would also save tons on company resources and time.

When documenting these little details, it’s important to have a little note section in your reporting template. This is crucial especially if there’s no section dedicated for curious new cases or anything of the sort.

EVOLVE AND IMPROVE

After receiving feedback regarding the test (or for your testing platform), it’s important to take note of what worked, what didn’t work and what can work better. It also helps that if you can get some feedback from outside sources in order to get an unbiased feedback of your software.

This is crucial because it helps you find out how you can improve not only your development skills as a company, but also for the software that you’re developing.

Having this kind of 3rd party feedback can help you avoid any unnecessary issues in the future or at least resolve them should it be some sort of recurring problem. It’s also, at the very least, unbiased, thereby making most of their observations objective.

Regardless of the nature of these tests of their respective purposes, it’s important to have a systematized and reliable process to make sure that the finished product does what it’s supposed to do.

In the end, these processes should be designed to make quality assurance for other similar software easier and much more manageable in the future. It also saves a lot on resources spent for the project because you don’t incur other unnecessary costs.

What’s your automation testing story? What was your experience when handling automation testing concerns and issues? Share your thoughts and opinions with us in the comments section below.

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