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We all know the traditional problem with software testing: it happens too late, and often in a rush, as users badger developers for delivery. If a software project runs over deadline, the chances are that the testing will suffer. According to Danny Bradbury Agile development helps to solve that problem, but automating the testing is a critical part of that process. In agile development, the testing is meant to happen earlier rather than later, so that any problems with an application can be identified and fixed earlier on, says Danny.
The testing is also supposed to happen frequently, leading to the mantra: "test early, test often". That way, if your software development veers off course, you'll notice quickly and recalibrate. As the pressures on software developers increase, agility in development and testing becomes increasingly important. Damian McClellan, principal consultant at Readify, an Australian application development company, ships production-quality releases every two weeks.
"It takes a lot of time to do manual regression on that, so a good agile team will do a lot of automation," he says. Cloud-based and mobile applications will accentuate these pressures, making agile development and continuous testing increasingly important. One benefit of test automation is that it can positively affect the coding approach, argues Matt Frank, a consultant at Unboxed Consulting, an agile development firm.
"Teams that favour test automation normally also take a test-driven approach to writing code," he explains. "People thinking in a test-driven way often tend to focus on the intent of what needs to be built." The ideal practice is to write requirements that can be directly converted into an acceptance test, he says. |
