When is it appropriate for automated testing? (bottom)

adopt Last article , You can realize the importance and advantages of Automation , You must identify use cases that can be automated . So , The goal pursued must be considered , And at what level in the test pyramid .

Try to answer the following questions ：

What is the goal ？

The first thing to confirm is to always aim for a higher level of software quality , And analyze whether automation is suitable for the project .
Answer that question , It is suggested to conduct feasibility analysis on the target .
Here are some scenarios that are most likely to be automated ：

• There is technical debt that needs to be eliminated ;
• Regression testing is time consuming ;
• The project is very complex and long-term .

Which test cases should be automated ？

Not everything can be automated in context , That's why it's relevant to know which cases are in line with our purpose . In terms of code level and developers , Unit tests are the easiest to script . In terms of testers , We usually focus on UI and API Level automated regression case , First consider the most critical and complex processes .
Here are the test cases that can be automated ：

regression testing

Since we already have a test suite that must be executed regularly after each product release , The work of running these suites manually becomes repetitive , In addition, you need to take time from other non automated tasks , You can get more value from these tasks . These regression test cases are highly automated , Especially easy to integrate into CI/CD In the model . This increases the cost and time required to perform other tasks , Because when performing other activities , Scripts can be executed unattended .

High risk test

These cases are usually agreed by stakeholders , Focus on checking high priority and key functions , If they fail , Will greatly affect the business model . That's why this method is called “ Risk based testing ”.
Cases that automate testing of these features can help identify possible blocking releases immediately after each release 、 Or risk events that must be handled quickly .

Complex or time-consuming tests

In a project , There may be some complex situations that need to be copied manually , So if we convert it into a script , Then it will be easier to execute them in an automated way . If it's a form with a lot of data , Then testers may be more error prone , Especially when you have to test the same form with multiple data variants . At this time, the probability of error can be reduced through automation .

Repeat the test case

Just as regression testing becomes a repetitive task , In some special cases , It can be easily automated . for example , Manually test a large amount of data in the same process , It takes a lot of time , Having to repeat the test makes the process more tedious . However , By automating this process , We can parameterize these data , Instead of manually testing each value . This is also called data-driven testing , Automated testing is parameterized , And from the data source （ Such as files or databases ） get data .

Tool selection

Now that we know what to automate , We can continue to choose the tools to use . Given the number of tools available , This activity is probably one of the most complex analyses , The decision will have to consider the projects involved 、 The budget 、 Knowledge and experience .
There are several open source 、 Business and custom tools , Their limitations and availability vary . Choose the right tool , You must know what requirements must be met in order to continue the cost-benefit analysis of its use .
 

Here is a brief overview of some test automation tools ：

• Selenium： An open source tool , It's widely accepted all over the world , For testing on different browsers and platforms Web Applications .
• Appium： Another open source framework （ be based on Selenium）, Mainly used in iOS and Android Test automation on mobile devices .
• Cucumber： This tool is BDD（ Behavior driven development ） Part of the method .Cucumber The main advantage of is its ease of use , Because it's very intuitive , Provides a wide range of functions , And it's open source .
• ZTF：Zentao Testing Framework, Is an open source automated test management framework , Focus on the management function of automated testing , It can solve the problem of use case information management 、 Test script execution 、 Comparison of test results 、 defects Bug Submit and other questions .
• ZenData：ZenData It is a convenient general data generation tool , It has two main functions ： Data generation and data analysis . Support one click generation of massive data for performance and stress testing , For large scale 、 Engineering automated testing .

It should be noted that , There is no best tool for all situations . Make criteria based on the application under test and decisions , You can choose between different software more flexibly .