How To Design A Successful Automation Testing Plan For Your Company

Businesses need to release high-quality items quickly to the market in today's fast-paced environment to stay one step ahead of the competition. Therefore, software testing is essential to get these high-quality items on the market as quickly as feasible.

Automated QA testing is particularly popular as businesses adopt DevOps and agile approaches to hasten software delivery. This is because organizations are looking for more frequent and high-quality releases, and automated QA testing is the clear winner. As a result, a paradigm change in software testing is now underway, and manual testing will be gradually replaced by automated testing.

The automated testing market is predicted to increase from its current value of $20.7 billion to $49.9 billion by 2026, rising at a CAGR of 19.2%. Automated testing is gaining popularity even though manual testing will always be essential.

The explanation is simple: it is an urgent necessity. Customers expect prompt product additions and upgrades, and businesses want to cut the time to market to obtain a competitive advantage.

This article will highlight the precise strategies and industry best practices for creating a fruitful test plan for firms. Therefore, let's begin!

Let's get started by discussing what an automated QA testing approach is and how it might be helpful.

What is an Automated QA Testing Strategy?

Test automation will improve your processes, which will help you save time and money while producing software that is ultimate of higher quality. In addition, automating testing will make QA team tasks more efficient and increase testing efficacy. According to studies, up to 63% of QA teams saw successful testing ROIs, demonstrating that automation has resulted in time and cost savings.

But only some things in automated testing are as it seems. An automation testing tool cannot be expected to perform your tasks. Only with precise preparation and faultless execution can rich rewards be reached.

To put it simply, a test automation plan is a part of your entire testing approach. As a result, it will employ the same methods to develop and carry out your complete testing plan.

Given that you utilize comparable data points to decide what to automate, how to automate it, and which technology to employ, your test automation plan should be on par with your other system and performance testing.

The following situations may result from a lack of a test automation strategy:

Loss of Business Value:

If the test automation framework doesn't increase business value, its ROI (return on investment) will be insufficient. Only commercial value or a good return on investment will receive backing from any organization. To deliver more business value than expected.

Absence of Vision: 

Without the automation plan, you may bring several tools and frequently discard them since it does not define the long-term purpose and vision.

Unsuitable Technology: 

With an automation plan, you could utilize the right tools and technology. But conversely, if you choose the wrong tech stack and tools, you can encounter several issues over time or even be forced to start over from scratch.

Risk Analysis: 

You may predict the risk connected to test automation with a plan. It will contain information on any hazards present, how to reduce them, possible remedies, and alternatives. With a strategy, you will be able to predict future dangers, and if you'll able to address them in time.

What are the benefits of strategizing automation testing?

• Provides more extensive testing. Your goods become more reliable since even complicated test automation activities are accomplished swiftly.

• Promotes the recycling of essential components. Because they have more time for other critical chores and company initiatives. As a result, employees are more productive.

• Decreases the expense of upkeep. You can easily update and modify your testing strategy. These adjustments are simple and easy for the team members to embrace.

• Develops the testing protocol for your company. Your plan will become the industry norm since it is thorough and effective.

• Shippable software based on a results-oriented strategy will increase stakeholder trust.

What about the goals of strategizing?

• The primary objective of a sound strategy is to build a reliable, repeatable process and to offer information on the risk, capabilities, and functions.

• It acts as a means of communicating your goals and plans.

• It can occasionally act as a springboard for a new proof-of-concept or technology that you can bring to your company and a discussion starter.

• Last but not least, it's an auditing tool that lets you compare what you initially planned to perform with what was completed.

Automation Testing Strategy and Best Practices

Software development must include a testing step, which You may automate to assure quality while speeding up the process. But what makes a test automation plan effective? Listed below are some ideas to get you going.

Establish your goals and objectives

Understanding your objectives and goals is necessary before automating your testing. Do you wish to improve the software quality, for instance? accelerate the development process? Or both?

Create a plan of action once you have identified your objectives. You may define your aim with the help of some of the following considerations:

• Why you chose test automation for this project

• The expected economic benefit of automation (known as ROI)

• The range of automation

• A complex procedure was used to supply the automation

• The projected level of automation (for example, quarter by quarter)

• Automation's purpose

Determine the best tool for the project

Several test automation solutions are available, so choosing the one that best meets your needs is essential.

Think about the platforms you'll be targeting, the language you'll be using, and the kinds of tests you'll run. A tool that satisfies your unique needs is essential because there is no one-size-fits-all answer.

There are several things to take into account while assessing a testing instrument, such as:

• The reach of the tool

• Expected capabilities of test automation tools

• supported platforms/browsers

• You must decide if it matches your domain.

• Cost

• Language assistance

• Assistance from the community and documents

• Learning required.

Learning Objectives

Consider learning while selecting the tool if switching from one tech stack to a QA automation tester transition. Productivity cannot be 100% when learning is included. You must create a learning objective. You should communicate this to management because productivity may need to meet expectations.

Construct a reliable test suite

Effective test automation requires a robust and thorough test suite. This test suite should include the product's functionality, usability, performance, and security. Creating an extensive test suite might be time-consuming and expensive, but it is essential for verifying the caliber of your product.

Select test cases for automated testing

Suppose you choose which test cases to automate and which to skip. Of course, the developer will desire every test case to be automated, but automation testing only works that way. Therefore, identifying the causes of automated testing is essential.

Here are a few situations when automated testing excels:

• Test scenarios that run in different setups

• Persistent test cases

• Tests requesting input from bigger data sets

• Examples of performance test cases

• Data-driven testing test scenarios

Spread out your automated testing work

The QA engineers' skills generally determine the kinds of tests generated. As a result, it's crucial to assess each team member's level of experience and competence and split your automated testing efforts accordingly. For instance, writing automated test scripts requires a solid grasp of scripting languages. To carry out these jobs, you should employ QA testers skilled in the script language made available by the QA automation technology.

Some team members may need more experience in creating automated test scripts. These quality assurance engineers could be better at developing test cases. A QA automation solution ought to offer a way to create automated tests without having a solid grasp of scripting languages.

The ideal approach for your department's automated testing project is working with other QA engineers. Team testing improves defect detection, and the correct QA automation solution enables you to collaborate on projects with several testers.

Engage a team of testers or a dedicated tester for your automation program.

Hire a specialized QA automation tester or team of testers after selecting your test cases to help you realize your goal. Never assign manual testing to your automated testing team; automation testing requires a distinct strategy.

Hire a tester with the knowledge, skill, and capability to handle complicated cases instead. Additionally, search for engineering teams with expertise in various test automation techniques. You may outsource software testing with CodeAutomation, a platform that provides certified, pre-screened QA testers to assist you with your testing needs.

Create a framework for test automation

More than just technical perfection is needed when creating a test automation framework; it must also be scalable and versatile. You will use the testing framework you design for more than just this project in the future. Therefore, be sure that your testing framework is reliable and durable. Aside from that, keep in mind that test cases must be repeatable with the testing framework.

Here are some pointers to get you going:

• For GUI testing, create object repositories.

• The PageObjects model should be used (POM)

• Define the testing framework's scope.

• Create thorough documentation

• Regularly conduct audits

Consider the testing setting.

There is a lot of environmental information that has to be logged. Additionally, you may use hardware and software resources in the testing environment to evaluate the system's performance. Therefore, setting up testing environments correctly can help you close the transaction. You may utilize the best practices listed below to design testing environments:

• Check that you can use the application to test the system.

• See whether there are any available standardized test data sets.

• Make sure that all of the testing materials are accessible.

• Give the maintenance of the testing environment to one person only.

• Plan when to utilize the testing environment.

• Be sure you have a network connection before starting the testing process.

Remember that the development and test environments should be identical, whereas the staging environment must match the production environment.

Consider the data as an essential component of your test case. This includes deciding how to sort the data, whether it needs to be masked, and what will happen after testing. To ensure test cases are resistant to automated system changes, establish a set of best practices before developing them.

Automated test execution

Your forethought and hard work will pay off in this situation. First, you must worry about the AUT and your power supply because this process is automated. Additionally, you may follow pipelines like DevOps and CI/CD to hasten your release while preserving quality. But specific testing settings, such as offline, local, and CI/CD, need an initial setup. The answer to such failure reporting components is mock servers.

The following advice should be kept in mind when conducting test cases:

• Automated test cases that don't need interdependence can be parallelized to reduce time. For instance, a test case's conclusion for a payment page shouldn't be dependent upon or delayed by a test case for logging in.

• Use a pipeline orchestrator or a scheduling tool to test cases simultaneously. For example, users may use Test-Ops in their test cases to benefit from cloud environments and execute tests right away after setup. It can also automatically prioritize the most critical tests, enabling testers to streamline their test cycle without compromising excellent quality.

• Use dependable servers and network connections to test the application.

• Attempt to stay away from time-wasting and unexpected failures.

The outcome, analysis, and reusability are to come.

You must have a strategy to examine failing test cases and take corrective action after being alerted to an issue. Most of the time, finding and fixing bugs takes longer than planned for testers. A well-defined procedure will save teams time and money in optimizing the application.

• Find tests that go slowly and fail. Include a timer in your test run to detect tests that fail frequently or take a long time. This exercise helps you locate the bottleneck and reorganize these test procedures to increase testing effectiveness.

• Compare test findings to verified reports and documentation from earlier iterations to increase coverage.

• Use in-tool or third-party innovative test reporting features for more sophisticated test reports and improved maintenance.

Upkeep and supervision of automation

Your framework and tool choices should always be influenced by reliable test automation monitoring and maintenance components. With the former, you can be confident that your team and you are always informed of the progress and results of your automation testing.

Think about which stakeholders need to get these reports before committing. Sadly, not all automation tools provide a simple-to-understand reporting component.

The accessibility with which you may maintain various instruments varies similarly. You want something simple to adapt, reusable, and includes thorough failure logs for speedy script mistake correction. You can keep your test automation plan if you have a good handle on maintenance and monitoring.

Fortunately, CodeAutomation's Agile software testers are skilled in reporting and communicating efficiently, resulting in productive workflows and a comprehensive QA process.

A solid approach to automated testing is the key to your success!

The effectiveness of the strategy's definition and execution will influence the outcome of test automation. The effects of an effective automated QA testing technique can be extensive! Therefore, an intelligent test automation approach must be devised to fully profit from automated testing and achieve the necessary degree of success.

Any errors you make while formulating a plan might have a big effect. You should create a test automation approach with great care and objectivity. You should know both the excellent and negative to management. Ask others for their thoughts and views and avoid making decisions alone. After that, use the comments and viewpoints gathered to inform your conclusion.

You're lucky since CodeAutomation is one of the leading outsourcing firms for software testing. In addition, it offers automation software testers to help you define the best testing methodologies and use their cutting-edge skills to allow effective automation testing.