Starting out in test automation

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  • #10769
    Paul
    Participant
    @paul-madden

    If someone has no exposure to automated testing but has experience in manual testing – what would be a recommended process to start automating? Is there a requirement to learn to code or is it possible to rely on test automation tools?

    #10851
    Krister
    Participant
    @kristers

    Hi Paul.
    I think it is unavoidable to end up programming. If you start with a capture-replay tool it will produce a script in the background. Now, as soon as something in the tested product changes (UI objects, text strings, expected result), you either record the test case again from start, or you modify the script.
    The good news is that you can get a lot of help from the tool to create the test script (by recording)

    Best regards,
    Krister

    #10856
    Craig
    Participant
    @craigsyme

    If you watch testing trends for 2016 automation is key to staying relevant and employable as a tester

    You will notice that the main tool vendors are being squeezed out of the market because of Selenium open source model.
    They are reacting by incorporating selenium into their tool chains.
    Only time will tell if this is enough to ensure tools that tester previously used for fat client apps remain valid.
    I’m personally susceptible that these tool chains will survive long term, they’re just too expensive.

    The acid test is to read job adverts from time to time. Almost all current tester job adverts are looking for Java, C#, python and selenium experience.

    #10942
    Pavan
    Participant
    @pavank

    Hi Paul,
    Automation testing needs programming skills that said you might need to learn Automation tool specific programing and also you might need to have some technical knowledge to use it effectively. ClicTest is one of the automation testing tools which needs minimal or no technical training to perform automation testing.

    #11044
    Ben
    Participant
    @ben9

    Automated testing involves writing code just as software development does. And with the same attention to detail as the production code. I would argue that you need to be able to manually test an early version of your product under development to a high degree of precision first so you understand where automation testing would be of benefit to you.

    Many companies take on automated testing because its the “thing” at the moment but they really haven’t gauged where it will be of use to them.

    About 70% of testing can be automated with the other 30% remaining manual. There are certain aspects that need Human involvement. Like UI testing.

    But the starting point for automation can be at Unit level.Unit tests should form the base of testing anyway so Unit test automation would be a good place to start.

    We have only just dipped our toes into this area and we are learning as we move forward. We have carried out the first two phases of development entirely manually from a testing perspective and now know what we can run automated in the background while we do the interface stuff moving into version three.

    We’ve started automated unit tests and are now looking at what would be of benefit to us for integration testing.

    Please keep us up to date with how you progress. This is an area of great interest to me now!

    #11116
    Devanathan Ram
    Participant
    @thoughtsofdeva

    Good topic to discuss. Honestly speaking, current organizations trend does not like to invest money to train their folks in automation. They would most likely invest in hiring few automation experts and that way they can work and educate the rest of the team folks. Also, get them to work on automation side by side. That being said, this question is more related to the ones in the same organization adopting automation. So, where do we start?

    The most easier way is to know the basics (of course everyone knows automation basics by default) and directly start with an application which you have a good knowledge (piece by piece). That way, you can easily try out the traditional ‘trial and error’ method and learn quickly (& productively). Capture replay is one positive way to get things done and then you can play around with the script that the tool generates for it. Automation is like a sport. The more you practise, the work gets easier. At least you can easily derive the scope for automation as and when you go through the requirements, You can start with QTP/UFT (the traditional one).

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