4 most common automated test challenges and Countermeasures

Some people say ：“ Chaotic automation will only lead to faster chaos .” Not only faster , And it's more serious 、 Greater chaos . If used properly , Automation can be an amazing productivity booster in the test team and a quality enhancer for the system . The key to automated testing is to use , This is the hardest part of the beginning . below , We'll learn about the most common automated testing challenges and how to deal with them .

Challenge 1： Get management approval

Like any corporate department , Employees should always know what is allowed and not allowed in the budget . Testers may already know the commercial and technical advantages of Automation （ Reduce time to market 、 Increase test coverage and accuracy 、 Reduce testing costs per hour 、 Faster detection of errors, etc ）, But how do testers convince the finance department and the head of software development , Buy the necessary time and money for automated testing ？

“ Automated testing can improve productivity and accuracy , This is where a business case must be developed . The cost of a single defect …… Can offset the price of one or more tool licenses .” ——Randall Rice

We agree to Randall Rice Point of view , That is, automation can recover costs . In order to prove to management that the financial returns are considerable , You can show them a simple breakdown of the ROI of automated testing . To others 、 It is also important for other stakeholders to be honest and open , Don't hide the fact that the automation preliminary work and resource demand are large .

Challenge 2： Choose and use the right tools

For a variety of reasons , Many teams failed to pass this stage . They may not know the expertise of specific tools 、 Can't find the ideal tool 、 Toolset coverage is not wide enough, etc .

If you don't have enough basic knowledge about how to use tools , There are several options ：

• Take an online course
• Let the tool manufacturer train
• Hire consultants to better master
•   outsource

If the existing tools can't meet your needs , Then consider finding a multi tool solution .  remember , It's impossible to test everything completely , But you can use tools to test the most important parts .

Last , If the tool cost exceeds the budget , Quickly conduct cost and benefit analysis and show it . This can measure the loss caused by previous errors , And show how much time and money can be saved if you use this tool .

Challenge 3： Determine the startup strategy

well , Now you have all the tools and support to start Automation , But what has been automated ？ How did you do it ？ The tools themselves don't tell you what to automate , It's just as frustrating as novice parents find out that their child was not born with a parenting manual . It will cultivate a generation of excellent automated testing , Will still be destroyed by it and can no longer be managed ？ Yes, of course , We certainly hope it's the former ！ But in fact, there is no way to automate everything , Therefore, we must have a strategic vision . There are two ways to help solve this problem ： Risk based testing and automation .

Risk based automated testing

It gives priority to testing the components with the greatest risk of failure , If the failure occurs , These components also have the greatest negative consequences . Here we need to consider ：

• The economic impact of potential mistakes
• The probability of failure
• Service level agreements (SLA)
• Whether there is property danger

This should provide you with a good way to prioritize automated test cases .

Automated test pyramid

Another highly recommended approach is to follow the automated pyramid . In a recent article , There was a broader discussion on the subject , Here is a brief overview .

The ice cream cone tastes sweet and attractive , But using the ice cream cone method may disrupt the automation process ！ Following the ice cream cone method will lead to a high error rate , Because it emphasizes UI Level of Automation , and UI Level uses tests that are more vulnerable to destruction . But if you put your energy into automating unit testing , So in the process of software development , Mistakes can be found almost immediately 、 Eliminate mistakes .

Challenge 4： Set realistic expectations for Automation

No matter how good your tools and processes are , Remember that testing will never be completed . Automated testing is not a panacea for flawed systems , Should not replace non automated testing , Instead, it should be used in conjunction with non automated testing . There are some tests that cannot be automated at all , But there are also automated tests that can find errors that cannot be found by other methods .

Automated testing is actually just automatic checking of the system , However, non automated testing still needs to be done manually . Besides , please remember , The value of testing comes from the information it provides , Not the number or frequency of tests performed . What we care about most is getting the right information , In order to make the best decision when improving the quality of the system .

Ensure that the team and management agree and understand the expected results of the automation scheme , So that we can reach a consensus ！