7 Tips for Developing the Ultimate Test Automation Strategy

Your test automation strategy is the basis of your final product. The difference between providing your app’s potential effect on the market, or having to watch it fail comes down to the severities of your QA process. A test automation strategy is your ideal plan for implementing that process.

Your QA automation roadmap requires to be comprehensive enough to consider every variable of your testing strategy, from the nature of your workflows through to the choice of the right testing tools, from the picking of your QA expert to the composition of your Agile development team.

The 7 tips mentioned below illustrate necessary test automation best techniques. They are guides that provide you have the key elements front of mind when considering the correct approach to building a robust software application that will provide its consumer promise.

1. Outsourcing Your QA

Not only does outsourcing QA services to an offshore team enhance resource efficiency, but it also enhances the overall performance of your software application. QA experts have the training and industry knowledge to employ the best testing techniques for assuring security and compliance and have a good hold of the correct tools, frameworks, and technologies to test your product and assure that it is executing as expected.

By outsourcing quality assurance, you can partner with a highly skilled automation testing team. Moreover, by selecting an offshore or nearshore vendor, you can greatly decrease costs compared to domestic alternatives and also depend heavily on domain experts who are acquainted with all the latest software enhancements in your field. They can understand quickly and come up to speed with your development cycle, while your engineers can continue to concentrate their attention where it counts the most.

The risk of leaving your QA test plan to developers who are pushed into roles beyond their expertise far outweighs any problems with bringing in external experts. If you are not a QA expert, then outsourcing your QA testing requirements is an essential step toward success.

2. Testing Early and Often with Agile

Agile test environments are created to accommodate change. The continual cycle of innovation and testing over several iterations assures a balance between function and stability. The ability to include input from cross-functional teams prioritizes the ultimate end purpose of user satisfaction at all phases. And including QA processes early on in development is more efficient and cheaper than making modifications late in the delivery process.

Coupling the leading software development method with the most resource-efficient method of outsourcing lets you scale up your operations rapidly to provide quality products faster. An agile offshore QA relationship is perfect in many respects, since you can have easy access to industry experts, and thereby enhance the ROI of your projects. In addition, strong, constant communication must be a preference. This incorporates a commitment to your internal communication flow that keeps end objectives in focus, and it contains a commitment to dynamic cooperation with your external QA partners. In time, when functioning together and communicating under the Agile testing method, different teams can connect to build an even stronger software development force.

3. Prioritization of Automatable Test Cases

It is impossible to automate all the testing scenarios, hence it is equally essential to segregate automatable and non-automatable test cases. Once you have the entire set of automatable test cases, it is time to assess the ones that run often and have high priority.

In QA, the first thing we do is choose test cases for automation based upon various parameters, like the tests which are executed very frequently, or the ones that need a long time due to manual execution. After picking the tests, we automate them based on priority.

In this way, you assure high-priority coverage of your application features, which is required from a business perspective.

4. Calculating the ROI of Automation

With proper upfront documentation of the preferred automation method, it is possible to anticipate the whole ROI of automation even before executing any automation framework. This can also deliver a picture of how much time you can save with manual vs automation testing. Moreover, we can notice how many resources are required to be engaged in automation efforts. Based on ROI and future goals, we can change the count of automation and manual engineers within the QA team.

5. Choosing the Right Test Automation Tool

Manual testing won’t be completely replaced by automation any time soon, but the time savings delivered by automated testing are too great to ignore. These benefits led to an increase in automation tools. As an outcome, there is flexibility enough within the market to discover an automation solution that fits your unique product, development environment, and the skills and choices of your team.

QA experts can assist onsite teams to determine the best automation tool based on project and platform needs, and recommend them to opt for the latest tools available in the market. Before beginning the automation process, our QA team can assess the top 3 automation tools, and their effectiveness on the client’s product, and then select the best option.

6. Choosing and Developing the Right Framework

Your QA resource checklist does not finish with the automation tools. There are a number of selections to be made in how you structure your test framework, and they can have a profound influence on the efficiency of your development process. Current thinking favors modular, portable, and reusable frameworks developed to cover the complete life of your product. This framework is the basis of your automation process, and therefore, there is much to consider.

7. Monitoring and Maintaining Automation

Your framework and tool choices should always be driven by strong elements of test automation monitoring and maintenance. The former assures that you and your team obtain constant feedback on the progress and outcomes of your automation testing. Not every automation tool contains an easily comprehended reporting component, so be aware of which stakeholders require to receive such reports before making a commitment.

Similarly, there are differences in the ease with which maintenance can be executed across different tools. You want something that can be easily amended and reused and one that contains detailed failure logs so script errors can be fixed with a minimum of fuss. With a grip on maintenance and monitoring, your test automation approach is sustainable. 

Also Read: Top Test Automation Anti-Patterns And Ways To Evade Them

Get Your Test Automation Strategy Right

Creating your test plan around these 8 elements will move a long way toward conducting a reliable, reusable, and effective QA process.

Your test automation process is the key first step toward creating a quality product. As you follow these tips, pay attention to the essential questions that occur; you cannot make a firm and lasting foundation if you do not first consider all the relevant variables. You’ll run across questions to question your own team and also your QA expert for greater clarity. As always, the ideal test solution is one that provides against your own specific deadlines, resource limitations, and product potential.

When it comes to QA, nothing is better than having the correct people in charge. That’s why we make sure that everyone in our team is qualified and accredited on some of the industry’s best practices. 

At TestUnity we have an expert team of QA Engineers. This enables us to give our clients the support they require to make sure that their software hits the market in the right circumstances. Contact us for a free consultation and see for yourself why TestUnity’s QA approach is the best choice for your software.

TestUnity

TestUnity is a leading software testing company dedicated to delivering exceptional quality assurance services to businesses worldwide. With a focus on innovation and excellence, we specialize in functional, automation, performance, and cybersecurity testing. Our expertise spans across industries, ensuring your applications are secure, reliable, and user-friendly. At TestUnity, we leverage the latest tools and methodologies, including AI-driven testing and accessibility compliance, to help you achieve seamless software delivery. Partner with us to stay ahead in the dynamic world of technology with tailored QA solutions.