The ever-changing world of technology is as exciting as it is fast-paced. Launching an up-to-date software application is part of the competitive field in which technology companies operate. However, staying ahead of the game with ongoing development is hard work and not without its challenges.
Managing the quality of software applications can feel like a continuous cycle, and keeping up with change is tricky. Testing is costly and can’t always run in line with given time frames, often leading to delays in launching products.
As design and testing teams are under pressure to meet deadlines, these factors pose a risk to the product. Launching a product without adequate testing could be detrimental to the company’s reputation and even result in financial loss.
Furthermore, delivering a product that falls short of what’s advertised can fall foul of marketing regulations and land your company in hot water.
Testing is, therefore, essential. Manual testing is usually conducted, but even the most rigorous manual testing can’t catch every bug. That’s where automated testing comes in, as it provides many additional benefits.
What is Automated Testing?
Automated testing is a way of using automation technology to run tests on software applications before software validation takes place. The results are then collated into reports, providing valuable insights into problems and discrepancies in the software and enabling comparisons between how the software should work and how it works.
8 Advantages of Automation Testing
Automation testing has transformed software development. Here, we’ll look at some of the key advantages so you can determine how it can help you.
It Can Speed up the Feedback Cycle
The feedback cycle can take a significant amount of time when done manually. With automation, feedback on problems, such as bugs, is much quicker, meaning the development team can get to work on resolving issues much faster.
It’s possible to introduce automation testing during the development phase, meaning tests can run on various parts of the application before it’s finished. By getting to work on fixing code and bug issues efficiently, there is less risk of launching a product with bugs.
Accuracy
Automation ensures that tests are executed with precision and consistency. It minimizes the chances of human error. This is particularly crucial when dealing with intricate tasks such as big data visualization, where minor mistakes can have significant consequences.
Test Scripts Can Be Reused
Developing test cases can take a lot of time, skill, and work. In manual testing, different tests require new scripts for different test cases, such as cross-browser testing. Automation testing enables test scripts to be reused across different operating systems, allowing development and testing teams to utilize their time better.
This can be particularly beneficial if you manage multiple websites as tests can be reused to check the applications work well on each one.
Simpler Data-Driven Testing
Data-driven testing is an important part of automation testing. It allows repetitive testing on all functionalities involving multiple datasets. It can reduce the number of scripts and test cases while reusing functions and actions in different tests without affecting the test data.
Businesses with unified data systems have instant access to different datasets, meaning data-driven testing can run even quicker using high-quality, refined data.
It Maximizes the Test Coverage
Automation testing can increase the test coverage to 100%, which is difficult to achieve manually. This is because automated testing can provide additional testing on supporting features such as databases, user interfaces, and servers without compromising functionality. It lets testers compare past and current builds and track the entire build cycle.
For example, suppose you want to test a PBX telephone system. In that case, automation testing can enhance the reliability of PBX telephone systems by automating the testing of call routing, voicemail, and other critical functions. You can also use automation to test for high volumes of calls to ensure your product is ready for businesses of various sizes.
Round-the-Clock Testing
Automation can schedule testing anytime, 24/7, from anywhere worldwide. This flexibility means that tests can be run when teams are out of the office or busy with other tasks. The reports that the testing produces can be ready to use when development teams are available again.
Scaleability
You can scale up manual testing by increasing the number of people working on the project, but this is time-consuming and costly. Automation software, however, enables businesses to scale up much more efficiently by adding more test executors.
For companies using big data, it’s important that tests can be carried out with the correct datasets. An ETL tool can help. What is an ETL tool? An ETL tool can extract, transform, and load data, enabling developers to run tests using good-quality data.
Great ROI
The initial costs of implementing automation testing can seem high. However, overall, the costs of ongoing testing are lower because the product will be much cleaner when launched. Since testing is carried out throughout the development phase, the software or new features/updates can be launched faster than if you tested them manually, thus increasing the ROI.
Automation Testing Is Key To A Successful Launch
Automation testing is becoming increasingly advantageous for a successful product launch. As technology evolves, keeping up is an ongoing process; updates, new features, and redesigns are par for the course. This puts pressure on designers, developers, and testing teams. So, wherever automation can reduce the workload, it’s worth considering the investment.
The list above is in no way comprehensive but covers the key benefits of reducing the time it takes to launch a product and reducing costs.
To implement automation testing successfully, development teams must clearly understand the test criteria and what the product should do. Effective planning at the initial phase is vital to ensure the automation works correctly and delivers the right results. With the right automation testing, you can ensure your product is bug-free for its launch.
Bio:
Pohan Lin – Senior Web Marketing and Localizations Manager
Pohan Lin is the Senior Web Marketing and Localizations Manager at Databricks, a global Data and AI provider connecting the features of data warehouses and data lakes to create lakehouse architecture. With over 18 years of experience in web marketing, online SaaS business, and ecommerce growth. Pohan is passionate about innovation and is dedicated to communicating the significant impact data has in marketing. Here is his LinkedIn.
