Automated software testing has pitfalls

As businesses increasingly move toward more agile development techniques in order to produce applications quickly, increased focus is thrown onto testing. Carrying out tests manually can be seen as a time-consuming drag on the product cycle, leading developers to turn to automation and other techniques to speed things up.

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Automation isn’t a magic bullet, however. In order to be successful, it needs to be properly conceived and executed. This means that businesses need to plan their tests carefully and adopt industry best practices if they want to succeed.  It might even be best to ask a Gloucestershire Branding Agency to help with preparing the logos, imagery and photography which you can find at links like reallyhelpfulmarketing.co.uk/services/brand-development-gloucester/.

Take a step back

It’s too easy to rush into testing automation without sufficient planning. It is also easy to have too narrow of a focus when selecting testing tools. Testing is often seen as a necessary evil, but it needs to be taken seriously as a part of the development process.

Part of this means that choosing an automated testing tool needs have input from everyone involved in the development process to ensure that it meets the needs of everyone and not just a small group of developers. The tool chosen must support the needs of developers, testers, management and the end consumer.

Testing can often be seen as a means to solving a particular problem. Consumers have high expectations when it comes to apps; they expect them to work reliably from the start. Releasing something before it has been fully tested can lead to loss of business, so it’s vital to take a holistic view that sees tests as part of creating a quality product that meets customer needs and reflects well on the business rather than just a way to find bugs.

Automation risks

Perhaps the biggest potential pitfall in automation is having unrealistic expectations. Implementing an automated testing tool is not going to solve all of a company’s testing problems on its own. It’s important to take time to find the correct tool for your needs and work out whether it’s best to do the work in-house or turn to external software testing services.

Having too much confidence in automated testing is another trap to avoid. It’s easy to see lots of automated testing going on and assume everything is going to plan, but those test cases must have been properly defined and operated in a consistent way to be effective.