Most enterprises nowadays invest in test automation tools to accelerate software testing and obtain more accurate test results. But no enterprise can automate all its software testing activities. Also, it needs to choose the right software testing tools to meet the precise needs of individual projects and evaluate the software effectively. The test automation consultants help enterprises to pick the right software testing tools according to technology and requirements. Also, they help testers to use the software testing tools in the most appropriate way. The experienced test automation consultants implement a number of test automation best practices to enhance test coverage, make QA testers productive, and reduce testing time.
7 Test Automation Best Practices Implemented by Experienced Test Automation Consultants
1) Automate the Right Test Cases
While preparing a test automation strategy, consultants always decide the test cases to be automated based on features and usage of the application. They accelerate software testing by automating the test cases that need to be executed repeatedly. Likewise, they simplify testing process by automating the manual test cases that are complex, tedious, and time-consuming. Also, they identify the test cases that cannot be performed manually or need to be repeated across various browsers, platforms, and devices. At the same time, the consultants also identify the test cases that must be performed manually to produce more reliable test results. The good QA testing professionals should always strategise how to coordinate the manual and automated testing efforts.
2) Keep Test Automation Frameworks Flexible and Maintainable
The test automation consultants understand the pros and cons of each test automation tool. They even evaluate the features, performance, and shortcomings of individual testing tools according to software, technology, and business requirements. They even help enterprises to curtail project overheads by combining free and commercial test automation tools. Some consultants even create custom test automation frameworks to make it easier for testers to perform and repeat the required tests quickly. At the same time, they accelerate the software testing process by opting for tools that support automated test execution, test report generation, and multiple test case execution.
3) Focus on Quality of Test Data
The test automation consultants understand the impact of test data on test results. While creating the test automation strategy, they identify the data required by testers to evaluate each feature or functionality of the software. Also, they keep the test data structured and organized to accelerate the automated testing process. The high quality test data selected by consultants make it easier for testers to write automated tests and repeat the tests under different conditions. The consultants spend some time to identify the test data required during various test cycles before automated testing starts.
4) Ensure Early and Continuous Testing
The experienced test automation consultants emphasise on getting the software early and continuously. While preparing a custom test automation strategy, they opt for tools that enable testers to run multiple tests simultaneously. The good consultants help QA testers to repeat various tests by identifying the reusable functions in each automated test script. They further try to reduce testing time significantly by getting bugs or defects in the software identified and fixed from the coding phase of the project. They even group tests and create test suites to make it easier for testers to execute the required tests in each test cycle.
5) Combine Manual and Automated Testing Seamlessly
The test automation consultants understand the significance of integrating manual and automated tests to produce more reliable test results. In addition to automating the right test cases, they also emphasise on improving the quality of manual test cases. There are several cases where manual testing is preferred to automation testing also. The consultants interact with manual testers consistently to create high quality test cases and produce more accurate test results. They even ask testers to run specific test cases manually to find defects in the software before creating automated test scripts. The consultants even explore ways to make the test reports more relevant by including results of both manual testing and automated testing.
6) Integrate Test Automation into SDLC
Each test automation consultant considers test automation an integral part of software development lifecycle (SDLC). He explores ways to share the test results with programmers and get the bugs or defects found in the software fixed without any delay. He also emphasizes on regular code reviews to keep the source code of the software clean and bug-free. Also, the consultant integrates the test automation code with the existing code base once the testing process is over. They even follow the best practices implemented by programmers to make test automation an important part of SDLC.
7) Make QA Testing professionals Productive
The experienced test automation consultants always explore ways to make the testers more productive. While selecting software testing tools and frameworks, they keep in mind the skill, experience, and expertise of individual QA testers. They even avoid test automation tools that require testers to learn new scripting languages or undergo comprehensive training. At the same time, they train the testers regularly to understand complexity and requirements of the project, handle ambiguous test scenarios, and write and execute the tests efficiently.
The experienced test automation consultants never try to automate all software testing activities. They prepare a strategy to automate the right test cases and combine automated and manual testing seamlessly. However, they always prepare the test automation strategy based on the usage of the software and predefined business requirements. Hence, the best practices followed by test automation consultants keep changing according to precise needs of each project.
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