Welcome to our blog post on automation testing tutorials for beginners.
Testing software manually can be extremely time-consuming and repetitive. As a software team’s regression test suites grow, conducting manual tests every time new code is deployed begins to drain productivity.
What if there was a way to write scripts to test your code for you? Oh yes, the answer is in automation testing.
Automation testing allows QA engineers and developers to write test scripts that simulate user actions and test application functionality automatically. Once automated checks are written, they can be run quickly and repeatedly without human intervention.
This frees up valuable time for software teams to focus on building features rather than running repetitive tests manually.
Explore The Ultimate Guide to Manual Web Application Testing: A Step-by-Step Manual Approach
This test automation tutorial for beginners will walk you through everything you need to know to implement automation testing and take your team’s efficiency to the next level.
We’ll offer reliable answers to questions on topics like:
- What exactly automation testing is and its key benefits
- Different types of testing that can automated
- Popular test automation frameworks and tools
- Steps to build an automation testing strategy
- Best practices for maintaining automated checks
Let’s get started.
What is Automation Testing?
The Global App Testing posits that “Test automation refers to the practice of using software tools and scripts to automate the execution of tests in software development and quality assurance processes.” Automation testing refers to using software scripts to execute repeatable test cases and compare the actual outcomes against the expected ones. Instead of having human testers manually run all test cases in a suite, automation allows for tests to be run automatically by test automation frameworks.
Some key things to know about test automation:
- Automated tests simulate user actions like clicks, text entry, navigation, and form submissions.
- Automation scripts can execute tests much faster than human users.
- Tests can be scheduled to run at set times or after certain events like new code deploys.
- Test execution and results are automatically tracked and reported.
- Tests cover a variety of use cases to check software functionality and catch bugs.
- Automated checks test key user journeys and integration points.
Benefits of Automation Testing
Implementing test automation provides software teams a multitude of advantages compared to purely manual testing. Understanding these key benefits will help demonstrate the value of automation and where it can have the biggest impact.
1. Increased Efficiency
One of the biggest reasons to automate is improved efficiency. Automated checks run drastically faster than human testers performing the same steps manually.
Entire lengthy test plans can be executed with minimal ongoing human effort once scripts are initially created. This allows more tests to be run in shorter periods without growing the QA staff.
2. Consistent and Reliable Execution
Automation scripts perform precisely the same actions every time they execute a test case or suite. Each step is carried out identically according to script logic without risk of variation or errors due to human execution.
Results become far more consistent when humans are taken out of test execution.
3. Flexible Scheduling and Triggering
An additional useful benefit is the ability to schedule automated test runs as needed rather than relying on a manual process.
Tests can be set to execute at frequent intervals – hourly, daily, weekly etc. They can also easily be triggered to run after certain events like code commits/merges or new builds.
This flexibility and automation removes bottlenecks around manual test execution scheduling.
4. Lower Long-term Costs
While test automation requires considerable initial investment for tools, frameworks, script development and maintenance, conducting automated testing over time is far cheaper than relying exclusively on large-scale manual testing efforts.
Once the scripts are created they can execute an unlimited number of times without significant added costs. The long-term ROI far exceeds pure manual testing at scale both in speed and total costs.
5. Earlier Defect Detection Leading to Lower Costs
With test automation, software teams can execute test suites significantly earlier and more frequently throughout continuous development cycles.
Tests that may only happen at the end of a 2-week sprint can now execute on every code push. This earlier and expanded test execution allows defects to be caught faster – reducing the time and costs associated with fixing issues found later in production.
Finding and fixing bugs pre-production is many times cheaper making the investment in automation worthwhile.
Types of Automation Testing
There are a variety of testing types that can be automated to validate different aspects of an application under development. Each test automation approach serves a distinct purpose.
Here are the different types of automation testing techniques.
Unit Testing
Developers automate unit testing to isolate and verify that each code component operates correctly independently. These scripts confirm the core logic and output of units function as intended without relying on other systems.
Integration Testing
Test engineers automate integration testing to validate communication and dataflows between connected system components.
The scripts perform API testing to check messaging interfaces between frontends, backends, databases, and third parties remain intact during development. They also execute end-to-end transaction testing across the full technology stack under integrated conditions.
Functional Testing
QA specialists automate functional tests to confirm that key user scenarios and critical business application requirements execute properly in production-like environments.
The scripts emulate user journeys across essential real-world use cases and validate they work according to specifications.
Regression Testing
For changes made during rapid development cycles, automated regression test suites rapidly revalidate existing functionality remains unaffected.
Automating regression testing is necessary for continuous delivery teams shipping frequent changes.
Performance Testing
Performance engineers automate tests that simulate heavy realistic user loads using load injection tools to reveal speed bottlenecks before customers experience them.
The generated performance data aids teams in optimizing application code or infrastructure to meet demands.
Acceptance Testing
Business analysts automate UI-based acceptance tests against external test data that confirm the software meets all business specifications and compliance requirements before launch.
Automation Testing Tools
Many open source and commercial automation testing tools exist to support test automation. Some top options include:
Selenium
Selenium automates web application testing across most browsers and platforms. As an open-source tool with a large community, it offers a customizable framework for writing test scripts in various languages.
Appium
Appium focuses on automated testing for mobile apps across iOS, Android or Windows platforms. The open source tool supports native, hybrid or mobile web apps tested on simulators or physical devices.
TestComplete
TestComplete provides a comprehensive platform for automating functional UI testing. The tool supports various coding languages to build test scripts, object recognition, distributed testing and integrations with CI/CD pipelines.
Katalon Studio
Katalon Studio offers an intelligent automation solution as both a freemium and enterprise product. It requires no coding to develop automated test scripts across web, API or mobile apps and integrates across SDLC processes.
HP Unified Functional Testing (UFT)
HP UFT allows for advanced GUI test automation capabilities. The tool enables automated regression testing and cross-browser testing with advanced object identification, reusable test components and optimization.
Ranorex
Ranorex Studio provides robust automated testing support for desktop, web or mobile applications. The all-in-one toolset generates test code, as well as facilitates CI/CD integration and automated reporting on test metrics.
These tools exemplify some leading options used to automate various types of testing at scale while integrating with modern development practices.
Things to Note in Creating an Automation Testing Strategy
Successfully implementing test automation requires thoughtful upfront planning and strategic decisions across these key areas:
Carefully Identifying Test Cases for Automation
When starting out, prioritize automating test cases that will provide the best return on investment.
Focus first on tests that execute critical business logic and user journeys. Tests that are run repeatedly without changing, have multiple steps, take significant time to cover manually, or validate time-sensitive processes are also good initial candidates.
The goal is to build an initial automated test suite with maximum coverage across the scenarios that is most vital for comprehensive regression testing.
Selecting the Optimal Automated Testing Tools
Research the many commercial and open-source test automation tools available to find the ones that best fit your project.
Evaluate options across different factors. These should be; like budget, technical expertise within the team, testing types needed (Web, Mobile, API etc.), integrations with existing dev ops pipelines, and overall functional requirements.
Make sure to shortlist tools that meet most criteria that are very crucial for your testing environment and strategy. Some investigation may be needed to identify the best long-term solutions.
Developing Maintainable and Reusable Test Scripts
Structure automated test scripts modularly using sections, functions, reusable test steps and meaningful naming standards. Apply coding best practices established by the team to ensure scripts remain documented, flexible, and maintainable.
Leverage shared libraries of common test functions rather than recoding each step per test. These practices will help reduce scripting effort and long-term maintenance.
Configuring Realistic Test Environments
Replicate the variety of production infrastructure environments the application needs to support.
Confirm automated test suites run smoothly across diverse platforms like operating systems, browsers, devices and screen resolutions.
Account for dependencies like databases, third-party services and network environments. The test environments should mimic real-world conditions to maximize test validity.
Integrating Automation Testing into the SDLC
Rather than leaving testing to later stages, shift automated test earlier into continuous integration and delivery pipelines.
Prioritize creating infrastructure to automatically execute tests on every code commit and deployment. Providing fast feedback through automation testing is key for DevOps practices.
Best Practices for Automation Testing
Follow these recommendations to optimize automated testing:
Start Small and Incrementally Expand
Begin with small vital test cases, validate them then incrementally grow the automated tests. Most times when you start too ambitiously, it can lead to poor-quality scripts and wasted efforts.
You need to have a well-thought-out roadmap for expansion while establishing robust initial tests.
Continuously Maintain Test Scripts
Schedule time to regularly refine, update and extend test suites to keep pace with application changes. Also, ensure that you always review failed test logs to fix brittle sections that are prone to breaking. Without ongoing maintenance, automation value erodes over time.
Leverage Data-Driven Testing
Externalize test data from scripts into datasets that can quickly be updated. Reusing datasets across test cases improves maintainability.
You can always consider utilizing CSVs or XML data sources to facilitate efficient data-driven testing.
Manage Test Scripts Through Version Control
Always check the test scripts into source code repositories to facilitate version control and DevOps integration. Storing tests alongside application code allows for automated CI/CD and better cross-team visibility.
Foster Collaboration Between Teams
Promote collaboration among testers, developers and business analysts through reviews, You may also do this through different knowledge-sharing sessions and coordination on test planning/requirements. Moreso, consider breaking team silos for better quality software and test alignment.
These best practices for automation testing will optimize efforts for maximum stability, effectiveness and team coordination.
Challenges of Automation Testing
Here are some key challenges of automation testing:
Initial Investment and Setup Costs
- Automation testing requires an upfront investment in tools, infrastructure, and building automation frameworks. This can be quite costly, especially for smaller teams.
Maintenance Costs
- The costs don’t stop after the initial setup. Maintenance of test environments, test data, and updating tests for application changes also require significant effort.
Test Script Creation and Maintenance
- Writing test automation scripts that are resilient to application changes requires specialized skills. Maintaining them by updating locators, codes etc. also needs continuous effort.
Test Environment Setup and Maintenance
- Realistic test data and test environments that mimic production need to be set up and maintained for reliable testing. This is complex and expensive.
Limited Scope of Automation Testing
- Automation testing has limitations in areas like exploratory testing, usability testing etc. So it cannot completely replace manual testing efforts.
Automation Testing vs. Manual Testing
| Feature | Automation Testing | Manual Testing |
| Speed of execution | Very fast, can run test cases repeatedly | Slow, human dependent |
| Cost | Higher initial investment, lower long-term cost | Lower initial cost but higher long-term cost |
| Test coverage | Can cover much more test cases | Limited coverage |
| Accuracy | Consistent accuracy due to repetition | Depends on human attention span |
| Maintenance | Requires effort to update test scripts | Easier to update test cases |
| Expertise required | Needs programming skills to write scripts | Anyone can do but requires soft skills |
- Automation testing enhances efficiency, accuracy and coverage
- Manual testing provides flexibility and human observation
- Balanced automation and manual strategy maximize quality and productivity
When to Do Automation Testing?
Reduce Cost of Failure
Automated testing helps reduce the costs associated with failures escaping to production. Manual testing often misses critical defects that eventually impact customers.
These production issues require expensive emergency fixes and overtime to resolve. Automated testing scripts thoroughly check each code change made by developers early. This reduces the risk of problems ever leaking into the live environment.
Though test automation requires upfront investment, it saves significant costs caused by undetected defects making it to customers.
Save Time Through Automation
Setting up test automation requires substantial initial effort to create and validate all the scripts. However, once developed, automated checks save vast amounts of time over repetitive manual test execution.
Automation runs pre-defined test cases rapidly without any human oversight needed. Tests that took weeks to conduct manually can now be executed in just hours with automation. Scripts can even run tests 24/7 beyond normal working hours.
Automation frees up skilled testing staff from boring repetitive tasks to focus on more complex test planning and validation. The time savings compound sprint over sprint.
Facilitate Continuous Testing
Automation enables critical modern development practices like continuous integration, delivery and deployment by facilitating continuous testing.
The accelerated release cycles championed in DevOps rely on automated validation to enable “fail fast, fail early” philosophies.
Tests automatically execute with each code commit made by developers, immediately catching any regressions or issues introduced early on.
Quick automated feedback allows bugs to be fixed immediately rather than lingering until release. Automated test provides the speed and reliability to scale testing efforts to match iterative development.
Improve Execution Consistency
Manual testing inevitably suffers occasional inconsistencies in test steps and environments leading to unreliable outcomes. Human errors like missed steps, incorrect data inputs, or environment differences can easily alter test results.
Automated testing scripts reliably perform precisely the exact same actions every single test run eliminating these inconsistencies.
Results become consistent and trustworthy when automation removes human variability from test execution. Automation also easily facilitates running parallel tests across different environments further improving consistency.
Handle Complex Scenarios
Test automation can simulate workload and usage at a scale far beyond manual capacities.
Scripts excel at handling extremely complex scenarios like generating millions of concurrent users to test system load and performance – critical aspects that often get minimized.
Automation makes it practical to test intricate matrices of test data through data-driven approaches manual testing cannot achieve. Exhaustive parameterization expands test coverage area and depth. Automation testing helps in the handling of complexities that manual testing cannot match.
Conclusion
One thing that is paramount throughout this automation testing tutorial for beginners is that automation testing brings immense productivity and quality advantages to software teams. It achieves this through its ability to rapidly execute extensive test suites.
However, to realize these benefits, organizations must strategically invest. Especially, in building sustainable automation frameworks, integrating scripts into delivery pipelines, and maintaining tests aligned with application changes.
With the right upfront commitment and ongoing governance, test automation delivers faster feedback, improved coverage, and savings over exhaustive manual testing efforts.
