Making Automation Testing for Agile Teams

Last updated on October 15th, 2022 at 07:19 pm

There are two ways you can test mobile applications Agile. You can either have a QA verify the functionality or a feature manually. Or you can have a computer do that instead. But it is very hard and almost impossible to make sure old features work well if the project keeps growing and new features appear. Imagine how much time a QA needs to test everything old and new, especially with the Agile methodology when everything works exponentially.

Agile focuses on testing smartly. It allows you to know the problems of the product in the early stages. It is about continuous testing and feedback with decreased time for a response and testing performed during implementation.

Why You Should Use Automation Testing for Agile

Automated testing is critical for Agile projects. It helps a team respond to changes fast and reduces the risks and repetitions of a manual web app testing process.

Automation testing in Agile is about:

• reduced testing time;
• reliable tests;
• flexible testing process;
• and early feedback.

Compared to manual testing, automated testing is a less cost-effective process. It requires additional tools and continuous maintenance. That is why it is important to make an early investment to get the advantage of all the benefits it offers.

Automation testing increases the quality of a product a team is working on. It finds and reacts to a bug instantly. It allows you to adapt to the late changes without losing both quality and time. We do not want to devalue the importance of manual testing. It is something Agile cannot go on without. But automated testing can help and replace manual testing where it is possible and required, saving time and increasing the productivity of a team simultaneously. For example, a tester can focus on exploratory testing or particular test cases that need urgent reaction instead of repetitive work on regression testing, which can be performed with the help of automated tests.

Automated testing is an effective tool to build on top of features, making sure that the previously made features are not damaged.

How to Make Automation Testing Work in 5 Steps

Here is how a professional software testing agency implements automation testing in Agile.

1. Preparation. There are a lot of teams that are trying to be Agile, but do not succeed because they are stuck in the old way of doing it. That is why preparation is a must. Agile is represented by short sprints. More and more features are being added with the new sprint. Thus, there are more test points have to be checked and run one more time. Not having any test automation prepared in advance can get your team and your project into trouble. Make sure to enhance collaboration between QA engineers and developers in the work process. They should communicate and cooperate well from the very beginning.
2. Understanding which test cases can and should be automated. Not everything in Agile can be automated. Check which manual testing scenarios are highly repeatable. Are test cases feasible for automation? Automated test cases should be useful and usable for a long period as you are going to invest some time in creating automation frameworks. For example, regression testing is generally automated. Why? Regression testing is made to ensure that a properly functioning code is not going to regress after changes are proposed. Automated tests free up a QA company from doing that. Thus, giving more time to focus on other value-generating activities.
3. Applying to parallel testing. It is a way of test automation when test cases are run on different browsers, different devices, and different operating systems at the same time. This method saves plenty of time for a team. Parallel testing is great in terms of cost-efficiency, speed of work, continuous integration, and higher coverage. Later sprints always benefit from automated parallel testing.
4. Taking part in the adoption of DevOps. DevOps is about development and operation teams working together. It is an approach of constant activity and efficiency improvement that includes planning, coding, testing, deployment, monitoring and going back to the planning phase again. It removes gaps between development and operation teams, which is essential in any Agile methodology.
5. Selecting a test automation tool for your product. The process of selecting the right testing tools is critical. It can save you time, money, and effort. How to do that? First of all, learn and categorize the requirements. What type of testing is your team doing? What are the system requirements? What platforms are supported? Budget limitations and deadlines should be taken into account as well. What type of features are required in the tool? UI features? Integration features? Write down with your team a list of all possible tools that can be used based on the requirements you have got. Keep in mind, the tool should support those operating systems suitable for your software specifically. It should also support different browsers for parallel testing. And it should be easy to learn for the team members to start using it fast.

Should You Automate a Testing Process?

Whether a project needs automation testing or not is decided by a team only. This decision is based on the risks and savings in the case of automation testing. In a nutshell, the more repetitive the test is, the more suitable it is for automation. But there is no one criterion for that. As we have already mentioned, it is a responsibility for a whole team to decide what and when to automate. Automation testing is about improved accuracy and effective responses to the frequent changes of Agile methodology.

And the demand for Agile apps has changed a lot lately. Entrepreneurs are more looking for outsourcing software testing companies with the demand for automation testing. In case you have nothing in common with this topic but want to implement automation testing in your project, companies like TestFort provide professional services in this area. They assign experienced candidates to the projects and replace manual testing with automated processes where it is possible.