Introduction
Automation is a boon to software development companies. Every business relies on automation to make sure that product development is quick and efficient. Effective product delivery alone is insufficient; it also requires prompt and thorough testing. There is a potential that the product still has flaws even after thorough testing. Therefore, it becomes extremely necessary for the testers to test whenever the program exhibits flaws and to run as many tests as possible to attain quality, something that automation performs well.
Automation undoubtedly expedites software testing, but it cannot guarantee a defect-free final result. Sometimes the high expense of automation testing and overlooked issues overwork the QA personnel. However, if done correctly, it can become the most useful testing toolbox. Before getting deeper into when we should use automation in App testing, let’s understand why Automation testing is crucial for Mobile app testing. Also we will overview the benefits of Automation testing:
Why Automation Testing is Important ?
Enterprises strive to develop bug free applications before the final product release. Still, achieving a 100% test coverage becomes next to impossible. In order to get effectiveness, accuracy and quantity in testing, its imperative to implement automation testing. Especially in the case of mobile applications where we have multiple combinations of device, browser, operating system, it becomes impossible to achieve compatibility by just manually testing the mobile applications.
For developing compatible mobile applications, you need to perform cross browser testing which involves testing of multiple combinations of device-browser, os-browser and device – os combinations in multiple iterations. Hence its impossible to achieve quality and speed by manually performing cross browser testing for mobile applications. Likewise, there are diverse reasons for implementing automation testing for mobile applications. These are as follows:
Automation testing vastly increase the test coverage;
Automating mobile application testing can increase the depth and scope of tests to help improve the quality of mobile applications. obtaining a 100% test coverage is not possible and sometimes not desirable, but it’s important to identify the test cases that have to be prioritised and to optimise the coverage criteria over a longer term period for more effective test coverage. The idea is to implement test automation strategies that automatically sweep the software in a way that high risk spots are regularly tested.
One of such test strategies is Continuous testing in which testing is done at each and every stage, leaving no room for bugs to be undetected. This will put routine checks in place, to help in detecting any issues before they create obstacles in other operations. As the bugs get detected in the early stages, there is a rare chance of bugs getting detected in the later stages. Putting such simple strategies into place will help QA teams to improve coverage over time.
Hence automation testing increases the efficacy of the testing process by automating critical flows and helps to mitigate risks.
Automation testing helps Improve accuracy
Manual testing is imperative to implement but it cannot guarantee accurate results, because of human interventions. On the other hand, automation testing performs the same steps precisely every time they are executed and on top of it, some test automation tools also provide options for recording detailed and comprehensive reports. Testers which are free from repetitive manual tests have more time to create new automated software tests and deal with complex features.
Automation testing does what manual testing cannot
Even in the largest software and QA departments, hundreds of resources cannot perform a controlled web application test with thousands of users. On the other hand, automation testing can simulate tens, hundreds or thousands of virtual users interacting with a network, software tool, web applications, mobile application. For example, in a cloud based test automation tool, all you need to have is an internet connection and you can work on multiple devices simultaneously.
Automated Testing Helps Developers and Testers
Shared automated tests can be used by developers to catch bugs quickly before sending them to the testing team. Automated tests run on their own and whenever source code changes are checked in, it’s notified to the team or the developer if they fail. These are continuous testing cycles where all the process happens automatically. Tools like Jenkins run continuous testing cycles automatically, leading to a more efficient testing pipeline. Such tools and processes save developer’s time and increase their confidence.
These are some of the major points to prove why automation testing is crucial and how it helps in increasing the efficiency of mobile application testing After the iteration of a software release, skilled testers perform automation testing. However, it is not advised to choose automation testing when the cost does not match the project cost.
But when should test automation be implemented? Let’s evaluate.
- When you can Handle costs:
Since automation tools are not cheap, make sure the project fund is sufficient to cover them. You may occasionally need to purchase tools and skilled resources, which can increase the cost. It makes sense to automate large-scale, protracted undertakings. For smaller and simpler applications, testers should employ manual testing. You can choose to focus on short-term costs or long-term returns on investment by keeping these considerations in mind. - In the case of repetitive tests: Running manual testing for repetitive jobs takes time. The automation of numerous repeated tests frees up testers’ valuable time and yields accurate results more quickly.
- To save time for critical tasks: Quality Analysts and Developers have to invest their time in building and testing critical features for the application, which necessitates their full involvement. By automating app testing, they can save time and utilize it for more task coverage and boost overall productivity.
- When there is a definite scope of quality improvements:
We all know that automation brings efficiency and maximized test coverage that removes the maximum number of errors. You can run multiple tests in parallel that can be run repeatedly if need be until you get a final error-free quality product with a great user experience. - When manual testing cannot solve the problem: Manual testing has its advantages. Most of cases, human intervention is inevitable and manual testing is the solution. Also, when the need to test is minimal and the requirement is simpler, the use of manual testing is more convenient. In the case of large and repetitive tasks, we have to invest in automation testing tools to get the best test output.
- Frequent and multiple tests needed: Running high-volume tests is a cumbersome task for testers. Teams must use automation to scale up the testing load because doing it manually is practically difficult. If you test frequently and in large volumes, automation testing looks more feasible while running super-fast tests, parallel without any burden. In such cases where the need is to increase tests with an increasing number of mobile devices simultaneously, there is a high chance of human error in testing, so automation saves the testers from messing it up by running an automated script on various devices.
Conclusion
Manual and automated testing are equally significant. The demand for automation testing has grown dramatically along with the growing number of devices and software in the market. Even though investing in automation is expensive, and done correctly, it can increase task efficiency and improve testing quality. You can add automation in your testing process if you are clear on why and what you want to automate.
