Test Automation

Automated Testing, as per dictionary is defined as Software testing assisted with software tools that require no operator input, analysis, or evaluation. Automated testing is generally considered useful for time consuming repetitive tests. This can help minimize costs as the tests can be conducted at times when human users are unavailable, and so making the best possible use of resources.

Testing is a fast growing practice which is now followed in each and every project. Gone are the days when Testing was considered as useless and timewasting activity. Organisations have realized that Testing is a vital stage for any project and should be practiced with proper time and dedication.

 As the world is advancing in technology, the applications are becoming more and more complex ang larger in size. Thus if the work is to be done smartly, every one would agree that it's clearly not the best use of time to click on the same button looking for the same dialog box every single day. Smart testing is delegating those kinds of tasks away and computers are a great place to delegate repetitive work.

 This is probably the best way to describe automated testing to a lay man. An important aspect of test automation is the idea of partial test automation, or automating parts but not all of the software testing process.

 A common question which arises among testers is, "When should we automate?". There are no hard and fast rules about this issue. Here are some fo the points which can be taken care of while making a judgement:-

• Time Spent v. Time Saved. If a test will be quick and easy to automate and doing so will save lots of time, then definitely tester should go for it! On the other hand, if a test will be complicated, difficult, or require a large amount of time to automate, and doing so isn't going to save very much time, probably one shouldn't bother.
•  Sanity Spent v. Sanity Saved. If a task is tedious, repetitive, or error prone, then it's worth automating. But if there is only one tester have to do it once, maybe not. For example, In a  bigger team, a one-time pass through several hundred file checking file versions isn't worth automating; instead dividing the files up amongst all so that each one only has to check thirty files or so.
• Likelihood of Breakage. Is the feature being tested fragile? Has it historically had a high regression rate? Is it brand-new code, or being changed a lot, or being changed by many developers? If any of these are true then automation is probably worthwhile.
• Chances of Regressions. Spending time to automate a bug you found is a Good Thing, but takes all the other factors into account. Also, consider how likely the fix is to break, and how fast you need to know if it does.

Benefits of Automated Testing 

Automated Testing has number of advantages. Choosing the right tools for the job and targeting the right areas of the organization to deploy them can only realize these benefits. Also the right areas where the automation fit must be chosen Here are the most common ones:-

• Reliable
• Repeatable
• Programmable
• Comprehensive
• Reusable
• Fast
• Cost Reduction

Demerits of Automated Testing

Automation has numerous advantages and certainly the dream of every tester.  But all good thing comes with a price and so is automated testing.

Following are some of the disadvantages of automation testing

• Debugging the test script is major issue. If any error is present in the test script, sometimes it may lead to deadly consequences.
• Test maintenance is costly in case of playback methods. Even though a minor change occurs in the GUI, the test script has to be rerecorded or replaced by a new test script.
•  Maintenance of test data files is difficult, if the test script tests more screens.
• If No human insight is there, the process may become too Antonius and may result in misleading navigation.
• Overlooks scripts and style sheets.
• Ignores table linearization and data table association.
• The results can be conflicting to desired ones.