Test Automation And the Struggles that Come with It
In a world where software is constantly being developed for better user experience, test automation is still far behind in their developments. Test automation is a critical factor in software testing as they legitimize software and finalize it for public use.
Test automation software is used to generate results while the software is still in the development phase to find out the probable outcome of when it is used. In addition, it also identifies any bugs, errors, or glitches in the system beforehand.
However, the process of using test automation software has proven to show several difficulties that we are still trying to overcome. Listed below are some of the obstacles that have pestered testers ever since its creation.
Effective Team Collaboration
Unlike manual testing, automation testing calls for a unified communication approach between the automation teams, project managers, business analysts, and architects. In fact, there are even times when you have to input customer decisions into the mix.
Test automation is an investment that requires collaboration on all ends to set test automation targets and reach the planned objective as effectively as possible. That is why it is crucial to make sure all team members are on the same page- especially when it comes to the scope of the plan and the time frame needed to see it through.
Aside from communication, another challenge that testers have to deal with is providing past evidence and verifiable data. In addition, there is also the requirement of providing the higher up management team a Return on Investment (ROI) report alongside a cost-benefit survey in order for everyone to have a clear idea of the results of the test automation.
Know Your Tools
You cannot perform automation testing if you do not have the right tools for the job- and that has caused a number of problems for testers. These include lack of skillsets necessary to use the tool, need for a tool that isn’t available on the market, lack of knowledge on which tool is essential for the task, and prices of tools that exceed their budget.
This dilemma has been a major concern for testers that in fact, the World Quality Report of 2014 to 2015 discusses how more than 50% of IT figureheads had stated that when it came to testing development, there has been a lack of appropriate tools needed for test automation.
The ideal solution is to find a tool and a team of professionals who have the required skill set to efficiently use the tools. You can make use of commercial tools such as TestComplete. But what most testers tend to look for is an open-source tool such as ZAPTEST.
Not only does ZAPTEST provide one of the best UI testing on cross platforms, functional and performance testing with just a single script, etc.; but it also offers an amalgamation of commercial onboarding model between system integration conference and traditional software licensing. This additional service is for those who require the technical skills of working with this tool. In the future, they want to replace the Open Source to Free (no-cost) version. The Open Source refers to tools that offer full functionality at no-cost, ZAPTEST offers its limited functionality for free, but full functionality as a part of a commercial Enterprise Solution with unlimited licenses to the entire customer organization.
Ahead of Time Expenses
Test automation software is already a big investment in your business. The last thing you need is additional costs popping up out of nowhere. But with testing software, you are bound to find some hidden extra expenses in the deal.
To begin with, the first phase of testing automation is always going to put a dent in your budget. There is a considerable amount of cost being used for analyzing and designing frameworks for automation. You also have to take into consideration the operational, the collaboration, and often, licensing expenses into the whirlpool of expenditure being used up in the testing process.
These are just a few of the common challenges that testers have in testing automation software. Keeping these issues in mind and advocating new ideas to overcome these drawbacks can enhance your software management productivity while paying you back in return with long term business software satisfaction.