How to implement Test Automation in an Agile set-up?

The digital landscape has witnessed frequent changes in the way software products are developed, devices introduced, technologies used, costs optimized, processes streamlined, and customer expectations are fulfilled. One of the changes is related to the way a software product is developed. As opposed to the traditional method of SDLC where development and testing take place one after the other, Agile has gone a step further. In an Agile testing strategy, development and testing are done concurrently in short sprints.

                 

The advent of Agile methodology in the development of software has brought about significant changes. The changes are primarily about improving the quality of software and hastening its delivery schedule. The thrust of Agile is towards improving as well as shortening the sprint iteration leading to better outcomes. In the Agile testing environment, the imperative of testing a product feature or functionality post its development in the quickest possible way has underlined the importance of test automation.

Test automation services bring the following benefits

• Glitches or bugs can significantly reduce the quality of software by impairing its functionality, usability, and security. If the bugs are detected at a later stage, the cost and time of removing them can be significantly high. However, Agile testing can identify and eliminate glitches in the initial phases of the SDLC. This apart from improving the quality and timeliness of software delivery, can enhance the ROI as well.

• Easy and quick adaption to changes put forward by the client. Since the changes are done in quick iterations but in an incremental way, they can be easily incorporated. In the changing market dynamics, such a development process is the most suited one as it squarely addresses the client and market requirement(s) as and when needed.

• Enhances the test coverage area, which otherwise gets severely curtailed during manual testing. Moreover, automated tests can be conducted without manual intervention at any time of the day (or night.)

• Optimizes the testing of resources by engaging a small number of test automation experts. This is not possible in manual testing for conducting a large number of tests needs a greater number of testers.

• Easy to develop the beta version and receive customer feedback. Based on the feedback, the software can be suitably customized to meet the client or market requirement.

How to effectively implement test automation in an Agile set up?

Selecting the right automation framework: Not all tests are to be automated, for writing scripts for them can be a time consuming exercise. The test automation experts should earmark specific tests for automation and select an appropriate framework. The criteria for choosing a framework should be based on its scalability, clear understanding and easy adaptability. There can be a number of automation frameworks as given below:

Data driven:  This framework is used when specific functionalities of a software application are tested for different sets of data. In this, the data are stored in external databases such as Excel or XML files.

Keyword driven: This framework allows the testing of data based on certain keywords. The keywords present in the database perform specific functions on the application, which are tested for their effectiveness.

Modular based: Here, the test code is broken into independent modules that are connected logically to each other. The framework considers each module as a separate test case, which upon completion, ensures the entire software functions according to the stated objectives.

Hybrid: As the name suggests, this framework leverages the benefits of one or more frameworks as mentioned above.

Setting the sprint target: The target for each and every sprint should be identified and fixed. The target should not be influenced by the level of complexity of the effort involved. However, notwithstanding the difficulties one can face while working on the sprint, the end result leads to a better testing outcome.

 

Team feedback: Timely feedback from the team can help test experts to identify features or modules that can be automated successfully. It is a good practice to involve each and every member of the testing team in deciding the features to automate. The expert should discuss the approach taken for automation with other team members. Continuous feedback can help members to suggest new features and approaches to be adopted for automation.

Conclusion

The above mentioned points can pave the way for an effective implementation of automation in the testing of software. These can help the team to achieve test objectives that are made part of an Agile set up.

This Article is originally published at Medium.com, Effectively implementing Test Automation in the Agile set-up.