Software test automation is the process of testing software through an automatic method rather than a manual one. In the past, testing required a manual touch and hundreds of work hours. If a piece of software needed an update or change, the software testing team ran an extensive checklist to find and remove errors to ensure the software was running smoothly.
The process was time-consuming, required extensive labor costs, and left the door open to human error in many cases. Now, this process has undergone automation by reliable providers such as XBOSoft. These companies sell their services to web developers to reduce manual labor and provide a seamless software testing experience.
How software automation works
In short, software testing automation is an artificial intelligence-powered service, which is a growing trend within the software development community. Rather than human operators performing these tests themselves, bots within the software can explore the application and test the user interaction.
Software automation is performed before the software goes through publishing and is released to the public. The AI uses pre-set scripted patterns, like the checklists used by human testers, to run a final check of the software. These patterns send feedback to the engineering team to show them what’s running well and what may need repairs.
Test automation can apply to several fields of software development. Each of these areas runs different sequences to test parts of the software and will run different synapses depending on what kind of test developers use.
Kinds of software automation
There are several different kinds of tests developers run to provide a smooth experience. In many cases, software automation works on the user experience (UX) side of things.
These tests can be run at any time and give developers valuable insights to keep their software running seamlessly.
End-to-end tests
End-to-end, or E2E, tests act as a website or external user to make sure the UX of the software runs smoothly. E2E tests the parts such as “user can edit username,” “user can log in here,” or “user can change personal settings.” Because these are all website components that a user frequently uses, then E2E tests make sure that they’re running at total capacity.
Unit tests
Unit tests work with chunks of code within the software. These tests usually deal with personal information such as financial, health, or security inputs. A unit test will test the selected chunk of code to ensure the input matches the output. These processes are inexpensive and usually easy to implement.
Integration tests
Certain pieces of software code will have to access a third-party host or service. Because the software being tested has not been published yet, the code does not have the chance to do this. Therefore, integration tests mock a third party and ensure the code needed to access this third party behaves as expected.
Integration tests are inexpensive and work similarly to unit tests. Additionally, integration tests can work in place of unit tests if needed. Both are inexpensive and can even be run together for greater productivity.
Performance tests
As its name suggests, performance tests measure the speed and responsiveness of the software. These tests often measure the page load time and rendering. Performance tests can also measure how the page may score if a user searches it on the web.
Benefits to software automation
In addition to cutting down on a considerable portion of human labor, software automation offers several other benefits.
Maintains compliance
Although regulations on specific sites are uncommon, in some cases where a website may have to abide by many business-specific ordinances and regulations, software automation helps maintain regulatory compliance.
Cuts costs
The investment in automation software is small compared to the benefits received on the back end. Essentially, software automation cuts out an entire portion of human workers and replaces them with consistent and quality work. Not only this, but software automation is scalable. Companies can adjust their software automation process to fit their budget without risk.
Improves accuracy and quality
Since AI doesn’t get tired, automation performance will never slack. Each time it’s run, software automation delivers precise, accurate measures. Because there is no deviation in the process, software automation delivers the same quality work every time.
Improves customer experience
Because software engineers can get information in real-time, they can work out the bugs and make sure the software remains user-friendly.
Software automation can work to track aspects of the website, such as sales and customer information, to provide software developers with more insights into making the user experience better.
Who uses software automation?
Several prominent industries work with software automation. Automation, however, can be used in any industry looking to provide flawless software performance.
Healthcare
Automation software helps tremendously within the healthcare industry. With the dawn of digital paperwork, automation software allows healthcare professionals to move their physical documentation into a digital sphere.
Life sciences and drug industry
Scientific processes require a high amount of calibration and precise measurements that can be prone to human error. Manual calibration is also time-consuming and can be imprecise. However, automation provides these calculations instantaneously.
Insurance and rate calculation industry
As this industry is heavily regulated and highly complex, there is a significant amount of documentation to maintain and track. Combined with the need for precision calculations using vast amounts of data, this documentation creates an environment rife with the potential for expensive errors. Automation software can calculate insurance rates and premiums and engage in data mining and processing, allowing employees to focus on customer service.
What does software automation do for you
Implementing software automation allows you to focus on more valuable tasks within the software development while leaving repeated testing to the bots. Software automation is an invaluable resource for software developers who want to stay ahead.
When implemented, software automation pays for itself. The benefits of the tests allow you to optimize your time to grow your business and better serve customers. If you’ve ever wished your team could be in multiple places at once during the development and testing phases, automation might be the extra set of hands you need.