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Automation Testing is the use of software tools and scripts to automate testing in software development and quality assurance. It involves creating scripts or test cases that can be automatically executed, improving efficiency, effectiveness, and test coverage while reducing human errors and saving time.
By integrating automation testing into your development process can reduce manual work and boost efficiency. With LambdaTest, you can streamline your testing processes, enhance efficiency, and attain automation excellence. This empowers teams to deliver high-quality applications efficiently and drive superior results.
Automation testing expedites software quality evaluations, facilitating swift bug identification and resolution.
Automated scripts serve multiple testing scenarios, diminishing the burden of script creation and fostering efficiency.
Automation simplifies the testing process by seamlessly incorporating multiple datasets, thereby broadening the scope of test coverage.
Automation empowers continuous testing by allowing tests to be scheduled and executed at any hour, ensuring robust software evaluation.
By expediting testing procedures, automation significantly reduces the time required for software updates to reach the market, enhancing competitiveness.
Automation testing allows you to test complex and lengthy scenarios without the risk of human errors, ensuring more accurate and efficient testing processes.
A reliable, scalable, secure, and high performing test execution cloud that empowers development and testing teams to accelerate their release cycles.
See all supported frameworksThe primary distinction between manual testing and automated testing lies in their execution methods. Manual testing involves step-by-step tests performed without the aid of tools, while automated testing uses automation tools and frameworks to execute tests automatically.
Criteria | Automation Testing | Manual Testing |
Speed | Automation Testing is faster than manual testing, as it eliminates the need for human intervention and can execute tests quickly. | Manual testing requires human resources and is time-consuming. |
Exploratory Testing | Automation testing does not support random, exploratory testing. It is more suitable for pre-defined test cases. | Manual testing allows for exploratory testing, where testers can explore the application's functionality in an unscripted manner. |
Investment | The initial investment for automation testing is higher, as it involves the procurement of testing tools and skilled automation engineers. | Manual testing requires lower initial investment, primarily in human resources. |
Reliability | Automation testing is more reliable as it is performed by tools and scripts, reducing the chances of human error. | Manual testing may not be as accurate due to the possibility of human error. |
Cost-effective | Automation testing is cost-effective in the long run, as it increases efficiency and reduces the need for manual intervention. | Manual testing is less cost-effective, as it requires more human resources and time. |
Test Reports | In automation testing, stakeholders can easily access test execution results through the automation system. | Manual tests are often documented in Excel or Word, and test results may not be readily available. |
Performance Testing | Performance tests like Stress Testing, Load Testing, and Spike Testing are more effectively performed using automation tools. | Manual testing is challenging for performance testing. |
Set up | Automation testing requires a less complex test execution setup compared to manual testing. | Manual testing requires a straightforward test execution setup. |
Deadlines | Automated tests reduce the risk of missing test deadlines, as they can be scheduled and executed automatically. | Manual testing has a higher risk of missing test deadlines due to the manual execution process. |
Framework | Automation testing employs frameworks such as Data-Driven, Keyword-Driven, and Hybrid to streamline the automation process. | Manual testing does not typically use frameworks but may rely on guidelines, checklists, and strict processes. |
When to Use? | Automation testing is suitable for Regression Testing, Load Testing, Performance Testing, and repeatable functional test cases. | Manual testing is more suitable for Usability Testing, Exploratory Testing, and Ad hoc Testing." |
Testing initiates early in an application's development lifecycle with the shift-left approach in agile development. Under this strategy, developers with technical expertise collaborate with testers to create automation, sharing increased testing responsibilities. This process is fundamental to software testing, using tools and scripts for test automation.
Below are the roles involved in making the test process effective.
Automated testing is strategically used in the software development lifecycle to enhance efficiency, identify defects promptly, and ensure the reliability of applications. Knowing when to implement automated testing to maximize its benefits and streamline the testing process is crucial. It is essential to consider the following factors while selecting which tests to automate:
Choosing the proper tests for automation is crucial to ensure that the effort is productive and efficient and adds the maximum value to the business. Software development teams can select the tests best suited for automation by considering these factors and developing a solid and effective strategy.
Certain tests should be automated to ensure the quality and reliability of software products.
Let's delve into the essence of the test automation process and explore the steps for implementing them within your organization. It helps build a strong starting point and eliminates issues that make automation difficult. Here’s how you can perform automation testing.
LambdaTest enhances this process by providing a seamless platform for running automated tests. LambdaTest is an AI-powered test orchestration and test execution platform, to streamline your testing process. With access to a cloud of over 3000+ browsers and operating systems, LambdaTest enables comprehensive coverage and facilitates real-time monitoring of test runs, quickly identifies issues, and helps you refine your scripts efficiently.
Test Automation Strategy serves as the blueprint for implementing automated testing effectively within an organization or project. It includes careful planning and decision-making processes, including the identification of suitable test cases for automation, the selection of appropriate tools and technologies, and the establishment of robust practices for test maintenance and management.
A well-crafted strategy ensures that automated testing aligns seamlessly with the software development lifecycle(SDLC), enhancing efficiency, reducing time-to-market, and elevating overall product quality. By embracing a comprehensive automation strategy, teams can confidently navigate complexities, streamline resource allocation, and attain enduring success in their software testing endeavors.
In this section, we will look into some of the best test automation frameworks and tools to execute your tests. However, the choice of an automation tool depends on the specific testing requirements of your project.
Web-based automation testing framework allows the simulation of user interactions, ensuring thorough testing across various browsers and platforms. This approach enhances efficiency in software development by identifying issues early in the development lifecycle and supporting the delivery of reliable web applications.
Some of the web-based automation testing frameworks are mentioned below.
Selenium is a widely used open-source suite of tools that allows the creation of test scripts in multiple programming languages, offering flexibility for users proficient in Ruby, Java, Node.js, PHP, Perl, Python, JavaScript, C#, and more.
Primarily designed for browser automation, Selenium excels in cross-browser testing, ensuring consistent website performance across various browsers. It simplifies functional testing on different browsers to validate proper website functionality. Selenium seamlessly integrates with other tools and frameworks, including TestNG, JUnit, and Cucumber, enhancing its adaptability to various testing environments.
Cypress is an open-source end-to-end testing framework designed for web applications. Known for its user-friendly interface and robust feature set, Cypress has quickly gained popularity in the automation testing field. It is a preferred choice among developers for quickly and effectively testing applications directly within their web browsers.
Playwright, an end-to-end testing automation framework developed by Microsoft, has gained increasing popularity and is the preferred choice for automation testing. It offers a single API to automate Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit browsers. Playwright testing uses Node.js, JavaScript, and TypeScript, making it versatile and accessible to many users.
Puppeteer is a test automation framework designed for direct interaction with Chrome-based browsers such as Chrome and Chromium, with additional compatibility for Firefox (Nightly Build). Its advanced capabilities and easy installation using npm or Yarn empowers users to seamlessly access and manage the DevTools Protocol.
Mobile-based automation uses automated testing frameworks to assess mobile applications' functionality, performance, and user experience. It enables the creation of automated scripts to simulate interactions on mobile devices, ensuring comprehensive testing across different platforms and devices. This approach is crucial for delivering high-quality mobile applications that meet user expectations and perform reliably in diverse environments.
Some of the best mobile app testing frameworks are mentioned below.
Appium is an open-source test automation framework designed for testing native, hybrid, and mobile web applications across diverse devices and platforms. It operates based on the WebDriver protocol, a standard API widely used for automating web browsers. Appium's flexibility allows users to write tests in their preferred programming language, Java, Python, or JavaScript.
Espresso is a mobile test automation framework specifically designed for Android applications. Developed by Google, it seamlessly integrates with the Android SDK. Espresso offers a range of features that simplify the process of writing, running, and maintaining UI tests for Android applications.
XCUITest is a mobile test automation framework specifically designed for iOS applications. Developed by Apple, it is seamlessly integrated with Xcode. XCUITest comes equipped with features that simplify the process of writing, running, and maintaining UI tests for iOS applications.
Selendroid, often called Selenium for Android mobile apps, is a testing tool for native and hybrid mobile applications. It allows testers to conduct comprehensive mobile application testing on Android platforms. Like Selenium's cross-browser testing capabilities, Selendroid can execute parallel test cases across multiple devices.
Performance-based automation testing frameworks and tools focus on the testing processes related to the performance aspects of software applications. It involves creating automated scripts to simulate and evaluate the performance of an application under different conditions, such as varying user loads and network conditions. This approach ensures that software functions correctly and performs optimally, meeting the expected levels of responsiveness and scalability.
Some of the performance-based automation testing tools are mentioned below.
Apache JMeter is a robust open-source tool developed by the Apache Software Foundation. Widely used for load and performance testing, it proves effective for evaluating the performance of web applications, APIs, databases, and server-based systems. JMeter facilitates the simulation of diverse scenarios and the generation of loads to assess system performance under varying conditions.
LoadRunner plays a crucial role in simulating and evaluating the performance of both web and mobile applications across diverse load conditions. Supporting multiple protocols, LoadRunner is equipped with advanced scripting capabilities and provides extensive reporting and analysis features. Its primary application lies in performance testing, which is invaluable for assessing applications' performance under different loads and stress levels.
k6 is an open-source performance testing tool created explicitly for load-testing web applications and APIs. Engineered with a developer-centric approach, it enables developers and testers to assess the performance and scalability of their systems across diverse load conditions.
It is known for its user-friendly design, adaptability, and seamless integration with the contemporary development ecosystem. k6 empowers teams to measure and optimize system performance efficiently.
BlazeMeter is a cloud-based load-testing platform designed to facilitate application performance and load testing. Owned by Broadcom (formerly CA Technologies), it encourages developers and testers to create and execute performance tests seamlessly. BlazeMeter supports utilizing popular open-source testing tools such as Apache JMeter, Gatling, and Selenium WebDriver, providing a comprehensive solution for testing and optimizing application performance.
API-based automation testing frameworks and tools streamline software testing by automating processes related to application programming interfaces (APIs), ensuring robustness and reliability in software development. It enables efficient validation of API functionality, early issue identification, and faster delivery of high-quality applications. This approach is integral to modern software development, optimizing testing practices for enhanced efficiency and stability.
Some of the API-based automation testing tools are mentioned below.
It is a highly utilized automation testing tool for APIs. Its versatility enables users to create various tests, from functional and integration to regression tests, and smoothly execute them in CI/CD pipelines through the command line.
SoapUI is an open-source functional testing tool developed by Smartbear, recognized as a leader in Gartner Magic Quadrant for Software Test Automation. It is a comprehensive API Test Automation Framework for Representational State Transfers (REST) and Service-Oriented Architectures (SOAP).
REST Assured is a widely used testing framework designed for RESTful APIs and is particularly suitable for developers comfortable with Java. It streamlines API testing by offering a user-friendly syntax, enabling testers to construct requests without starting from code basics.
Apigee serves as a versatile cross-cloud API testing tool, empowering users to assess and test API performance and facilitating the development and support of APIs. Additionally, Apigee offers compliance with PCI, HIPAA, SOC2, and PII standards for applications. Notably, it has consistently been recognized as a leader in the 2019 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Full Lifecycle API Management four consecutive times.
The Automation Testing Life Cycle (ATLC) is the process of automating the testing of software applications. It involves planning, designing, executing, and analyzing automated tests to ensure the software meets its requirements.
Here is an explanation of the stages of the Automation Testing Life Cycle:
Test automation comes with its own set of challenges. Understanding and addressing these challenges is crucial for establishing a robust and effective test automation strategy. In this section, let us explore some test automation challenges and their solutions.
A major worry for teams with tight budgets is the significant upfront cost when starting with automation. The expenses involved in setting up an automation suite can deter testers from adopting automation testing. Alongside day-to-day costs, there might be additional expenses for software licenses.
Solution:
To deal with budget issues associated with automation implementation, teams can adapt to a strategic approach by prioritizing critical test cases for automation, using open-source tools like Selenium or Appium to minimize licensing costs, and focusing training efforts on practicals. Encourage collaboration within the team to share knowledge, reducing the dependency on external training resources and making automation adoption more cost-effective.
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This challenge isn't just for automation teams and manual testing groups. However, it's more complex in automation because it demands extensive communication and collaboration within the team. Test automation is an investment, so getting everyone on board involves communicating objectives, providing evidence and historical data, and even proof of concept. We need clear goals to keep the entire team aligned.
Unlike manual testers, who mainly talk with developers and managers, as automation testers, we discuss plans, scope, and what to automate with various team members. We also present cost and benefit analyses, including Return on Investment (ROI), to higher management.
Without their support, the automation effort is at risk. Effectively communicating and collaborating among teams is a significant challenge, as ineffective communication can turn automation experiences into a nightmare.
Solution:
Build a communication plan by defining clear goals and maintaining regular team alignment. Encourage open discussions among various team members, including developers and managers. Present detailed cost and benefit analyses, including Return on Investment (ROI), to secure support from higher management. This proactive and transparent approach ensures effective communication and collaboration, mitigating potential challenges in the automation process.
Thinking that any developer or tester can handle test automation can lead to costly mistakes for organizations. Designing and implementing test automation requires a specific skill set. If a tester is doing automation, they must communicate effectively with developers and managers.
Solution:
Recognizing the specialized skill set required for test automation is important. Organizations should avoid the belief that any developer or tester can handle automation. Instead, hiring testers with specific skills needed for designing and implementing test automation can be effective.
A common cause of test automation failure is having unrealistic expectations. Sometimes, management wants the QA team to automate everything, but aiming for 100% automation isn't realistic. Certain aspects require human intervention to prevent errors and ensure timely software releases.
Solution:
To overcome unrealistic expectations, the QA teams must set achievable automation goals, educate stakeholders about the limitations of full automation, prioritize critical test cases, and maintain open communication to manage expectations effectively.
Automating tasks that involve Captcha and OTP, like payment gateways or new account registration, is challenging because these codes are unique each time. This challenge highlights that achieving 100% automation is impossible, and manual testing will always be needed, especially in scenarios involving Captcha and OTP.
Solution:
To overcome such challenges, the tester can automate all other aspects but allows manual intervention for steps requiring Captcha or OTP input, making use of mock services for simulation and creating separate test environments to exclude tasks like predictable elements like Captcha and OTP can enhance the overall testing strategy. A collaborative approach between automation and manual testing teams ensures a balanced strategy, combining automation for certain aspects and manual intervention where necessary.
Explore this video tutorial on how to handle Captcha while you are performing automation testing.
Reporting is crucial in testing, serving as a communication bridge between developers and testers. Selenium lacks robust reporting capabilities, posing a challenge for automation testers. The generation and maintenance of reports become critical challenges.
Solution:
Automation testers often rely on programming language-based frameworks for improved code designs and reporting to overcome this. Examples include Java frameworks like TestNG and Gauge, while the Pytest framework can be considered for Python. These frameworks enhance reporting capabilities and facilitate effective communication between development and testing teams.
Creating automation tests involves more than choosing the right tool; it requires a proper testing approach, which is challenging for testers and developers.
Testers and developers must address crucial questions:
The dynamic nature of applications in Agile development adds complexity, requiring strategies to identify and adapt to changes with minimal maintenance effort. Finding a solution that automatically updates tests in response to evolving applications without human intervention is demanding.
Solution:
Testers and developers must minimize script implementation and maintenance efforts by adopting modular design and testing frameworks that support easy updates.
Ensuring the long-term effectiveness of automation test suites involves regular reassessment, updates aligned with application changes, and using version control systems to track modifications.
Generating valuable test reports and metrics requires implementing reporting tools within the chosen framework, with clear metric goals and periodic reviews for optimization. Embracing Agile testing practices and a robust version control system helps adapt to the dynamic nature of applications in Agile development.
CI/CD pipelines can intelligently adapt to changes for independent test updates, ensuring a streamlined and effective automation testing process.
If you need more clarification on other testing approaches, explore this guide on test approaches and get a detailed guide on their types, best practices, examples, and more.
Testing web applications across different browsers can be challenging because they may not behave the same way on each one. While checking popular browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and IE is important, the challenge goes beyond that. Testers must ensure compatibility with various browser versions, operating systems, and screen resolutions.
This complexity is what makes cross-browser testing a vital part of test automation. Testers must address this challenge to ensure the smooth functioning of the application across diverse browser environments.
Solution:
Testing across different versions of these browsers is crucial to ensure compatibility across diverse user environments. Leveraging browser automation tools such as Selenium, which supports multiple browsers, simplifies the scripting process for various testing scenarios. To scale the browser automation testing tool, use LambdaTest, which provides access to a broad range of browser and operating system combinations, facilitating comprehensive testing.
Additionally, considering different screen resolutions ensures responsive design and compatibility across various devices. Implementing these strategies enhances the effectiveness of cross-browser testing in the context of test automation.
Automating websites with dynamic content, especially for e-commerce platforms with changing catalogs and region-specific information, can be tricky for Selenium users. The challenge arises from the dynamic nature of the content, potentially causing issues with locators and delays due to AJAX-based interactions.
Solution:
Selenium provides solutions with features like Implicit and Explicit waits to manage dynamic content loading. Users can also create custom XPath expressions for effective interaction with dynamic web elements, making it possible to navigate through evolving information seamlessly.
Explore this guide and learn more about how you can handle dynamic web elements when performing automation testing on any software application.
When running tests that use outdated data, automation can lead to common mistakes and produce inaccurate results. To prevent such issues, team alignment and clear communication are crucial. In Automation and DevOps, quick responses from testers are essential for data accuracy. Achieving testing accuracy relies on maintaining data relevancy and precision. Quality assurance teams should also focus on developing robust analytical solutions to enhance overall productivity.
Solution:
To address this challenge, teams can implement regular data updates, effective communication channels, and proactive responses from testers to ensure data accuracy in automated testing processes. Developing and using robust analytical solutions by QA teams can further enhance productivity and accuracy in testing efforts.
Automation testers often face challenges with false positive and false negative results. False positives occur when test cases show errors despite the application working fine, while false negatives happen when tests pass even though there are bugs in the application. This flakiness creates confusion and a communication gap between the testing and development teams.
Solution:
To address flakiness, it's crucial to organize and manage test plans, test cases, and the testing environment systematically and appropriately. This helps in reducing misleading results and enhances the effectiveness of automated testing.
One primary reason for our automation scripts failing is synchronization problems. These occur when testers anticipate a certain event, but it gets delayed or doesn't happen as expected. For instance, when running a script, we may expect an "accept/decline cookies" prompt after launching a website, but due to delays or other reasons, it may not appear, leading to script failure.
To learn how to handle cookies while performing automation testing, refer to this video tutorial on how to handle cookies and get detailed particle knowledge.
Solution:
To address this, we commonly use Selenium's defined waits, such as Implicit and Explicit waits, which help manage synchronization issues during script execution. To learn more about waits, follow this guide on Selenium Waits, which will provide valuable insights with examples for better understanding.
Selecting the appropriate testing tool can be challenging, given the variety of options, ranging from free tools like Selenium, Cypress, and Playwright to paid ones like TestComplete. Vendors sometimes exaggerate the capabilities of their products, suggesting they are a perfect fit for every situation. This can be confusing, particularly when choosing tools without thorough research and evaluation. To make a wise decision, it's crucial to establish specific criteria based on the application and insights from experienced users.
Solution:
Conduct a thorough assessment by defining specific testing requirements. Explore and trial various tools, considering community feedback and engage with vendors. Test small projects and evaluate costs, scalability, and integration capabilities. Prioritize training and support quality, and validate tool effectiveness through a proof of concept. Adopt an iterative approach, making adjustments based on evolving testing needs and user feedback.
Ensuring thorough testing for applications across various devices, browsers, and operating systems is a significant challenge for both web and mobile platforms. Users access apps through various OS and platform combinations on different devices, highlighting the need for a robust test automation approach to achieve comprehensive coverage and maintain reliability.
Solution:
Use LambdaTest to overcome this challenge; this platform allows you to access a wide range of real devices, browsers, and OS configurations, making it easier to conduct thorough testing across diverse environments. Furthermore, prioritizing test cases based on critical devices and OS combinations enhances efficiency and maximizes coverage.
Testing complex applications in various environments, especially with regression tests, is time-consuming. Clients, however, expect quicker product deliveries to stay competitive. This pressure often leads to rushed testing, prioritization issues, and insufficient test coverage, allowing bugs to reach production.
Solution:
To address this, teams should plan and prioritize test cases, evaluating which ones benefit from automation and which require manual execution. Striking a balance between manual and automated testing is key to success. Prioritizing tests helps identify critical areas early, saving time and ensuring thorough testing. Implementing these solutions not only tackles challenges effectively but also streamlines development and testing efforts for the timely delivery of robust applications.
Having inadequate testing infrastructure and maintaining the test infrastructure can be challenging. Consider LambdaTest to provide a scalable and efficient solution to deal with inadequate testing infrastructure by allowing teams to focus on strategic test planning and execution without the burden of managing testing infrastructure. This ensures timely and robust product deliveries while meeting client expectations.
Running your test scripts on the test execution platform is a breeze. With all these features of LambdaTest, you can bring down the test execution time. You can also track the issues and sort them out effectively.
While interacting with a web application, various types of popups and alerts may appear. Examples include browser-level notifications like camera or microphone access requests, web-based alerts such as site notifications or prompts to leave a site, and OS-level pop-ups that Selenium can't directly handle.
Solution:
For handling browser-level notifications, use ChromeOptions for Chrome and FirefoxOptions/FirefoxProfile for Firefox. Web-based alerts can be managed using Selenium's built-in Alerts class with methods like accept() and dismiss(). However, Selenium can't directly handle OS-level pop-ups. For such cases, where pop-ups are considered flash objects, the Robot class is commonly used to interact with them. Combining these approaches is essential to handle different types of web testing pop-ups effectively.
Learn more about handling alerts() and popups() in Selenium and other Selenium WebDriver commands and how you can handle these commands effectively by exploring this tutorial on Selenium WebDriver.
Adding more tests slows down the automation testing process, causing delays, missed milestones, and disruptions in release cycles. It's crucial to prioritize test cases to improve regression testing efficiency.
Solution:
To address this challenge, consider increasing simultaneous test executions or prioritizing which tests to automate first. Prioritization introduces questions about daily, weekly, or less frequent test execution and potential test optimizations for speed. Finding a balance between quality standards, resource conservation, and test case prioritization is challenging but essential for maintaining software reliability within specified timelines.
Now that you have learned almost all about automated testing, it’s time to learn some of its best practices in the following section.
Websites and apps need bug-free experiences on all devices. Automation testing simplifies testing, improves quality, and reduces time-to-market. Here is the list of 10 test automation best practices:
Myth: Test automation replaces manual testing ultimately.
Reality: Test automation enhances efficiency but cannot entirely replace manual testing, especially in exploratory and user-experience testing scenarios.
Myth: Automating tests is quick and effortless.
Reality: Test automation requires time, effort, and resources for effective implementation. Continuous optimization and improvement are necessary to keep up with changing software requirements.
Myth: No need for human testers with automation.
Reality: Human testers are essential for creating, maintaining, and evaluating automated tests. Automation complements human testing but cannot replace human testers' unique insights and context.
These myths highlight common misconceptions about test automation's scope, effort, and role in the software testing and development process.
Watch the video below to gain detailed insights on some of the other common myths.
Understanding the test automation boundary is crucial for effective QA testing. The quality of your testing is directly tied to the strategy you use. However, there are limitations to test automation that need consideration.
Recognizing and addressing these limitations is crucial for a more effective and successful test automation strategy.
Test automation plays a vital role in software development by ensuring that software is reliable and of top-notch quality. It enables testing teams to enhance accuracy, cut costs, and boost efficiency by automating repetitive tasks. In today's digital landscape, where users interact with applications across multiple devices and platforms, automation enables teams to test their applications in diverse environments. This careful planning and execution make the software better and improve how users experience it.
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