On the podcast Process Management and Software Cast the discussion was around everything related to test automation and the requirements needed to kickstart organisations in the right direction, something we have been helping companies do for the best part of 20 years.
Following the interview, I thought it would be useful to summarise a few key takeaways for anyone interested in automation to read.
Test Automation is not just an IT decision.
Implementing test automation into your processes should be viewed as a business-wide decision, rather than a methodological one.
IT departments should not be the only ones heading this type of initiative, as the overall benefits will affect every aspect of your organisation and will improve your business outcomes.
Some of the advantages test automation can have on your organisation are as follows:
- Automation allows a faster time to market, giving your company a competitive advantage.
- A better-quality product as test automation eliminates human error.
- There is a long-run cost reduction.
- Delivery using Test Automation is faster than without, so teams can take on a more extensive backlog of work, gaining an advantage of their competition and increasing their "Bang for their Buck".
Build your case
The first thing you need to do when moving into test automation is to build a Business Case.
This step is essential.
Teams can sometimes view these Business Cases as Testing Audits, where you are evaluating all the financial and non-financial factors, such as the time, in your current and future test process.
For any Business Case to be deemed successful, you should include factors such as the following;
- An outline of a development roadmap,
- A list of requirements to be tested,
- A projection extent of manual testing, and
- An overview of the technological roadmap
It is all about collaboration.
Collaboration between teams is a must. Historically, due to development-testing divides, testing has been relegated to the end of the development process.
However, happily, there has been a progression in this relationship, as both groups are becoming intertwined.
Testing is transforming into an informative practice, guiding development rather than merely critiquing its outputs. Developers and testers should now blend the threads of development and testing into an intertwined rope. The result of this relationship is a better-quality product and a more cohesive team.
Automation is not always the answer.
Test automation is great, but I would be lying if I said that everything needs to be automated, manual testing is still just as important and necessary.
There are cases where test automation should not be implemented, such as automation to detect visual irregularities or running tests on legacy software applications.
So for those reading this who are newly qualified testers, here is some advice:
- Enjoy your job and keep on learning.
- Understand the benefits of test automation from a different perspective, e.g. user & business
- Have a love for engineering and understanding the impact of software engineering on the business
- Try doing other roles, such as product owner or development.
- Be a people person and learn diplomacy, yet be robust in any engagement.
We understand that implementing test automation can be a challenging and frustrating task to undertake for any organisation.
Here at Infuse, we aim to help alleviate the stress of such a task with our very own test automation solution, useMango™.
Our tool gives both business-minded and technical individuals the ability to implement test automation at a lower risk quickly.
Being predominantly a script-less, component-based tool - useMango™ allows individuals to build test cases within a click of a few buttons and reduce the time it takes to run their tests from days into hours.