Test automation has become a buzzword for most QA managers and enterprises as businesses promptly replace tedious and monotonous tasks. But despite implementing automation and all its aspects, not all projects result in success and fulfillment of ROI expectations. The primary reason is the lack of ways to enhance the speed and efficiency of the testing life cycle.

Speed and efficiency are the two most important pillars of successful test automation. In fact, isn’t that the primary goal of automation testing? It’s common to encounter compromised automation testing practices that compromise efficiency and speed. So, we’re going to take a look at five foolproof ways to boost automation testing speed and efficiency and make the most out of it. Let’s take a look.

Testing Early, Often, and Designing Tests Before Automating Them

Testing is no longer a one-off activity. Shift left testing has given rise to the idea that testers should encounter bugs and developers should work on fixing them simultaneously. This way, when testers test early and often, developers can have a chance to create the product keeping user experience and mind. This process helps QA teams in saving valuable resources and time.

A related good practice to boost automation Testing speed and efficiency is to design tests before automating them. Combine it with a proper strategy and effective planning to ensure success with Selenium test automation. This involves developing an intricate test architecture that entails the test program structure and its management. Fortunately, with Selenium automation, you can easily create test scripts with the programming language of your choice.

Be mindful of creating tests that are resistant to frequent changes in the UI. Upgrades in application versions can create hurdles in the working of automated tests. For instance, scripts finding objects with the help of location coordinates can exhibit discrepancies in case of a location change. Running an automated test in such a situation results in test failure due to the inability of test scripts to locate the object. New names for replacing the old ones prevent changes in UI, thus impacting test results.

Know What To Automate and What Not To

Test automation tools can be a game-changer as long as testers know what to automate and what not to. Even if test automation tools simplify testing, it’s not advisable to aim for 100% automation. If there is zero human intervention, it becomes challenging for even the best tools to recognize complex objects or other discrepancies in applications or software.

That’s why it’s vital to have an idea of what you should be automating and what you should be leaving out for manual Testing. The premise behind test automation is to avoid monotony, mundane work, and repetitive tasks. For instance, you can automate tests involving layout structure, colors, fonts, and other visuals in areas. Since static content does not undergo much change, automating terms, policy, title, and logo also help in boosting automation testing speed and efficiency.

Automating The Most Predictable and Frequent Test Cases

You can also automate the most predictable and frequent test cases. For example, when an application launches right after clicking on a tab, it’s clear that this type of test comes with a condition and is generic. In simple terms, we already know that there is an event about to occur with predictable results. That’s why automating such test cases is ideal for avoiding repeated executions.

Although be mindful that your test automation efforts can go in vain if you automate unstable functions subject to a lot of changes. Some functionalities progressively evolve and need frequent updates to tests. If you automate them, you are gonna have to keep up with plenty of unexpected changes which diminishes the entire purpose of automation testing.

Hiring a Team of Experts and Delegating Tasks

Enterprises shouldn’t live in the misconception that automation and manual testers can perform each other’s tasks. Even though test automation eliminates most human labor, test automation management is in itself a full-time job. The same thing applies to manual testing as well. The most important step forward to embracing better efficiency and testing speed is to hire expert test automation engineers for handling Selenium test automation. If it’s a large-scale enterprise, an automation architect for supervising automation engineers can also prove to be fruitful.

Since test automation is team-based, delegates automation-related responsibilities to different individuals and teams depending on their skill sets. For instance, non-programming enthusiasts can write test cases while experts in language scripting should be responsible for writing test automation scripts. Proper delegation of tasks results in easily finding bugs and fixing them on time, thus, resulting in a faster time to market.

Periodically Review Tests

The validity of test data and test cases comes in handy while trying to identify outdated and unnecessary tests. Such tests hold no relevance to present testing cycles. Therefore, it leads to a reduction in maintenance efforts as well as costs. Verifying and validating the substance of tests becomes easier once you periodically review them. This is especially useful when they are likely to affect the automation project for the long haul.

Summing It Up

It’s obvious that going the manual path isn’t an efficient way when it comes to software testing. But once you have automated certain tests, it offers the chance to run them real quick. If you wish to get the most out of your returns on investment and high-quality output with test automation, keeping the above five ways in mind will help you get there.

If you wish to take your automation testing to the next level, opting for a tool that supports testing on a Selenium grid is the way to go. LambdaTest allows users to run Selenium scripts and perform end-to-end automation tests on a reliable, scalable, and secure Selenium infrastructure. This reduces built time and offers a comparatively higher test coverage.

So, are you ready to boost your automation testing speed and efficiency by a manifold? Sound off your concerns in the comments section below.