Breaking Barriers in Test Automation: 5 Challenges and How To Solve Them
Previous articles of the Test Automation month:
Automated testing is an essential part of the software development life cycle. Each project is a long journey and has its unique challenges to overcome. In today’s issue, let’s discuss the five common test automation challenges and brainstorm some ideas on how to overcome them.
Challenge #1: How to tackle too much uncertainty in the beginning
Test Automation is a way too broad definition that might seem like an ocean to people who have just started learning how to swim. We often receive questions like "What programming language should I learn?" or "Where should I start?".
Questions like these are caused by various programming languages, product domains, versatile approaches and numerous test automation tools and frameworks on the market. At the beginning of the test automation journey, it can be overwhelming to figure out what’s the right choice for you personally and for your product.
What to do: take small steps and don’t jump into this journey alone. Talk to a colleague who is experienced in test automation or find a mentor. These people can guide you through the process and help to avoid falling into traps of bad architectural decisions. Learning from someone and someone's mistakes isn't a bad idea at all.
Challenge #2: I started automating, but no outcome
Alright, your first cherished test is automated. Time for the second one, and then one more, and one more, and more… But at some point, you realize that with the increasing number of tests, quality matters in the product don’t get better.
The tricky part is that more tests do not necessarily make your automated testing more efficient. When test automation doesn’t produce any noticeable outcome, it’s easy to get demotivated and abandon it.
What to do: define your goal. Having tests for the sake of having tests isn’t the right goal. Test automation should immediately raise the alarm when something goes wrong, relieve your time for more complicated and creative tasks and contribute to fixing bugs earlier and cheaper. Combine several goals into a strategy and systematically work towards it.
Challenge #3: My chosen tool doesn’t solve all my problems
It happens, really. There’s no tool or framework that 100% fits the needs of every particular project. Whether it’s a free open-source tool or a commercial one, there’s no guarantee it is going to work out of the box. That’s why quality engineers have to develop their custom solutions and workarounds. And, let’s be honest - that’s why new tools and frameworks appear.
What to do: vendors of testing tools tend to exaggerate the capabilities of their products. Do not blindly believe what is written on the tool’s webpage and always do a proper assessment by yourself.
Draw the most important criteria a tool should meet (like CI friendliness, reducing test flakiness, debugging/troubleshooting stuff, the convenience of writing code, scalability, etc.) and choose a couple of tools to try. Always do proof of concepts before making a final decision.
Challenge 4: Gosh! My tests failed. They’re bad tests
Sooner or later, a shiny green pipeline turns into a red one. Your heart falls into your shoes, and you don’t know what to do. Developers can’t merge, different people you barely know start asking about releases, and your Slack turns red as well… At some point, you start thinking: “Why did I get myself into this?”
When a football team concedes a goal, the mad crowd of football fans often blames the goalkeeper first, before they assess the real situation. We’ve all been through this, haven’t we?
What to do: let’s get things straight - failed tests aren’t necessarily a bad thing. There might be different reasons for failure, such as real product bugs, infrastructure issues, test framework problems, flaky tests, wrong product-under-test versions, changed features, etc.
The ultimate goal of your automated tests is not to be green all the time but to turn red when a discrepancy is detected. That is why every failure should be analyzed and addressed, and it’s better to have a plan of action for that. Even if it’s a flaky test or the test framework needs adjustment, it’s still a part of Agile work - rise, improve and move on!
Challenge 5: No one cares about automated tests but you
Things don’t always go as expected, and it can be disheartening when your team doesn't share your enthusiasm for a new testing framework. Everyone is usually occupied with their tasks, and automated testing can seem like a mystical concept that is nice to have but better to leave untouched. We’ve been in such situations ourselves, and know how challenging they can be.
What to do: educate and involve the team! Your teammates may not realize the benefits that are right in front of them. Have you written a few new tests or a helper class? Don’t be afraid to request a review from your dev buddies. They can point out where you need to improve, and everyone will learn from the experience.
Did an automated test catch a bug? Bring it up during your stand-up, proudly report it, and emphasize that it was caught much earlier in the pipeline. Have you reached a cool framework milestone or test coverage percentage? Share it during a sprint review, and the team will feel proud of your common accomplishment. And soon, test automation will become a habit for them, too.
Of course, there may be other challenges in your test automation journey. But remember one simple thing - you’re not the first person attempting this, but you’re definitely someone who can succeed.