I am sure you have heard the term “automation” in recent years, but do you know what it means? In this article, let’s figure out what is test automation? and why does it matter?
The word automation is derived from the Greek word automatos which means “acting of one’s own will or without control.” This term has been around since the 1800s, but its more modern meaning emerged in the 1950s. Automation was originally used to describeF machinery that did work repeatedly and quickly. Eventually, it was applied to any process that could be completed with minimal human input.
What Is Test Automation?
Test automation refers to software tools or programming code that enables people to execute a set of predefined tests repeatedly with little or no human intervention. Automated testing is a process that includes writing test cases, executing them on an application, and collecting the results.
Why Test Automation Matters?
Test automation is an important aspect of development, not just because it can be tedious. It saves time and money, too. It also ensures the quality of the app or product you’re developing is up to par with your standards.
Automating your QA process helps you save time by running tests more efficiently than running manually. The quality of these tests will be ensured because the same steps are followed every time, which guarantees that all potential problems are noticed. This means that you can catch issues sooner than if they were found late in the game.
Automated testing tools are a great way to increase productivity than manual testing tools. Testers can focus on more higher-level and strategic testing with these automated testing tools
Criteria For Test Automation
Given the complexity of testing, we need to automate as much as possible. Automation is the only way to reduce the risk and time of performing tests. And to do that, we have specific criteria listed below:
Preparing for testing: First, we must arrange the state, test data, and environment in which the tests will be conducted. As we’ve seen, most tests necessitate that the environment is in a certain condition before acting. Either the data must be modified or the programme must be placed in a specified state, or both must be done! This, in most cases, necessitates some setup.
Taking Action: It’s time to act once the state and environment have reached the predetermined condition! The test will be conducted by the test driver, who will either call an application’s API or user interface or run the code directly. The test driver is in charge of “driving” the tests, while the test management system is in charge of everything else, including reporting the results.
Reporting Results: The findings of a test automation system will be recorded and reported. These results may be presented in various formats, and they may even result in the creation of trouble tickets or bugs in a work tracking system. However, the result is either a pass or a fail. Each test scenario usually has a green or red signal to show whether it passed or failed.
What Are The Benefits Of Test Automation?
Getting to know the benefits of test automation can help you decide using it to your advantage. Let’s discuss some of the benefits of automated testing and why it should not be overlooked.
It helps find bugs early in the development cycle, reducing cost and time later. This is because automated tests execute a lot faster than manual testing. They also provide a means to validate changes made earlier in the cycle, which promotes continuous development and reduces regression testing.
How Testing Software Increases Productivity By 50% With Automated Testing Tools
As we understand in simple words, what is test automation, it is a process of executing system tests by using software and computers to do the job efficiently and consistently without human intervention.
Software developers can use these automated testing tools for regression, etc. Tests can also be executed at scale across different environments like different browsers or operating systems because of automation in the development process.
