OneStopTesting - Quality Testing Jobs, eBooks, Articles, FAQs, Training Institutes, Testing Software, Testing downloads, testing news, testing tools, learn testing, manual testing, automated testing, load runner, winrunner, test director, silk test, STLC

Forum| Contact Us| Testimonials| Sitemap| Employee Referrals| News| Articles| Feedback| Enquiry
 
Testing Resources
 
  • Testing Articles
  • Testing Books
  • Testing Certification
  • Testing FAQs
  • Testing Downloads
  • Testing Interview Questions
  • Career In Software Testing
  • Testing Jobs
  • Testing Job Consultants
  • Testing News
  • Testing Training Institutes
  •  
    Fundamentals
     
  • Introduction
  • Designing Test Cases
  • Developing Test Cases
  • Writing Test Cases
  • Test Case Templates
  • Purpose
  • What Is a Good Test Case?
  • Test Specifications
  • UML
  • Scenario Testing
  • Test Script
  • Test Summary Report
  • Test Data
  • Defect Tracking
  •  
    Software testing
     
  • Testing Forum
  • Introduction
  • Testing Start Process
  • Testing Stop Process
  • Testing Strategy
  • Risk Analysis
  • Software Listings
  • Test Metrics
  • Release Life Cycle
  • Interoperability Testing
  • Extreme Programming
  • Cyclomatic Complexity
  • Equivalence Partitioning
  • Error Guessing
  • Boundary Value Analysis
  • Traceability Matrix
  •  
    SDLC Models
     
  • Introduction
  • Waterfall Model
  • Iterative Model
  • V-Model
  • Spiral Model
  • Big Bang Model
  • RAD Model
  • Prototyping Model
  •  
    Software Testing Types
     
  • Static Testing
  • Dynamic Testing
  • Blackbox Testing
  • Whitebox Testing
  • Unit Testing
  • Requirements Testing
  • Regression Testing
  • Error Handling Testing
  • Manual support Testing
  • Intersystem Testing
  • Control Testing
  • Parallel Testing
  • Volume Testing
  • Stress Testing
  • Performance Testing
  • Agile Testing
  • Localization Testing
  • Globalization Testing
  • Internationalization Testing
  •  
    Test Plan
     
  • Introduction
  • Test Plan Development
  • Test Plan Template
  • Regional Differences
  • Criticism
  • Hardware Development
  • IEEE 829-1998
  • Testing Without a TestPlan
  •  
    Code Coverage
     
  • Introduction
  • Measures
  • Working
  • Statement Coverage
  • Branch Coverage
  • Path Coverage
  • Coverage criteria
  • Code coverage in practice
  • Tools
  • Features
  •  
    Quality Management
     
  • Introduction
  • Components
  • Capability Maturity Model
  • CMMI
  • Six Sigma
  •  
    Project Management
     
  • Introduction
  • PM Activities
  • Project Control Variables
  • PM Methodology
  • PM Phases
  • PM Templates
  • Agile PM
  •  
    Automated Testing Tools
     
  • Quick Test Professional
  • WinRunner
  • LoadRunner
  • Test Director
  • Silk Test
  • Test Partner
  • Rational Robot
  •  
    Performance Testing Tools
     
  • Apache JMeter
  • Rational Performance Tester
  • LoadRunner
  • NeoLoad
  • WAPT
  • WebLOAD
  • Loadster
  • OpenSTA
  • LoadUI
  • Appvance
  • Loadstorm
  • LoadImpact
  • QEngine
  • Httperf
  • CloudTest
  •  
    Languages
     
  • Perl Testing
  • Python Testing
  • JUnit Testing
  • Unix Shell Scripting
  •  
    Automation Framework
     
  • Introduction
  • Keyword-driven Testing
  • Data-driven Testing
  •  
    Configuration Management
     
  • History
  • What is CM?
  • Meaning of CM
  • Graphically Representation
  • Traditional CM
  • CM Activities
  • Tools
  •  
    Articles
     
  • What Is Software Testing?
  • Effective Defect Reports
  • Software Security
  • Tracking Defects
  • Bug Report
  • Web Testing
  • Exploratory Testing
  • Good Test Case
  • Write a Test
  • Code Coverage
  • WinRunner vs. QuickTest
  • Web Testing Tools
  • Automated Testing
  • Testing Estimation Process
  • Quality Assurance
  • The Interview Guide
  • Upgrade Path Testing
  • Priority and Severity of Bug
  • Three Questions About Bug
  •    
     
    Home » Testing Articles » Automated Testing Articles » Automated Testing Advantages, Disadvantages and Guidelines

    Automated Testing Advantages, Disadvantages and Guidelines

    A D V E R T I S E M E N T


    article start with brief Introduction to Automated Testing, Different methods in Automated Testing, Benefits of Automated Testing and the guidelines that Automated testers must follow to get the benefits of automation.

    Advantages of Automated Testing

    Introduction:

    "Automated Testing" is automating the manual testing process currently in use. This requires that a formalized "manual testing process", currently exists in the company or organization.

    Automation is the use of strategies, tools and artifacts that augment or reduce the need of manual or human involvement or interaction in unskilled, repetitive or redundant tasks.

    Minimally, such a process includes:

    • Detailed test cases, including predictable "expected results", which have been developed from Business Functional Specifications and Design documentation
    • A standalone Test Environment, including a Test Database that is restorable to a known constant, such that the test cases are able to be repeated each time there are modifications made to the application.

    The following types of testing can be automated

    • Functional - testing that operations perform as expected.
    • Regression - testing that the behavior of the system has not changed.
    • Exception or Negative - forcing error conditions in the system.
    • Stress - determining the absolute capacities of the application and operational infrastructure.
    • Performance - providing assurance that the performance of the system will be adequate for both batch runs and online transactions in relation to business projections and requirements.
    • Load - determining the points at which the capacity and performance of the system become degraded to the situation that hardware or software upgrades would be required.

    Benefits of Automated Testing

    Reliable: Tests perform precisely the same operations each time they are run, thereby eliminating human error

    Repeatable: You can test how the software reacts under repeated execution of the same operations.
    Programmable: You can program sophisticated tests that bring out hidden information from the application.

    Comprehensive: You can build a suite of tests that covers every feature in your application.

    Reusable: You can reuse tests on different versions of an application, even if the user interface changes.

    Better Quality Software: Because you can run more tests in less time with fewer resources

    Fast: Automated Tools run tests significantly faster than human users.

    Cost Reduction: As the number of resources for regression test are reduced.

    Choosing the right tools for the job and targeting the right areas of the organization to deploy them can only realize these benefits. The right areas where the automation fit must be chosen.

    The following areas must be automated first

    1. Highly redundant tasks or scenarios
    2. Repetitive tasks that are boring or tend to cause human error
    3. Well-developed and well-understood use cases or scenarios first
    4. Relatively stable areas of the application over volatile ones must be automated.

    Automated testers must follow the following guidelines to get the benefits of automation:

    � Concise: As simple as possible and no simpler.

    � Self-Checking: Test reports its own results; needs no human interpretation.

    � Repeatable: Test can be run many times in a row without human intervention.

    � Robust: Test produces same result now and forever. Tests are not affected by changes in the external environment.

    � Sufficient: Tests verify all the requirements of the software being tested.

    � Necessary: Everything in each test contributes to the specification of desired behavior.

    � Clear: Every statement is easy to understand.

    � Efficient: Tests run in a reasonable amount of time.

    � Specific: Each test failure points to a specific piece of broken functionality; unit test failures provide "defect triangulation".

    � Independent: Each test can be run by itself or in a suite with an arbitrary set of other tests in any order.

    � Maintainable: Tests should be easy to understand and modify and extend.

    � Traceable: To and from the code it tests and to and from the requirements.


    Disadvantages of Automation Testing

    Though the automation testing has many advantages, it has its own disadvantages too. Some of the disadvantages are:

    � Proficiency is required to write the automation test scripts.
    � Debugging the test script is major issue. If any error is present in the test script, sometimes it may lead to deadly consequences.
    � Test maintenance is costly in case of playback methods. Even though a minor change occurs in the GUI, the test script has to be rerecorded or replaced by a new test script.
    � Maintenance of test data files is difficult, if the test script tests more screens.

    Some of the above disadvantages often cause damage to the benefit gained from the automated scripts. Though the automation testing has pros and corns, it is adapted widely all over the world.



    More Automated Testing Articles



    discussionDiscussion Center
    Discuss
    Discuss

    Query

    Feedback
    Yahoo Groups
    Y! Group
    Sirfdosti Groups
    Sirfdosti
    Contact Us
    Contact

    Looking for Software Testing eBooks and Interview Questions? Join now and get it FREE!
     
    A D V E R T I S E M E N T
       
       

    Members Login


    Email ID:
    Password:


    Forgot Password
    New User
       
       
    Testing Interview Questions
  • General Testing
  • Automation Testing
  • Manual Testing
  • Software Development Life Cycle
  • Software Testing Life Cycle
  • Testing Models
  • Automated Testing Tools
  • Silk Test
  • Win Runner
  •    
       
    Testing Highlights

  • Software Testing Ebooks
  • Testing Jobs
  • Testing Frequently Asked Questions
  • Testing News
  • Testing Interview Questions
  • Testing Jobs
  • Testing Companies
  • Testing Job Consultants
  • ISTQB Certification Questions
  •    
       
    Interview Questions

  • WinRunner
  • LoadRunner
  • SilkTest
  • TestDirector
  • General Testing Questions
  •    
       
    Resources

  • Testing Forum
  • Downloads
  • E-Books
  • Testing Jobs
  • Testing Interview Questions
  • Testing Tools Questions
  • Testing Jobs
  • A-Z Knowledge
  •    
    Planning
    for
    Study ABROAD ?


    Study Abroad


    Vyom Network : Free SMS, GRE, GMAT, MBA | Online Exams | Freshers Jobs | Software Downloads | Programming & Source Codes | Free eBooks | Job Interview Questions | Free Tutorials | Jokes, Songs, Fun | Free Classifieds | Free Recipes | Bangalore Info | GATE Preparation | MBA Preparation | Free SAP Training
    Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions
    Sitemap | Sitemap (XML)
    Job Interview Questions | Placement Papers | SMS Jokes | C++ Interview Questions | C Interview Questions | Web Hosting
    German | French | Portugese | Italian