We can see the continuous changes in the technologies and advancement in the developments, so we cannot ignore the increased requirement of testing and that to faster than before.
For example we wanted to develop a software-as-a-service product and we are given with 1000 requirements and the software is once prepared with all of them perfectly but after some time the new features are to be added so, the developers add those feature and here comes the requirement of testing, if these new features are affecting the product or not. Again testing the whole product with all the possible tests is impossible and that too in a short period.
Before Agile:
Before the advent of agile, we had a waterfall model. In the waterfall model, it includes the number of steps as planning, designing, development, and testing that too in a series one of the other steps can only be executed if the previous one in the series is completed and testing is done at the last. So, if the bug produced due to the requirement that the whole work needs to be done all again. If the testing is done in a parallel way it would be easy to resolve them.
Working in agile:
Agile works in a manner where all the steps are performed under an umbrella i.e. development and testing are done in an iteration. Requirements are collected, and the product is produced as much the instant requirement of the customer it incorporates continuous integration, continuous development and continuous and continuous deployment and continuous deployment is only possible if testing is done continuously. Testing should be done faster than development.
Automation testing in Agile
When it comes to fast deployment, testing needs to be faster and repeating the same tests again and again with new data can make the work slower so here automation comes into the picture.
When an iteration of tasks with needed than automation plays a very big role. If it is done with proper tools such as Selenium, Testing, Appium, Cucumber, Test Studio, etc. These tools need test cases to be prepared according to the product to be tested. These tests to be run multiple time parallel to the development of the product.
When automation can be implemented:
- When Saving time is on your top priority.
- When the same test case is to be repeated.
- When the test is tedious and cannot be performed manually.
- If you have to run the test cases with different data and conditions several times
- When the same test cases are to be executed with different user sets.
- When test cases need to be executed with various browsers and environments
Challenges faced by Testers:
It becomes cheaper and easier to remove a defect if it is detected in some early stage, it becomes very expensive and difficult to fix a defect if it is detected in later stages.
API testing requires the quick hand in coding because of the complexities associated with the test code. So, this may be happening when API’s are not tested properly. To ensure this, there are many testing tools available to check the functionality of APIs without the need of strong coding skills so that your services are fully tested.
Sometimes you miss critical tests due to continuous changes in the requirements and changes required by the user in the service. With the addition of many features, the complexities of the code increase and then make it difficult to test it manually in an adequate manner.
Agile developers prefer Automation Testing:
Automation testing is much faster than manual testing so as required by agile developers as they needed to deliver the product according to priorities of the customer. Though the initial investment cost is high, due to the advantages the return on investment is one long-term and is time-saving too. Testing betterment leads to the reliability of the product.
Automation testing can be called as the backbone of agile development, it makes the task easier for the agile developers as well as faster.