As automation testing continues to dominate the modern app development and testing industry, developers have to integrate various modern trends and practices to improve the effectiveness of this process. While executing automation testing, app developers must ensure the integration of valid tools to use the full potential of their development and testing environment. While choosing the automation testing tool, the app developers should not only consider the project requirements but also their preferences as well. It is also crucial to integrate automation testing with modern test cases like cross-browser testing, regression testing, and performance testing. The integration of quality assurance testing will help verify the functioning of modern application UI.
Since automation testing tools are such an integral part of the app development process, we are going to understand how the developers can choose the right tool based on their project requirements. We will also understand some of the most important factors that testers and developers must keep in mind while choosing automation testing tools.
Understanding the Impact of Automation Testing Tools
Automation testing is the process of automatically verifying the performance of applications using parameters supplied by predetermined test scripts. In this process, the system emulates various human interactions while communicating with the app to justify its stability and ease of user interaction. The automation testing tools have a significant impact on the entire development process as they offer various benefits to influence both the development process and the final product. Let us go through some of the most important benefits that the developers can implement with the integration of automation testing tools:
● Improving the Speed and Efficiency:
Automation testing tools help execute the test cases much faster compared to manual testing. So, they also help to integrate feedback loops to implement the required changes in the application infrastructure. Moreover, using these tools, the developers can execute parallel testing to initiate and execute multiple test instances on different configurations and machines at the same time. So, we can say that automation testing has a critical role in improving the speed and efficiency of the testing process.
● Reducing the Cost:
Using automation testing, the app developers can run multiple test cases on different elements of the application at the same time to reduce test execution costs. Moreover, since automation testing does not require the involvement of human developers, the company can massively reduce labor costs. Finally, the early detection of bugs decreases the expenses related to fixing errors at later stages of the app development process.
● Improving the Test Coverage:
While using automation testing, the app developers can ensure that there are dedicated test cases to verify the functioning of all the elements present in the web application. Moreover, using automation testing, it is possible to perform repetitive test cases and execute multiple tests on the app infrastructure to improve the test coverage. Automation testing also allows the automatic execution of regression testing which verifies the impact of new elements on the existing elements of the app.
● Maintainability and Reusability:
Many experts believe that it is a very simple process to reuse the existing automation test data in future app projects. A recent market study shows that it is possible to reuse almost 60% of the existing test data. Moreover, the developers can use this data across various versions and testing iterations. Updating the automation testing data is also much easier compared to reworking the manual test cases.
● Early Detection of Bugs:
Using automation testing, the app developers can detect the bugs at the early stages of the development and testing process. So, it not only helps to quickly forward the application to the production phase but also massively reduces the costs and effects on the app architecture. This process of application testing is also known as shift left testing.
● Integration of CI/CD Pipelines
While using automation testing, the developers can integrate continuous deployment and continuous integration to conduct the development and testing processes side by side. This process has a crucial role in improving the collaboration between the development and testing teams of the company.
Choosing the Right Automation Testing Tool for Your Project
As we already mentioned earlier, choosing the right automation testing tool is crucial for the success of any software development process. To simplify this knowledge, we have created a guide that will navigate the new automation testers and developers through the tool selection process:
1. Understanding the Project Requirements
- The first step in this process is to define the types of tests that the developers will perform using the tool. Some of the most important integrations in this list include integration testing, unit testing, and functional testing.
- Based on these test cases, the developers have to consider the technology stack, support for operating systems, browsers, and devices that they will require during the testing process.
2. Research The Available Tools
- In the current software development industry, there are thousands of automation testing tools that are easily available in the market. So, the developers must research popular tools like Selenium, Appium, Cypress, and others.
- Other than the popular players in this market, app developers should also consider emerging tools that might offer new features or better integrations based on their project requirements.
3. Evaluating the Key Features
- Some of the key features that the developers must consider during the tool selection process include a user-friendly interface along with an easy scripting process. They should also analyze the support for device testing or cross-browser testing.
- The chosen tool must provide easy integration with continuous deployment and continuous integration pipelines. It also must have comprehensive reporting and test analytics features.
4. Considering the Maintenance and Scalability
- The testers need to check in case the tool requires frequent updates or has good backward compatibility with the existing integrations in the software test bench.
- The developers must ensure that the tool can accommodate the growth of the project and changing requirements that must be integrated into the test bench in the coming years.
5. Cost and Licensing
- The expenses included with a software testing tool are one of the most important parameters that the developers and testers must consider. This is because, from the perspective of a small company, it often becomes impossible to bear the heavy licensing costs of modern tools and platforms.
- Moreover, it is also important for the developers to analyze their returns on investment and understand whether they can sustain the costs of the tool.
6. Availability of Community and Support
- The presence of active communities often means better support and more resources available with the tool. Moreover, various open-source communities work hard to create new features that can be integrated into the subsequent versions of the tool.
- While choosing the automation testing tool, the developers must ensure that it comes with a comprehensive support system that they can use to refer whenever they are stuck with any feature of that tool. Some of the most efficient support systems include live chat, over-the-phone support, and a dedicated mailing system.
7. Accessing the Feedback and Reviews
- Using feedback and reviews that are available on multiple online forums and discussion areas, the developers can understand a lot about the daily experiences of the developers and testers who are using this tool. So, they must look for feedback from developers who come from similar industries or have similar project requirements.
- It is also important to consider reviews or recommendations that have been submitted by experienced testers who have multiple years of experience in software development using these tools.
- While analyzing the feedback and reviews for the tool, the application developers must also critically analyze the future road map submitted by the tool developers. This route map usually reveals the dedication of the developers towards maintaining their tool and ensuring that it can stand up to the expectations of the future software development industry.
Top Automation Testing Tools in the Present Market
To better understand the influence of a proper automation testing tool in the modern app development industry, we have created a list of some of the top names in this market:
● LambdaTest
Although LambdaTest is an AI-powered test orchestration and execution platform for executing cross-browser testing, it is still on this list as it provides various unique and dedicated features for the execution of automation test cases on both mobile and desktop applications. While using LambdaTest, the app developers can import the test cases from various world-known automation testing frameworks like Selenium, Appium, Playwright, and even Cypress. This platform allows the execution of real device testing on thousands of devices through remote servers. It can run the selenium test cases on more than 3000 browser instances at the same time. Finally, some of the additional features of this platform include comprehensive test reports, live test activity logs, parallel testing, and AI-integrated automation test execution.
● Selenium
Selenium is an open-source automation testing suite that allows developers to create test cases with multiple programming languages like Java, Python, and many others. Under the selenium test suit, there are various dedicated tools like the Selenium WebDriver, Selenium Grid, the Selenium IDE, and the Selenium client API. This test suit is best suited for executing web application testing and cross-browser testing on desktop apps.
● Appium
Appium is a dedicated automation testing framework to verify the performance of mobile applications. It is open-source and supports the testing of native, hybrid, and mobile web applications. The developers can use this framework to verify the performance of both iOS and Android applications. Appium also provides native support for third-party integrations and execution of parallel testing on mobile apps.
● Cypress
Cypress is also an open-source automation testing framework that provides real-time feedback during the test execution process. This framework is mainly built for modern web development and allows debugging during the test execution process. The Cypress automation testing framework is best suited for web application testing, especially for front-end test cases. While using this framework, the application developers can also integrate dedicated libraries to improve the test execution process.
The Bottom Line
It is very important for the developers to remember that there is no one-size-fits-all solution when choosing the automation testing tools for their app development project. This is because the ideal tool will depend on the project specifications and the developer’s preferences. So, the application developers need to have a complete idea about the app requirements to make the final choice. During this process, they should also consider the target audience and the application intentions to better make the selection process. The app companies can also conduct workshops and seminars to distribute knowledge regarding healthy automation testing practices
