Introduction to Test Automation created by Garry Shum

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Introduction to Test Automationcreated byGarry
Shum
AGENDA

• Duration 30 minutes
• Theme Introduction to Test Automation
• Description An introduction to the field of test
  automation

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Introduction to Test Automation

• What is test automation?
• Test Automation is the use of software to execute
  tests without Human intervention
• Why test automation?
• Manual validation of application functionality is
  increasingly inefficient in an environment where
  developer productivity is increasing as
  programmers make greater use of higher level APIs
  and more modern, effective programming
  interfaces.
• Ever expanding application feature sets are
  making comprehensive manual testing more tedious
  and difficult.

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Introduction to Test Automation

• Advantages
• Speed Test cases generally execute faster when
  automated. More importantly, different batches
  of test cases can be executed on multiple
  computers simultaneously.
• Reusability Assuming automation has been
  designed and implemented properly, acceptance
  tests could be run as many times as necessary to
  test a software release or any future software
  releases. Over time, this may amount to very
  significant productivity gains
• Accuracy Repeating the same tests over and over
  inevitably lead to boredom-induced complacency
  that allows bugs that would otherwise be caught,
  to be overlooked. Oftentimes, this also leads to
  testing shortcuts which could also have
  detrimental effects. With automation, test cases
  are executed with 100 accuracy and repeatability
  every time.
• Relentlessness Can be run, day and night, 24
  hours a day potentially delivering the equivalent
  of several full-time SQA manual testers.
• Efficiency Automating boring repetitive tasks
  not only improves employee morale, but also frees
  up time for staff to pursue other tasks they
  otherwise could not or would not pursue.
  Therefore, greater breadth and depth of testing
  is possible this way.

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Introduction to Test Automation

• Disadvantages
• Significant Investment The investment required
  to implement test automation is expensive but the
  incremental cost is very cheap. This is often
  overseen in the rush to complete testing during
  the initial stages of test automation.
• Maintenance Requires more maintenance than
  manual testing.
• Not as Robust Automated scripts will only check
  what has been explicitly included for checking
• Error Detection Errors introduced during the
  automation process are more difficult to detect
  because once a test has been fully automated and
  become part of the test regime, Human interaction
  is minimized and errors will only come to light
  if the automated test itself includes robust
  error detection routines or the manual tester is
  actively monitoring every automated test as they
  execute.
• Cannot Think Cannot detect and intercede when
  unexpected situations arise

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Introduction to Test Automation
Cheaper, Faster, Better

• Increasing trend of automation in all aspects of
  personal and work life
• ATM bank machines, vending machines
• Automated telephone menu systems
• Industrial robots
• Office automation, paperless office
• Automobile cruise control

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Introduction to Test Automation

• Reality Check
• The Holy Grail of test automation is to
  automate 100 of the tested application with
  complete confidence.

• Inflated Claims Sales pitch of leading test
  automation tool vendors tend to leave the
  impression that automation can be quickly and
  easily implemented
• Disillusionment Management often will pull the
  plug
• High failure rate The number of shops that have
  abandoned test automation is gt60
• Not a silver bullet One size fits all sales
  pitch cannot work for test automation because
  every tested application is different and it is a
  rare situation where every programmer on any
  project follows generally accepted, industry
  standard approaches and/or is aware of what every
  other programmer on that project is doing and how
  they are doing it.

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Introduction to Test Automation
What to automate?

• Regression Tests Stabilized tests that verify
  stabilized functionality
• Tests rerun often Tests that are executed
  regularly vs. rarely
• Tests that will not expire shortly Most tests
  have a finite lifetime during which its automated
  script must recoup the additional cost required
  for its automation
• Tedious/Boring tests
• tests with many calculations and number
  verifications
• repetitive tests performing the same operations
  over and over
• tests requiring many performance measurements
• Just plain boring tests
• Reliably repeatable

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Introduction to Test Automation
What NOT to automate?

• Unstable functionality Not reliably repeatable
• Rarely executed tests poor Return-On-Investment
• Tests that will soon expire poor
  Return-On-Investment
• Analog testing Not reliably repeatable
• Requiring in-depth business analysis
• some tests require so much business specific
  knowledge that it becomes prohibitive time wise
  to include every verification required to make
  its automated script robust enough to be
  effective
• exceedingly complex tests are sometimes not
  possible to automate because computers cannot
  think
• white box testing without ready access to
  business analysts

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Introduction to Test Automation
What is automated and what is not automated comes
down to good judgment and what is a good ROI
(Return-on-Investment). The moral is.
Work SMARTER, not harder