Automation is the buzzword in the entire QA spectrum. Firms in India and abroad have got a new outlook on how the QA efforts can be saved by automation. Some companies have begun to mature in this field and utilizing automation in most effective ways. For a list of myths related to Automation, read http://www.satisfice.com/articles/test_automation_snake_oil.pdf
It is important to educate the senior management about the expectations from Automation. Identifying what to automate and when to do it is as important as it is to plan the entire effort. Managing an automation project is similar to managing a software development project. The most critical part is to write maintainable scripts – scripts which can be reused across multiple releases of the same product with slight modification. That requires defining a set of guidelines before automation begins. Here are a few tips on how to get started with an Automation project:
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The Manager and the entire team should attend trainings on the product and become familiar with the product functionality to the maximum. One of the reasons for the automation efforts going waste is the scriptor’s lack of knowledge of the component which is being automated.
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Next the team should conduct brainstorming sessions on what can be automated and when. The outcome of all such sessions would be a detailed Automation Master Test Plan
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By the time the planning activities are in progress, the team members should attend all the meetings associated with the component for which they are assigned – SRS Review meeting, DDS review meeting or any other meetings which could be with Manual testing team. This gives an insight on what can be automated and in which stages
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Another activity which goes in parallel would be designing the Automation framework. The framework is one task which would be allocated a majority of effort, since it forms the crux of entire automation effort in future. The framework should be designed in such a way that it could handle all the ways in which an application could fail during execution of scripts and still recover smoothly to execute the next set of testcases. This is known as the Recovery System. At the same time, the framework should be flexible enough to accommodate any changes into the application functionality. Since Automation scripts would always need to be up-to-date with the application’s functionality.
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Next comes the automation of scripts – how to get started? A senior member of the team should automate a few testcases for a particular area and demonstrate the same to entire team. The team should ensure that the automation has been done in accordance with the guidelines defined for automation of scripts.
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Once every member is involved in writing automated scripts, two steps need to be performed:
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Peer review of scripts every week or fortnight.
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A check-in mechanism needs to be defined using some Version Control System such as VSS or CVS, so that scripts are always up-to-date. One member in the team should be assigned this responsibility of Check-in Administrator. Before every check-in the Admin has to ensure that the check-in does not break the existing framework.
Source:
http://www.testinggeek.com/index.php/testing-articles/136-software-test-automati
It is important to educate the senior management about the expectations from Automation. Identifying what to automate and when to do it is as important as it is to plan the entire effort. Managing an automation project is similar to managing a software development project. The most critical part is to write maintainable scripts – scripts which can be reused across multiple releases of the same product with slight modification. That requires defining a set of guidelines before automation begins. Here are a few tips on how to get started with an Automation project:
*
The Manager and the entire team should attend trainings on the product and become familiar with the product functionality to the maximum. One of the reasons for the automation efforts going waste is the scriptor’s lack of knowledge of the component which is being automated.
*
Next the team should conduct brainstorming sessions on what can be automated and when. The outcome of all such sessions would be a detailed Automation Master Test Plan
*
By the time the planning activities are in progress, the team members should attend all the meetings associated with the component for which they are assigned – SRS Review meeting, DDS review meeting or any other meetings which could be with Manual testing team. This gives an insight on what can be automated and in which stages
*
Another activity which goes in parallel would be designing the Automation framework. The framework is one task which would be allocated a majority of effort, since it forms the crux of entire automation effort in future. The framework should be designed in such a way that it could handle all the ways in which an application could fail during execution of scripts and still recover smoothly to execute the next set of testcases. This is known as the Recovery System. At the same time, the framework should be flexible enough to accommodate any changes into the application functionality. Since Automation scripts would always need to be up-to-date with the application’s functionality.
*
Next comes the automation of scripts – how to get started? A senior member of the team should automate a few testcases for a particular area and demonstrate the same to entire team. The team should ensure that the automation has been done in accordance with the guidelines defined for automation of scripts.
*
Once every member is involved in writing automated scripts, two steps need to be performed:
o
Peer review of scripts every week or fortnight.
o
A check-in mechanism needs to be defined using some Version Control System such as VSS or CVS, so that scripts are always up-to-date. One member in the team should be assigned this responsibility of Check-in Administrator. Before every check-in the Admin has to ensure that the check-in does not break the existing framework.
Source:
http://www.testinggeek.com/index.php/testing-articles/136-software-test-automati