Test Automation is one of the major enablers for the explosion of different types of software and apps in the market. According to AIMultiple, “33% of organizations are planning 50–75% of their automation process, while 20% are planning to automate more than 75% of their testing process.”

What Is Test Automation?

Test automation refers to an approach to running your tests with minimal human intervention.

For a long time, developers used to automate their unit testing alone. In this process, the tests check whether a given function is working properly or not. Then came automated frameworks like Selenium, which helped automate the testing of modules and entire applications. These frameworks replicate user actions and interact with your UI. For example, they will scroll down, click a button to see how it is responding, locate the entry text box, and fill it out. With these actions, you can check whether the UI is working correctly or not.

Benefits of Test Automation

Test Automation will help you to do more testing faster and more efficiently.

How Test Automation fares in comparison to manual testing?

As you can see, test automation brings in more benefits to the table, it is efficient and reliable.

What kind of Tests should be Automated?

There are some factors that you need to consider while deciding whether to automate a test or not. Here are the types of tests that you need to automate:

Recurrent: You need to automate the tests that are repeated regularly.
Determinant: The system should be able to clearly determine whether the test is right or wrong.
Business Critical: If any test is important and requires attention to detail, it is better to automate it.

There are some other tests that can be automated as well. We have curated an in-detail blog discussing this topic. Make sure to read that.

How to Automate the Tests?

When it comes to test automation, there is a 4-step process that you need to follow:

Choosing the right tool that aligns with your requirements.
Defining the test strategy and test case.
Choose the right framework and ensure that your test cases can run in it.
Run the test and evaluate

Test Automation Best Practices

Once you have chosen the tool and have a proper plan in place, it is time for you to implement the test automation in the best possible way to leverage it.

Select the Right Tests to Automate

Not all tests are suitable for automation. It’s essential to choose the right tests to automate. Typically, tests that are repetitive, time-consuming, critical, and require frequent execution are the best candidates for automation. Prioritize tests based on their impact on the application and consider factors like ROI (Return on Investment) and stability. Complex, constantly changing tests may not be the best candidates for automation.

Let the Test Cases Stabilize Before Automating

Before automating tests, ensure that the manual test cases are stable and well-defined. Frequent changes in the application can result in a high maintenance overhead for automated tests. Stabilizing the test cases means that the application’s functionality and user interface are relatively stable, reducing the likelihood of frequent test script updates. This practice helps avoid unnecessary rework and maintenance. Click to know more about this blog : Test Automation