Software Testing
Software testing aims to ensure high quality by evaluating the functionality of a developed application or product and finding defects. It checks whether the product meets the client’s requirements and identifies bugs. This software testing can be categorized as the following.
1. Manual testing
2. Automation testing
Automation Testing
Functional automation testing is the software testing technique that executes test cases automatically using the code. It uses several automation testing tools to verify that an application works as expected. In this method, already-defined test scripts simulate user interactions with the software’s functions. Automation testing tools execute these scripts automatically, comparing the actual and expected results.
Automation Testing Benefits
The benefits of automated functional testing are many, and some are listed below:
· Speeds up the testing process: It speeds up the testing process and helps the developers get enough time to deal with the defects.
· More test cases can be tested: With automated testing, the limitations of manual testing can be conquered, and more test cases can be automated.
· Time management: Time management becomes significantly easier since the time taken for testing is comparatively less.
· Reduce dependency on testers: Automation testing can be run anytime by scheduling the test scripts without much human dependency.
· Improving the build quality: By automation testing, the product quality can be improved by multiple test runs using the automated code.
Automated Functional Testing Process
The automation functional testing process is not that difficult and can be completed in eight steps.
1. Process Planning: The key step of the process is to set the parameters of the functional testing. What are the testing scope and the steps in the process that need to be automated? Prepare a solid plan with the person with expertise and scope of the automation testing.
2. Automation Tool Selection: It’s essential to select the tool that needs to be used. Some automation testing tools are Selenium, Playwright, Cypress, etc. It’s important to consider aspects like the programming language, whether open-sourced or licensed, ease of use, adoption time, customer support, ability to support end-to-end tests, etc.
3. Framework Design: Once the scope of the automation and testing tool is selected, the next step is to design a framework that aligns with your project’s testing needs. All testing takes place within this framework, including the testing standards defining which practice will be used and choosing between data-driven, keyword-driven, and frequent testing methodologies.
4. Test Environment Readiness: Install the necessary software and hardware and set up the test schedule for the team to plan around.
5. Write Test Scripts: These scripts run the tests independently. Draft the test scripts according to the project needs.
6. Test Data: Create the necessary input test data to test the functionality and determine the output.
7. Run the Tests: Once the tests are ready, the team or the tester needs to start running them according to the plan.
8. Analysing Test Results: When the tests are complete, analyze the test results with the expected results. The results will tell you if there are defects and if more testing is needed.
Automation Testing Tools
Automation testing tools are software programs that executes tests on application without human involvement. Below are some of the popular testing tools.
There are a lot of other automation tools like Tricentis Testim, OpenText, Perfecto, Copado, Robot Framework, SmartBear, Test Complete, Postman, Eggplant etc.
Automation Test Frameworks
An automation framework or a framework defines a set of rules or best practices which can be followed in a systematic way to achieve the desired results. A framework is an essential part of automation testing and It is a combination of practices and tools that are designed to help QA teams to test more effectively.
Types of Frameworks
It is also called a record-and-playback framework. By using this framework, the testers do not need to write any code to create methods, and the steps are written in a linear sequential order. Here, the tester records each step, such as navigation through the web application and user inputs, and then plays the script back automatically to perform the tests.
Pros:
– No need to write the custom code; hence, test automation expertise is unnecessary.
– Fast way to generate scripts and can be done in less time.
– Easy to understand since the scripts are in a sequential order.
– The easiest method to get into automation and make it run even with a new tool.
Cons:
– Scripts are not reusable since the data is hardcoded in the scripts.
– Hard to maintain; any change to the web application causes a lot of reworks in the scripts.
Modular-Based Testing Framework
A modular-based testing framework is a type of test automation framework that enables the creation of small test cases or scripts that target specific portions of an application under test. Testers divide the application into separate units or modules and test them separately. Later, all these tests are combined in a hierarchical method. This method generally favors end-to-end testing and is a realistic approach.
Pros:
– The scripts are reusable; small test cases can be reused to compose more extensive tests.
– Different teams or people can work on test cases simultaneously.
– Any defects in a module will only affect the related test case; hence, the maintenance cost will be reduced.
Cons:
– Data is hardcoded in this framework; hence, multiple test executions are impossible.
– Technical expertise is needed to write the code.
Library Architecture Testing Framework
The library architecture framework is based on the modular framework with some additional benefits. In this approach, the application is broken down by common objectives; that is, similar application flows are identified and later grouped by function. These functions or methods are kept in a library and called in the test scripts when needed.
Pros:
– Cost-effective, and test maintenance is more manageable.
– Can be reused effectively since multiple tests can use a library of standard functions.
Cons:
– Test data is hard-coded; hence, any change to test data will cause a script change.
– Technical expertise is needed to write and develop the methods.
– More time is needed for test case development.
Data Driven Framework
It is a test framework that separates the test data from the test scripts so the test data can be stored externally. Testers may need to test a feature multiple times with different test data sets. Since test data cannot be hard-coded, the tester must store and pass the input/output parameters to the scripts from an external data source such as Excel, CSV, text files, SQL tables, etc. The tests are connected to the external data source, and the data is read and populated when needed.
Pros:
– Tests can be executed multiple times using multiple test data.
– Multiple test scenarios can be tested by changing the test data.
Cons:
– It takes a reasonable amount of time to develop the framework.
– A highly experienced tester who is proficient in programming is needed to develop it.
Keyword Driven Framework
This framework is based on keywords that form the basis of functionality. It takes in parameters and throws relevant output. When many methods must be covered in a code, it may result in repetitive writing for some sections. The methods are written separately from the script as keywords in this framework. The keywords are written in an external file and are called using the code. The step of each test case is represented using keywords. Tests are represented using an arrangement of keywords, each corresponding to a specific action or operation to be performed on the system under test.
Pros:
– Minimum knowledge needed for scripting.
– Single keywords can be used in multiple test scripts.
Cons:
– Time-consuming and complex; initial setup needs a lot of time.
– Automation expertise resources are needed.
– Difficult to maintain the keywords; need to continue building the repositories and keyword tables.
Hybrid Automation Testing Framework
As the name suggests, it is a combination of different frameworks. Every application is unique. Hence, to achieve the goals in agile projects, a combination of frameworks is used to leverage the advantages of some and compromise the weaknesses. A hybrid framework can be a combination of any framework mentioned above. Hybrid frameworks achieve more results than other testing frameworks used independently.
Conclusion
The test automation framework increases the speed and efficiency of the entire test while reducing maintenance costs and risks. Without a proper framework, testing teams will spend a lot of time drafting test cases and rewriting, thus wasting much time on repetitive effort.
When choosing an automation framework, always look for one that is flexible and supports a wide range of programming languages and applications. In test automation, you have many choices, and each choice has its own strengths and limitations. So, before choosing one, it’s essential to assess the project requirements carefully.
Author: Neethu Surendran
