Software testing is a vital process of the software life development cycle. The process can either be automated or manual. Many companies have opted for automated software testing because it reduces the time for software testing and increases test coverage.
There are distinct differences between manual testing and automated software testing. With manual testing, you require physical time and effort to ensure that the processes run smoothly. On the other hand, automated testing is normally done via tools. This process is well-suited for large projects that have undergone initial manual testing.
For the manual process, you will have to analyze the test cases and write scripts for the different tests that are to be performed. In terms of time, automated testing has greater efficiency and can cover a lot of tests within a short time than the manual testing process.
Here are different ways automated testing reduces the time of software testing and coverage.
Regression testing
Regression testing is one of the best ways through which an automated testing process saves time and increases test coverage. As the software product evolves, new features are added to existing functionalities. And with every new feature release, you have to do everything possible to ensure that the feature is free of bugs. Ensuring that the changes being made don’t affect the top of the existing functionalities is called regression testing.
Just imagine how hectic it would be if you had to test the working of the old features manually to check if they have been affected. There are different ways you can increase text coverage with regression testing. You can create hundreds of test cases covering a particular scenario to ensure the application works great on different browsers. Still, you can launch the testing of multiple scripts and leave them running during the off-work hours.
Increased test accuracy
The higher the level of accuracy, the faster the testing process, which means there will be more test coverage. Correcting errors in the manual testing process usually takes a lot of time, and the whole process may end up not working. One of the reasons why humans are prone to making errors is because running the same tests over and over can become mind-numbing.
With automated software testing, the same scripts can be repeated as often as possible without the accuracy of the testing process being affected. This boosts the morale of the whole team involved in the process and leads to more test coverage. Motivated testers are likelier to stay in the company for long and effectively offer their quality services.
Faster delivery
As the software product grows, the more the number of tests you need to carry out at the end of the day. For every testing process that’s done manually, there is usually slow delivery of the expected results. One of the main aims of the automated testing process is to ensure faster delivery of product results. In this case, this is where continuous integration and continuous delivery come into play to ensure that a new cd is released.
Automation powers this process and saves more time by increasing test coverage. Without this, most of the testing cycles will end up longer than the development cycles. And this goes against the expectations of the company in case you had planned to finish the test coverage simultaneously.
Automation uncovers hard-to-find bugs
One of the things that most of the testers spend more time on is detecting and fixing bugs. Even though the testers may be highly-qualified for the testing process, there are hard-to-find bugs that will take hours or days to get detected after careful examination of the different processes. Automated testing will allow you to detect bugs often missed in the manual testing processes.
Errors like memory leaks can accumulate over time and go unnoticed, especially in manual testing. You can run tests hundreds of times in a short time and find these errors easily through automation. You can check more edge cases and conditions with the increased testing speed. This builds the confidence of the testers and gives them the courage to continue with the next test cases.
Easy reporting
Reporting saves time and helps to plan for the number of test cases implemented in the next step. Automated tools in the software life development cycle have taken reporting to another level. Some tools provide comprehensive reports of the results from all the tests carried out in every single run. Just imagine how hard this process can be with manual testing!
This saves time and helps the testers quickly identify the root cause of the bug. It’s a perfect way to get a real-time picture of the application’s stability. The reports give valuable insights into the system’s performance.
Conclusion
Automated software testing reduces software testing time and increases test coverage in different ways. Each method stated above can contribute greatly to the effectiveness of the testing process by saving time and increasing test coverage. You can easily turn your testing experience better by getting the necessary tools for the test automation process. Time is precious, and you should do everything possible to use it effectively.
