Kickstarting Test Automation: Four Essential Steps to Begin Your Adventure
Welcome to the very first issue of Software Testing Today! This month, we're focusing on the exciting world of "Test Automation." Each week, we'll delve into various aspects of automated testing, sharing easy-to-understand tips, cool ideas, and the latest trends in the field.
Without further ado, let's dive into our first article
Kickstarting Test Automation: Four Essential Steps to Begin Your Adventure
You've started a new job or a new project and want to begin with "automation". You might be thinking: "This time, I will make it right, automate repetitive tasks to speed up my workflow," but you don't know where to start. You're in the right place.
In this article, we will discuss how to initiate a new automation project in your company, the first steps to take, and how to create a strong foundation for any automation project. Even if you have some established automation processes, We’re sure you'll find valuable takeaways in this article. First, let's think about a scenario:
A Software Tester named John has joined a new web application project. John wants to write automated tests as part of the feature development, so he can help the team deliver faster in the upcoming project cycles and reduce manual efforts for repetitive tasks. He thinks about starting an automation project right away using the Selenium tool. He has heard that it's a popular automation tool and that everyone uses it. However, he hesitates and is unsure how to handle the project once it grows.
Let's give some advice to John and help him to build robust automation for his project.
Evaluate Your Team's Talents: Assessing the Current Skillset
Before we start choosing an automation tool and assessing needs, we should figure out the current skillset in the company. After all, you need specific hard skills to start and complete an automation project. We can list the team's experience, coding languages, and automation testing expertise. After that, we'll have a better overview of our capabilities and the best-suited technologies for our team and project.
For example, if we don't know JavaScript, it will be challenging to pick up tools like Cypress and start using them. If the team has no experience with coding languages, we can also decide to use a low-code or no-code automation tool, which could enable us to automate certain test scenarios.
Chart Your Course: Developing a Test Strategy and Setting Goals
Alright, now we know our skillset and have an idea about which tools could work for our project. It's time to create a Test Automation Strategy. This strategy is crucial for any automation project. Before we start coding, we should know what automation means for our team, the different layers of automation testing, who is responsible for each layer, and the tools we'll use to automate each layer of the application, etc.
It's also important to set a goal for the automation project. Why are we going to automate tests? What are the management's expectations for the automation project? Do we need a detailed test report for stakeholders, or is it enough to have simple reporting that only the team can understand?
Answering questions like these and having a Test Automation Strategy can clarify many missing points in the process. The strategy is a long-living document, so it will evolve over time and become more mature as we work on the project. However, it's crucial to start working on it before beginning the project.
Test the Waters: Creating Your First Proof of Concept (PoC)
Great! We have our first draft of the Test Automation Strategy ready. It's time to build our automated tests! A good idea is to start by creating a PoC with the selected testing tools. A PoC (Proof of Concept) helps us determine whether an idea can be turned into a reality. Let's say we decided to use Cypress for our web automation project.
Now, we can create a small project, automate one test case, and enable it on the CI/CD pipeline. Once it's up and running, we can decide if the tool was easy to use and beneficial for the project. If the tool isn't a good fit, we can review our selection and try another tool that could work better for the project. After that, we can create another PoC, and once it works, we can continue automating more test cases to increase coverage.
Refine and Perfect: Continuously Reviewing and Improving Your Automation Process
Yay! Our automation project is ready, and we've built a good framework for our team to write more tests and increase test coverage. Test Automation is a continuous process. Over time, the number of test cases will grow, and the framework might become more difficult to maintain.
We should continuously review our test cases, test coverage, and test strategy. We must always keep in mind that "100% test coverage" is not feasible, and we should carefully select our automated test cases. Additionally, the framework will grow over time, so we need to observe and improve it as we go.
Starting a test automation project is fun but also a big challenge, especially if you don't have prior experience. Following these steps will help you establish a solid foundation for your project and lower the risk of encountering significant blockers later in the process.
Happy testing!