Automation Testing and Its Benefits for Software Development with Frequent Code Changes

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As we progress towards 2023, we witness a surge in the number of startups. The technology-driven era is giving way to more software development and an agile environment. The software development companies are flourishing with new technologies and products in the market. The market has grown competitive and any development idea may not survive for long, especially in product-based startups. This is the reason that the development codes keep changing every sprint. While the developers get started with development in sprint, it is the testing that bears the brunt. In projects with frequent code changes, the testers do not get time to test every change. This is the reason that many companies are even outsourcing software development where the third party takes care of testing. Can automation testing be applied to such scenarios? Yes. Let us understand the details about applying automation testing in software development projects where codes change very frequently.

Challenges in Testing

Manual testing is preferred only for some use cases. Every company is adopting automation testing to save time and enhance efficiency. However, projects with frequent code changes pose a challenge to the testers to automate test cases.

• The continuous changes in application code and GUI results in addition and modification of test cases, making test automation difficult.
• The code may change every sprint, putting pressure on the QA team to get a fully functional new build, create new test cases for changes, and test them. Every new feature requires thorough testing which requires time. The frequent code changes give minimal time for testing.
• With time, the product becomes more complex, creating bottlenecks in testing and analyzing software performance in a limited time.

Automations That Support Such Development (frequent changes in code)

Selective automation testing is advised for projects that change codes very frequently.

Unit testing

Developers generally write and run the unit test cases. It is imperative to test the smallest function in an application to ensure that the application does not fail. As the codes and functionalities increase, unit testing becomes even more important. Unit testing can be automated for all the successfully implemented functionalities.

Smoke Testing

It is high priority activity for every new build. Smoke testing can be automated without hassle for any kind of project. The critical functionalities are defined at the initiation of the project. It is best to automate the testing of these critical functionalities as they are the most permanent aspect of any project. Even if new features are added, new critical functionalities can be added to the test suite.

Functional Testing

This is another important test to ensure that the implemented features work according to the requirements of the software. Functional testing is a recurring process and automation can be the best solution. After new codes and features are added to the solution, these tests are re-run to ensure that the new codes do not change anything in the existing functionalities. Functional testing of the implemented and stable features can be automated to run after every fresh build in a sprint. New cross-functional testing can be initially tested manually. But as the product/solution becomes stable, these test cases can be added to the automated test case suite.

Load Testing

Load testing becomes a priority for products such as mobile applications and connectivity-based solutions. The performance requirement is identified as one of the requirements of the project. So, it is something that is not expected to change with time. It can be automated and performed after a new functionality is added or there is a significant change in the code.

API Testing

The client/server interaction is defined and it does not change with any changes in the frontend or backend. The automated API tests can be run when required to ensure that the product runs correctly. The aim is to save the developer’s and QA team’s productive time in identifying the impact of new codes on the implemented features and then correcting them.

Advantages of Automation Testing in Such Projects

1. Time- and effort-efficient regression testing

Regression testing consumes a lot of productive time. Moreover, the steps are repetitive and do not add anything to the skill set of the performer. These steps when automated save a lot of time and effort.

2. Extensive test coverage

Many products/solutions have the requirement to be tested across multiple browsers and devices. The extensive test scenario and devices take time for testing. Dedicating a lot of time for covering every device and browser for every test case may not be possible in manual testing. Automation/ automated testing covers every testing aspect without dependency on any individual.

3. Seamless communication

Automation/automated testing yields results at a faster pace. The QA team is capable of providing the development team with results after every change. This helps in assessing the performance of the product at every stage. Fast results lead to faster and more meaningful communication between the QA team and the development team. This helps in doing faster development and delivery to the client.

Scenarios for Automation Testing

Not every product whose code changes regularly requires automation testing. And not every test case can be automated. Automating the test cases can be time-consuming. Also, the company has to spend money on the automation testing suit. Put together, automation/automated testing can be time- and money- intensive. So, the software development companies should consider automating only the required test cases.

 The projects can consider the following scenarios for automating the test cases:

1. When the regressive test cases are already identified. Test cases for the functionalities which are going to remain unchanged till the project ends can be automated.
2. Automation/automated testing can be performed generally for the smoke testing for every project as the basic critical test cases remain unchanged.
3. Cross-functional testing can be added to the automated testing framework. After the addition of every new feature, a cross-functional test can be performed manually. Then it can be added to the automation framework to repeat the test after every build.

Automation/automated testing is a great feature for the QA team of every software development project irrespective of the model of development. The only difference can be in the degree of automation. Automation has a lot of benefits that result in better time efficiency, higher productivity, and greater customer satisfaction. Biz4Solutions is one of the leading software development services company. Our QA experts ensure thorough automated testing using popular automation tools like Selenium, Apiium, SoapUI, etc and manual testing of the product to deliver a robust product. Contact us today to get the best software development services led by expertise and experience.