Quality assurance (QA) is an essential step in software development. It ensures the final product is of high quality, meets all user requirements, and has no errors. If you have worked as a software tester at some point in your career, you know how tedious this process can be.
Software testers spend hours repeatedly going through the same scenario to ensure that every feature functions correctly and no bugs are left behind.
With the increasing complexity of modern software, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for human testers to find bugs in applications or websites. This is why many companies are starting to use QA automation services for testing instead of relying only on manual methods.
The scope of QA automation is expanding to include not only execution but also test planning, test case design, test case generation, and test case management. Keep reading to discover how you can implement QA automation within your organization!
What is QA automation, and why is it important?
Quality assurance (QA) automation is a set of software tools and processes used to test an application or website. Automated testing tools allow for fast, frequent, and consistent testing. Automated testing (or software testing) is the software testing process to detect application errors and defects.
Automated testing is done with a computer program mimicking a human tester’s actions. The benefit of automated software testing is that the process is repeatable, consistent, and can be done quickly.
This allows testers to run many tests in a short time. Software developers and testers use automated testing to verify software functionality and find defects.
Objectives of QA Automation
The primary objective of QA automation is to achieve consistent and fast execution of test cases. Other objectives include:
- Standardization of processes – The QA automation framework should provide a uniform standardization of repeatable processes.
- Standardization of reports – Reports should be standardized, and each report should be generated in line with the QA automation process.
- Uniformity of data – The data captured by the QA automation process should be uniform across applications. –
- Analysis of data – Data captured by the QA automation framework should be analyzed to detect trends and provide insights into the application’s health.
Key steps to the QA automation process
Step 1: Define the scope of QA automation testing
The first step of QA automation testing is to define the scope of your tests. The scope of your test will depend on the software being developed (for example, is it a mobile app, web app, embedded device, etc.), the type of testing you’re conducting, and any other constraints you have.
When defining the scope of your testing, some things to consider are:
- The product to be tested – Is it a specific website or feature on a more prominent website? – The software being used
- What programming language, operating system, and other system requirements are needed? –
- The type of testing being done – Is the focus on functionality, performance, or something else? –
- The end-user – How will the software be used? What are the expected outcomes? –
- The project schedule and budget – How much time or money do you have to complete the testing? –
- Any additional constraints – What test coverage do you need or want? What test type or method do you want to use?
Step 2: Build your QA automation test environment
Depending on the software you’re testing, you may need a real or virtual device to host your test or a virtual machine (VM). You’ll need to set up your device lab if you need a device. A device lab is a place where you can host actual or simulated devices and software to perform your automated testing.
Device labs can be hosted on-premise or in the cloud. You’ll need to set up your VM lab if you need a VM. A VM lab is similar to the device lab but hosts virtual machines instead of physical devices. VMs are ideal for automated testing because you can quickly reset them. Once your environment is set up, you need to install your testing software on it.
Step 3: Select the software you’ll use for your tests
The type of software you select will depend on the testing you need to conduct. If you’re using Selenium or Browser Automation, you’ll want to choose another testing software that can run Selenium scripts, like Jenkins or Visual Studio. If you’re doing API testing or testing an app, you can use something like CURL or Postman.
Step 4:Write your test scripts and automation code
Once you’ve decided what testing you want to use, you should write your test scripts and automation code. If you’re using Selenium, you can use either the Selenium IDE or other IDEs like Visual Studio, Eclipse, or Sublime Text to write your scripts.
Using another type of automated testing, you can use your preferred programming language, IDE, or code editor. Once you’ve written your scripts and automation code, you should test them to ensure they work properly. If you’re using Selenium, you can use the Selenium IDE to test the code. If you’re using another type of automated testing, you should be able to test your code using your preferred programming language, IDE, or code editor.
Step 5: Run your tests and review the results
Once your testing is complete, you should run your tests. If you’re using Selenium, you can use the Selenium IDE to run the scripts. If you’re using another type of automated testing, you can use your preferred programming language, IDE, or code editor to run the tests.
Conclusion
QA testing involves a sequence of processes, from initial planning to final sign-off. QA automation involves repetitive tasks with software rather than people as the primary agents. Testing can be laborious and time-consuming, especially when testing multiple variations on a test case or group of test cases. Reducing the manual effort in your processes is one way to improve efficiency and reduce costs in your software development lifecycle (SDLC).
