Agile methodologies are becoming more and more popular in software development. They call for a fresh take on software testing that is well-suited to the fast-paced philosophy of Agile.
Agile testing, a core component of the Agile idea, is made possible by test automation, which was not designed initially to support Agile teams.
This article outlines every step necessary to implement automation testing for Agile teams. Agile development, as is generally known, attempts to provide products quickly to meet consumer expectations.
Users also anticipate perfect, bug-free, and consistently high-functioning software. Automation testing is the only way to accomplish all of this.
What are Agile Methodologies
The Agile method splits a project into many phases and manages the project through these phases. Quality management at every stage and ongoing collaboration with stakeholders is required.
Teams cycle through a method of planning, carrying out, and assessing once the job starts. Collaboration between task members and project partners must always be ongoing.
Agile project management is fundamentally based on the straightforward concept that a project may be continually enhanced during its life cycle with alterations made quickly and suitably.
It is among the most extensively applied methodologies because of its better adaptability, flexibility, and emphasis on client review and feedback.
How does Test Automation Enable Agile Development?
Continuous testing, also known as Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD), is a stage in the Agile development process. When using Agile, QAs can design test cases that will execute automatically when new code for a particular application is uploaded to the code repository. In DevOps, this procedure is known as continuous testing and ensures that new code is error-free before being used in a production environment.
CI/CD automates the process of code progression through the phases of Development, Testing and Deployment. While, Agile employs a variety of tools and frameworks, like Selenium and Cypress, to execute automation testing.
A specialized collection of tools, such as Jenkins, Travis CI, TeamCity, Bamboo, CircleCI, Azure Pipelines, etc., are also necessary to implement CI/CD. These tools enable QAs to create test cases that align with the current application's requirements and nature.
Once created, these testing phases are automatically executed for every new line of code introduced to the programme. The tests confirm that each line of programming is error-free and that freshly developed code does not obstruct or conflict with the functionalities that have already been implemented (via regression testing).
Key Gains of Facilitating Test Automation in an Agile Environment
Swift implementation and speedy outcomes - Even for complex and large-scale systems, automated testing can be quickly implemented, saving significant time. As a result, testing can be conducted more frequently, yielding quicker results every time with less work and time.
Rapid responses and short feedback cycles - Automated testing is a relief for validation during various stages of a software project. This enhances communication between programmers, architects, and stakeholders and enables quick fixes of potential bugs. By allowing short feedback cycles, automated testing ensures improved efficiency for the development team.
Automation test reusability and better setup - Software developers have the chance to evaluate programme response because of the repeating nature of test cases in test automation and the relatively simple configuration of their setup. Automated test cases can be used in various ways because they are reusable.
Increased test coverage and offer quality apps - A more significant number of application-specific tests can be run with test automation. Higher coverage results from this, a manual testing technique, would call for a large team that would be severely time-restricted. More features may be tested thanks to enhanced test coverage, improving the application's overall quality.
Testing efficiency improvement and future effectiveness - A large percentage of the entire lifespan of developing an application is spent across testing. This scenario demonstrates how even a little increase in overall efficiency can significantly impact the project's timeline. Automated testing ultimately consumes a substantially smaller amount of time, despite early setup taking longer.
Quality work and lesser business expenditures - It is not surprising that automated testing helps businesses save money, even though the initial cost may be more than average. This scenario mainly comes into the picture when a significant reduction in the time is needed to conduct precise tests. Automated testing helps to produce work of a higher calibre, which lessens the need to address bugs after release and lowers project expenses. It assists in generating consistent development results and superior quality of delivery. This scenario further reduces mistakes, faults or blunders in different stages of the final product release to the end client, specific user base and stakeholders.
Data protection and safeguarding - The calibre of the test data you employ will significantly impact how well your tests turn out. As it takes time to generate high-quality test data manually, testing is frequently carried out on copies of live databases. You may reuse your data repeatedly by using automation technologies to assist with building, modifying, and safeguarding your test database. This scenario could result in significant time and money savings.
Reduced marketing time - By enabling continuous test case execution, test automation significantly reduces the time it takes for an application to reach the market. Test library execution is automated; it proceeds more quickly and lasts longer than manual testing.
What Tests can be Precisely Automated in Agile?
Functional Testing - Software is evaluated against predetermined functional requirements and specifications during a practical test. It focuses on the programme's functionality and primarily uses black-box testing.
Unit Testing - Running tests on individual parts or functions in isolation to ensure they are functioning as needed is known as unit testing. It is frequently the first type of automation testing performed on an application because it is commonly carried out during its development phase.
Integration Testing - Testing the entirety of the application's various units is known as integration testing. It focuses on determining if the system as a whole satisfies the functional specifications that have been set forth for it.
Smoke Testing - Smoke testing, often referred to as "Build Verification Testing" and "Confidence Testing," consists of a limited number of tests intended to evaluate the reliability and sustainability of the deployed build of the software.
Non-functional Testing - This includes evaluating an application's performance, dependability, usability, and other non-functional components.
Performance Testing - A software's performance, stability, and responsiveness are examined during performance testing. Performance testing's primary goal is to locate any potential performance barriers and address them to increase the software's capacity to provide the best outcomes to the end user.
Regression Testing - The testing type that belongs to the maintenance testing group is sometimes referred to as regression testing. Regression testing entails rerunning functional and non-functional tests to see whether the software is operating in the same manner as previously following a change to the code or programme. The software is thought to have regressed if the functionality isn't the same.
Keyword-driven Testing - Utilizing data files with keywords associated with the evaluated programme is known as "keyword-driven testing." Each term denotes a group of steps that must be completed. In keyword-driven testing, specific keywords are found and linked to particular actions. As a result, the associated action will be carried out automatically whenever the keyword is used.
Leveraging Diverse Automation Testing Tools
Selenium - Selenium is a popular, open-source web automation solution currently in demand. One of the best QA automation tools, it supports Firefox, Chrome, IE, and Headless Browsers in addition to operating systems including Windows, Mac, and Linux.
ACCELQ - This tool is a codeless test automation platform powered by AI that automates Web UI, API, Mobile, and Desktop applications without manual intervention. Fortune 500 companies from various industry verticals worldwide use ACCELQ to advance their automation goals significantly.
Katalon Platform - The web and mobile environments are supported by the open-source automation technology known as the Katalon Platform. One of the most excellent solutions for automated testing, it builds on Selenium and Appium and adds capabilities like object spy, an easy-to-use IDE, an object repository, and a browser plugin to those frameworks.
Appium: It is developed on the concept that testing native applications shouldn't need an SDK or recompiling of the application. And that you should be capable of leveraging your chosen test practices, precise tools, and ideal frameworks. The Appium tool has improved design and tool decision-making by motivating a lively contributory community and diverse user base.
There are numerous tools for automation testing like Tenjin Online, QA Wolf, Virtuoso, Avo Assure, Subject7 etc. While some of them are costly, others are free. While some of these automation solutions are rather old, others have only recently entered the market. Each tool is distinct and has certain significant qualities.
Key Takeaways
So, automation adds agility to testing enabling it to respond to changes more quickly and efficiently. Early and continual testing is essential for agility. Tests cover the recently added code and the code from earlier revisions.
When new code is submitted to the repository, automated testing aids QA teams in developing test cases that execute automatically. If combined with the appropriate tools, knowledge, and an efficient automation testing roadmap, automation testing scales up agile development operations.
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