The 4 most common automated test challenges and countermeasures

Some say: " messy automation only causes faster chaos."Not only is it faster, but it was more serious and greater chaos. As used properly, automation can be a stunning productivity booster and system quality enhancer in the testing team. The key to automated testing is to apply correctly, the most difficult part of the beginning. Below, we will learn about the most common automation test challenges and countermeasures.

Challenge 1: Get approval from management

Like any company department, employees always know what the budget allows and budget doesn't allow. testers may already know the advantages of automation in both commercial and technical aspects (shorten the time of this market, increase test coverage and accuracy, reduce hourly test costs, faster error discovery, etc.), but how do they convince finance and software development leaders to get the necessary time and money for automated testing?

"Automated tests improve productivity and accuracy, which is where business cases have to be developed. The cost of a single defect... can offset the prices authorized by one or more tools.” ——Randall Rice.

We agree with Randall Rice that automation can recover costs. To prove to management that financial gains are substantial, show them the simple breakdown of the automated test ROI. It's also important for us to be honest and open to others and other stakeholders. Not to lie about automation early work and resources are small.

Challenge 2: Select and use the appropriate tool

For various reasons, many teams failed to pass this stage. They may be missing the expertise of specific tools, unable to find ideal tools, toolsets are not covered enough, etc. If there are not enough basics on how to use the tools, there are several options:

· Take an online course

· Let the creators of the tools train you

· Hire a consultant to a better grasp

· Outsourcing may also be a practical approach when all other methods fail

If existing tools cannot meet your needs, consider finding a multi-tool solution. Domestic tools are often the most suitable option for domestic work. Remember, it is impossible to fully test everything, but you can use the tools to test the most important parts.

Finally, if the tool costs beyond the budget, quickly conduct the cost and earnings analysis and show it. This measures losses from previous errors and shows how much time and money can be saved if using the tool.

Challenge 3: Determine the startup policy

Okay, now you have all the tools and support to start automating, but what automates it? What is it done? The tools themselves don't tell you what to automate, as frustrating as novice parents find their kids not born with a parenting manual. Will it produce a good generation of excellent automated tests, or will it be destroyed and no longer manageable? Of course, we must hope that the former! But there is no way to automate everything, so you must have a strategic vision. There are two ways to help solve this problem: risk-based testing and an automated pyramid.

Risk-based, automated testing

It prioritizes the elements that have the most risk of failure, which also have the greatest negative consequences if the described failure occurs. It should be considered here:

· The economic impact of potential errors

· Probabilities of failure (better ask developer ideas here)

· Service Level Agreement (SLA)

· Is there any danger of property

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

Automate the test pyramid

Another approach that we highly recommend is to follow the automated pyramid. In a recent article, we have a broader discussion of this topic, here for a quick and quick overview.

Fig.the process of Automate the test pyramid and ice cream cones methods.

Source: the Open Source Software Supply Chain Lighting Program-Summer 2021 event.

Ice cream cones taste sweet and tempting, but using ice cream cones can disrupt the automated process! Following the ice cream cone method will result in a high rate of error as it emphasizes that UI level automation while the UI level uses more disruptive testing. But if you put your energy into automated unit testing, errors can be found and eliminated almost immediately during software development.

Challenge 4: Set the realistic expectations for automation

No matter how great your tools and processes are, remember that the test will never be done. Automation tests are not a silver bullet to solve flawed systems, and should not replace non-automated tests, but should be used in combination with non-automated tests. There are tests simply not automated, but there are automated tests that uncover errors beyond other methods.

Automation tests are just automatically checking the system and still require manual non-automated tests. Also, remember that the value of the test comes from the information it provides, not the number or frequency of tests performed. We care most about getting the right information to make the best decisions when improving the quality of the system.

Ensure that the team and management agree to and understand the expected results of the automation scheme so that consensus can be reached!

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