Unlike manual software testing, test automation is the use of programmatic tools to test the performance and correct operation of a software. Usually, this type of tests is carried out when it is necessary to verify the operability of repetitive processes that require a significant amount of data to be carried out.

The way to implement this automation is by designing various cases of possible uses of the software to later run them on it. In this way, the procedure simulates all the scenarios that make up the test and verifies the existence of any errors or bugs.

Below, we will explain what test automation exists, how it is applied and the advantages that are obtained when using them.

Types of automated tests

First, we must determine whether a test run should be automated. Some of the criteria for this are that the tasks that compose it are:

• Take a long time.
• Difficult to do manually.
• Possible to reuse in different software.
• Necessary to carry out on different hardware.

Among the types of automated tests we can find:

• Unit Exam
• Compatibility tests
• Smoke test
• Integration testing
• Interface test
• Regression tests
• Test of performance
• Security tests
• System test
• Usability testing

Different approaches to automated Testing

According to Software Testing Material, an approach or framework in automation is “a set of rules or best practices that we can follow in a systematic way to achieve the desired results.”

Meanwhile, the TSG Training site defines four approaches for this type of mechanized tests:

• Automated tests controlled by keywords: Through a data table, keywords or action words are defined linked to the different procedures to be executed in the software.
• Automated tests controlled by data: the data to be checked can be taken from various files -Excel, XML, SQL databases, among others-, without the need to make changes to the test script.
• Behavior-Driven Automated Testing: The analyst, development, and testing teams are expected to work together to create and implement automated testing procedures.
• Hybrid-Driven Automated Testing: Raises the possibility of simultaneously using more than one test automation approach, allowing you to take advantage of the sum of its benefits.

Test automation application

Following what is stated by the Guru99 site, we can follow the following steps to carry out a test automation process:

1.- Select the tool for automation: The decision on which test instrument to use will depend on the technology of the software to be tested.

2.- Define the objective of the test: It is important to determine to what degree and / or areas of the software you want to test.

3.- Plan, design and develop the automation system: For greater order and monitoring, it is advisable to have a route plan that guides these processes in which the following aspects are detailed:

• The defined automation tools.
• The type of focus the automation test will take.
• The automation elements that can and cannot be achieved with testing.
• Preparation of test cases for testing.
• The scripting development and execution schedule.
• Possible test results.

4.- Execution: To start the test, it is necessary to prepare and order the data that the script that will test the software will have.

5.- Maintenance of the automation system: It is carried out when there are modifications in the software functions or when others are integrated. The automation script is updated to check the correct operation of the new version of the software.

Benefits of automated testing

The benefits resulting from the implementation of automated tests are in time savings and process coverage. In particular, some of the advantages of running automated tests instead of manual tests are:

• Evaluators should not spend their work time on repetitive testing tasks, allowing them to focus on other tasks.
• The risk of human error is reduced by performing different repetitive test sequences in an automated way.
• Being automatic, you can do more tests.
• Software can be tested early in its development.
• Test cases may demand higher software performance.
• Tests obtain greater precision.
• The development of the tests is faster.
• There is the possibility of reusing the test script to check the operation of other similar software.

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