Why should Testers use a Standardized Automated Regression Testing Framework?

 

why-should-testers-use-a-standardized-automated-regression-testing-framework

The fast pace of software development to reach out to the end-users before the competitors often forces enterprises to cut down on testing time. This may leave some bugs in the software, which then end up impacting the user experience. Every software needs to be upgraded to ensure its compatibility with the latest versions of its associated third-party software, browsers, or operating systems. Also, customer feedback can let enterprises incorporate changes, which may trigger errors or issues in the functioning of the software. This is when regression testing becomes critical to check if the changes made to the software have triggered any new deviation in terms of performance, functionality, usability, or security. However, any QA regression testing can be time-consuming and a complex exercise if done manually. To address such challenges, QA specialists choose automated regression testing.

Benefits of incorporating automated regression testing

Such type of testing is performed where the tests are repeatable and not suitable for manual testing. Here, automated tools and techniques are used to check test cases after an update or change is made to the software product. It involves the use of test scripts and reduces the testing time and cost significantly. Automated regression testing checks if the existing features of the application are functioning as expected. The other benefits are as follows:

Enables scalability: During manual testing the test resources can get stretched to their maximum when asked to handle repeatable and voluminous test cases. This can make them overlook glitches, which can lead to undermining of the quality of the testing process. With test automation, the speed and frequency of testing repeatable and voluminous test cases increase a great deal. This way, a greater number of test cases can be checked for expected outcomes if the situation demands.

Low maintenance: With new features being added to the software application, the regression test suite can grow with time. A point may reach where conducting manual regression testing will no longer remain feasible. However, a no-code automation tool can maintain the test suite without rewriting or changing the code thereby keeping the maintenance cost low.

Round the clock testing: With the implementation of automation in software regression testing, the testers are not required to run and monitor the tests anymore. They can simply schedule the tests to run at specific intervals or during the night, and work on more value-generating activities like exploring unusual cases. Also, since such tests offer logs and visual recordings, detecting and fixing bugs are no longer an issue. 

Supports agile: In the agile model of software development regression testing in software testing is typically done alongside development, iteratively. This creates instant feedback loops, improves the quality of testing, and reduces time. Moreover, with logs and visual recordings, you can find out the reasons for test failures as well. Thus, feedback loops and the fixing of errors are speeded up.

The importance of choosing an automated regression testing framework

An automated test framework comprises a structure, guidelines, practices, or set of rules to create or design test cases. The guidelines may include data handling methods, coding standards, information on accessing external resources, and object repositories. Even though the rules or guidelines are not binding, and testers can still create an automated test script or record tests without taking them into consideration, they may offer additional benefits:

  • Since a predefined structure of the framework is followed, QA specialists can create and maintain test cases easily and efficiently.
  • An automated test framework can be scaled up depending on the test requirement. In other words, more test cases can be added for testing if the situation so warrants.
  • Since most integrations are completed before preparing a test automation framework, QA specialists can focus on creating test cases alone.
  • Allows reusability of the code for different modules thanks to the library of common functions.
  • In case of any changes made to the application, only the associated test script for that module would need to be fixed. In other words, the rest of the application can be left untouched.
  • Allows the testing of multiple scenarios by varying the data and reducing the requirement of scripts.
  • Allows the creation of test scripts independent of the application to be tested.

     Conclusion

As customer experience has become one of the most important arbiters for software applications to succeed in the market, regression testing should be undertaken to fix any change induced glitches. However, a standardized automated regression testing framework can help testers to create flexible test cases for a wide range of software applications. 

Resource 

James Daniel is a software Tech enthusiastic & works at Cigniti Technologies. I'm having a great understanding of today's software testing quality that yields strong results and always happy to create valuable content & share thoughts. 

 

Article Source: dev.to


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