With 82% of organisations still using manual testing in their day to day work, let’s be honest, it will always have a part to play in QA.
However, with the common idea that AI will heavily impact the QA landscape in coming years, and the belief that the most effective strategy for scaling AI will be to increase automation coverage, it stands to reason that it’s a good time to start implementing automated testing if you haven’t already.
What is manual testing?
In the software context, manual testing involves actual humans test user interface, flow, or functionality on a particular program. These tests are designed to root out bugs or issues so that teams can release their software free of defects.
In many cases, manual tests are not scripted and are entirely ad hoc, for example a tester might sign up for an account with their product and manually check that they received an email containing a verification code, or that when their product sends an OTP (one-time passcode) text, that OTP works as intended. Common manual checks include password reset tests, account signup verification, and confirming 2FA account verification messages arrive on time.
Testers also use smoke tests to quickly determine if the current build is stable or not; this type is specifically designed to check the most common paths through a product and highlight any glaringly obvious issues.
What is QAA?
Quality assurance automation (or QAA) includes creating tests which are easily repeatable, can help locate bugs before a product is released, and continue to check a program’s integrity even after launch. Automated tests free up programmers to continue focusing on new functionality and enhancements, rather than chasing elusive bugs, with their tests automatically running in the background all the time.
Household names such as Facebook, Google, Paypal, and CapitalOne all rely on automated testing to ensure their offerings meet quality standards. With companies of this scale, even a bug occurring 0.01% of the time can mean thousands of complaints across the world and inundated support teams.
It’s important to consider end-to-end tests, unit tests, API tests, and integration tests. With apps adding ever more complex innovations to stand out, automated testing is essential to feasibly test all potential uses and paths through the product.
You can start automated tests in one of a few ways. Developers can run automation software with the push of a button at any time, or they can set up a schedule for the automation software to follow. It’s also a great idea to configure tests so that they are run every time a code change is submitted, ensuring that nothing is overlooked; this is referred to as continuous integration (CI).
Why make the transition from manual testing to QAA?
There are several factors that make QA automation a smart decision.
1. Sustainable work practices
You’d be hard-pressed to find a person who would enjoy performing the exact same test case hundreds of times in a row and, upon completion, be handed another task to complete hundreds of times too.
Not only would this take considerable time, but you’d also risk boredom, ultimately introducing user errors caused by a lack of focus. Machines, on the other hand, have no issue repeating the same test over and over. Best of all, they won’t make mistakes doing so. It’s what they’re created to do!
2. QA practices force you to better define product requirements
To create an automated test plan, you should have at least some idea of how your product should function every step of the way. Having expectations at each stage of your design will lead to a more efficient and higher-quality product.
For instance, declaring that you want your product to be fast is great, but writing a test case requires you to discuss the specific parameters involved. Just how fast is fast? Do you want your page to load in five seconds, or one?
Since a test will produce actual numbers, you’ll need to have a well-defined idea of the success or failure criteria. This same logic holds true for the user interface aspects of your application.
To verify that everything works as it should, it’s essential to outline every combination of user interface interactions that a user might take in your program. With that information, you can write test scripts to verify that each button press works as it should, that each input has the correct output, and that graphics load at the right time.
3. Increase development velocity and productivity
Even the smallest software change can lead to numerous bugs in your application. Testing your code every day during development or after production will allow you to release products or updates that much more quickly.
Manual testing daily (or even weekly) requires a lot of time and resources to complete, whereas automated testing is easy to perform each day. Implementing a dedicated test automation framework, such as Selenium, Cypress, or WebdriverIO means your tests can run in the background while you’re working on other things.
QAA not only saves countless hours of testing that humans would otherwise have to do, but boosts the reliability of tests at scale, unlocking a whole new level of quality assurance for your team. It also allows those same testers to work on other aspects such as writing new code or planning out future improvements, creating a much more productive (and enjoyable) working environment.
4. Rely on your test suite
Manual test scenarios are often created by one or a select few members of the programming team. If these individuals are even out of office it impacts the testing process, let alone if they leave the company and testing grinds to a halt.
With QAA, your tests can continue running to the same scale, and you’ll have full test logs available at any time so you can reflect on what’s working and where your tests might be flaky too.
5. Long-term cost savings
The human factor will always be necessary for coding, but reducing the amount of effort required to perform QA testing can reduce labour costs across the scope of a project. These savings can continue long-term by reusing automated tests to check future iterations of your application for bugs.
Adding new features to your product down the road can put a strain on a team who may also be responsible for creating those features and getting them ready for release. Since the automated suite does a lot of the heavy lifting, you and your existing team can achieve much more than you'd otherwise be able to, without compromising on your testing scope.
6. Compliance and security
Last, but certainly not the least important, are the tests you’ll need to perform for security and compliance. This list of tests varies significantly product-by-product. For example, medical forms will need to adhere to confidentiality guidelines, and forms need to have an appropriate amount of encryption.
Should you automate your compliance and security testing, you’ll be able to prove to agencies that you’re meeting regulations at any point in time. Many compliance certifications require a documented process for testing, which would be readily available in your test automation framework.
Unit testing versus end-to-end testing for QA purposes
Unit tests are excellent tools for your development team to ensure the quality of different blocks of code. After all, each piece must function independently for the entire program to work as it should. Unit testing can be automated and even verified while your compiler checks for errors in your code.
However, unit tests don’t cover enough ground to make a meaningful impact on manual-to-automated QA transition. Even if most of your code is covered by unit tests, but all end-to-end tests are still manual, you haven’t made it in the automated QA world just yet.
End-to-end testing is a much longer process, especially when factoring in all possible test scenarios. Even performed in an automated environment, unit tests are no substitute for an end-to-end automated QA experience where all the pieces must work seamlessly together. Due to the complexity of such end-to-end test scenarios, manual testing is not feasible for checking all possible scenarios.
How to make the transition
Once you’ve made the decision to jump into automated testing, there are six steps that will set you on the right path.
Step 1: Know where you are
We all have to start somewhere. Even if you’re nowhere near your goal, knowing where you are in working towards it is a significant step towards getting to where you want to be.
When it comes to preparing for automated QA testing, here are some questions you should be asking yourself:
- Do I have scripts?
- How often do I test?
- How often do I release?
- How long does it take to do a full test?
- How many bugs do I usually find?
As you start answering these questions, you can start to develop your automated QA strategy.
Step 2: Write out your test scenarios
Even if you’re still working towards automated QA testing, take the time to write out your test scenarios. At the very least, this information can be handy in the event of employee turnover or needing to provide information for compliance regulations.
With your test scenarios on hand, identify which tests are the highest priority. Working through the list, also determine which tests are less important or even optional. Having this documentation of your test cases will make any potential transition that much smoother.
Step 3: Determine which tool you’re going to use
When you’re ready to take the plunge into QA automation, you’ll need to identify which framework(s) you’ll need to use. Not all frameworks are made equally, as different frameworks better serve specific purposes.
For web design, you’ll likely want to start with either Cypress or Playwright. Cypress works well for most use cases but does not provide support for Safari; in this case you'll want to give Playwright a try.
Appium, on the other hand, links up nicely with any mobile or desktop device for testing apps on those machines.
Step 4: Choose the simplest viable test case
With your framework set, it’s time to run your first automated test case. Start with the happy path- your default scenario that leads to an expected output. For instance, use a valid set of credentials and test the ability to log into your website or app.
If parts of your test require email or SMS, you can use Mailosaur with your test framework. One of Mailosaur’s key features is to provide programmers with valid email addresses and mobile numbers for testing.
Don’t worry about testing edge cases yet. Use expected outcomes to verify that both your program and test setup work as they should.
Step 5: Extend your test scope
Once you’re content with your happy path, extend your test plan. If your happy path involved logging into your app or website, a good next step is to add tests for the sign-up process.
Take a look at the test scenarios from step two and add them to your test plan in layers, with your happy path as the core.
Step 6: Report on the progress and how it’s affecting your development flow
With a few automated QA tests now under your belt, revisit some of the questions from step one and ask yourself if the changes you’re making are having a positive effect on how long it takes to test and the number of bugs you’re seeing.
Then, share your findings with the rest of your team. Don’t invest in more resources for automated QA testing until the rest of the team buys into the direction you’re headed.
If you’re able to show your company how automated QA testing is positively affecting the business, there’s a potential for personal improvement within your organisation.
Ready to get started?
If this article has inspired you to get started with automated testing, you already know where to begin! When you’re ready, install the best framework for your app and learn how to use it. And don’t forget to book a demo or sign up for your free 14 day Mailosaur trial to get your hands on test email addresses and mobile numbers for all your email and SMS testing!