Importance of Selecting Right Automation Testing Tool
By: Franco Santi
Tags: QA, Automation Testing, Testing, Automation Tools, Automation Framework

If you want to have a successfully implemented automation project, then identifying the right tool for it, is crucial. That is one of the best ways to get the desired results.

Let's take an example of a web application development to understand the importance of the automation testing tools better. Imagine you are developing a website for your business. Now, at the beginning, you don't need any automation, all of the testing can be done manually. But, when your business starts growing and getting recognition from a greater audience, then for example you might need to automate some of the functional flows supporting cross-browser testing, to ensure your web app provides the same experience to all the users. In the future you may need to do the same on mobile devices or call a REST API in order to perform some validations.

After a while, regression testing time will grow, and automation will be a critical part of your business to keep growing. That’s why selecting an automation tool that can support testing for all your desired functionalities from the beginning is essential.

Type of test tools

There are three main types of automation testing tools, which the Team can consider when selecting.

Open-Source Tools

Open source tools are the ones that the source code is openly published to be use or modified from it's original design, free of charge.

Open-source tools are available for almost any phase of the testing process, from Test Case management to Defect tracking. Compared to commercial tools Open source tools may have fewer features.

Commercial Tools

Commercial tools are software which is produced for sale or to serve commercial purposes. Commercial tools have more support and more features from a vendor than open-source tools.

Custom Tools

In some Testing projects, the software under test, environment and processes may have special characteristics. Sometimes open-source or commercial tool can not meet the requirement. Therefore, the team has to consider the development of a custom tool, that may consist on merging several other tools, open-source or commercial.

Team fit

Who will be doing the automating?, If test automation will be done by programmers or programmers/testers, the tool should probably be a code library or package. Likewise, a group of nontechnical testers will be more comfortable if the tool has a record/playback front end.

Some tools record actions and then create code, or create a visual front end that allows programmers to “drop in” to see the code behind the visualization. These offer the best of both worlds.

The main issue here is that the people expected to learn the tool need to be willing and able to do that and also have the time to do it. If the test process is behind, assigning testers to learn a new tool will increase the amount of work, slowing the software-delivery process further.

If the regression test process takes days or weeks to run, automating it, especially from the front end, will reduce the testing time, creating a buildup of work until some break-even point. Even after the break-even point, where the tool is no longer slowing the testers down, the old backlog will need to be cleared out.

Of course, if the project is new, or if the company intends to hire a new person to do the test tool work, these objections might not apply. So, do the analysis of how the tool will be added to the team, what it will disrupt, who will do the work and whether those people have the capability and time to do the work.

Programming language and development environment

If the tool has a programming language, there are two approaches: use an incredibly powerful high-level language that is easy to learn, such as Ruby, or write in the same language as the production programmers.

If the test is written in the same language as the production code and runs during the continuous integration (CI) cycle it may be possible to fail the commit and get the programmers to fix the bug. Better yet, the tool could run as a plug-in inside the developer’s integrated development environment (IDE), minimizing the amount of switching the programmers need to do.

If the tool runs outside of the IDE and uses a different programming language, it is unlikely that the programmers will learn the new tool or do the work to support the tool when it reports “failures.”

Version control and CI

Most teams that want to avoid automation delay end up including the tool run into the CI process. That is, the CI system checks out the code, performs a build, runs the unit tests, and creates an actual server (if needed) and a client, possibly putting the software on a mobile device. Then the CI system kicks off a run of end-to-end tests with the functional tool.

Running the tests under CI creates a new requirement: The tests will need to be versioned with the code. When new branches are created, we will want to create a new branch of the tests. That way, multiple CI pipelines can run at the same time, with multiple definitions of “correct.”

That means the tool needs to run from the command line and produce output the CI system can interpret. Or at least it needs to be possible to capture the output and transform it into something the CI system can read. Many CI systems have beautiful dashboards and pie charts that can show results to stakeholders. To use them, the data needs to get out of the tool and into the CI system.

Once the tool runs under CI, the power is in getting it to report failures to the team. This happens by tracking who made the commit that caused the failure, and then getting the programmer to debug and “green” the test or fix the code. That will be easier to do if the programmers know and support the language and if the tests are stored as plain text. Even when stored in version control, it is hard to tell the differences among files that are in a binary format.

Reports

Without meaningful output someone can use, a test tool is a bad investment. Dashboards and charts can be powerful features — unless the team plans to push the results into another system with better reports.

Tracking test runs over time can be a powerful feature as well. Stakeholders at different levels care about different kinds of results. Executives at a high enough level might not even want to know pass/fail rates as much as trends. Mid-level managers want to understand the flow of the process. Technical people will want to drill into details of exactly what went wrong on a given test, watching a video of the execution if possible.

Data Sources

If we are using an automation framework like keyword driven or data-driven, we need to have the ability to connect our tool to any data source. If the tool provides connectivity with different data sources easily, it will be very beneficial.

See the support for common data sources such as a CSV file, Excel File, XML file, and multiple types of Databases. If these are present in a tool, you are good to go.

Integration with bug management tool

There is a good chance that your organization is already using any test case or bug management tool. Companies obviously may want their automated tool to be integrated with their existing test case management tool so that their whole application lifecycle is managed properly. This aspect should also be seen while selecting the test automation tool.

Ease of test case creation and Maintenance

Not every tool is made to handle all kinds of scenarios. So, to make sure that your chosen tool meets your needs, try automating a few test cases of your application to know if the tool suits your needs. That could be done with the trial version of a tool if your search has narrowed down to premium tools.

Also, to avoid spending more time in test case maintenance as compared to test case creation, make sure to choose a tool that fits your budget including the maintenance costs. There are tools that have the ability to self-heal the test cases in case of minor changes in the application.

Such tools help to reduce the cost of test case maintenance. Also, it helps if the tool supports pause and resume of test case execution for a better debugging experience.

Re-usability

To avoid writing the same code multiple times in multiple test cases and to avoid duplication of efforts, look for tools that allow the reuse of already created test steps in different test cases and projects.

Compare Your Existing Automation Tool as A Benchmark

If you are using an open-source automation tool like Selenium test automation, then consider it as a benchmark to evaluate and identify the best automation testing tool for your project. For that, you need to know the pros and cons of Selenium automation tools.

For example, Selenium is an open-source, freeware tool that allows users to test their web applications and sites. And it provides unique features for automation testing, such as record-playback to create record playback test scripts, and language support for multiple languages like C#, Ruby, JavaScript, Python, Java, etc. But, you don’t get good customer support with Selenium WebDriver.

Selenium is the first choice of testers who are comfortable with coding techniques and testing their websites via the user interface. Also, the maintenance of Selenium Suite is not easy, especially for a tester who often oversees the manual and automation testing.

Therefore, it is vital to choose your current testing tool as a benchmark and compare it with the tools that you have decided to purchase for automation testing.

Consider Your Budget Before Purchasing a Tool

After comparing different automation tools on the above criteria, the last thing you want to check is your budget. Budget is one of the most critical concerns when it comes to purchasing an automation testing tool because, based on your requirements, if the tool is too costly, then you should avoid buying it.

However, if you and your organization have finalized to purchase the tool, then it is recommended to download and use the trial version of the tool to analyze its performance and whether it’s worth investing that much money into it or not.

After using the trial version, if you find any issues with the tool, then don’t spend much time on it and look for another automation testing tool. Purchase a tool only when you’re sure about its functionalities and performance.

Verify the Appropriate criteria for your Project

Before deciding the best automation tool for your project, you should consider the following key points:

The test execution must be simple for any project member so that they can run tests efficiently when required. Also, it should be easy for non-technical users who have very little technical knowledge.

The test reports generated by the tool must be intuitive and simple for the management team so that they can understand the testing process.

The automation testing tool should support all three platforms, including web, desktop, and mobile applications.

The development and maintenance of test scripts must reduce human effort and time resource management.

The automation tool must support a wide variety of browsers and platforms when it comes to cross-browser testing of web applications.

Support for keyword-driven testing because it acts as an extension to the data-driven testing framework.

There are some scenarios in which testers need to write the code. Thus, the automation tool must support the required languages so that testers can easily write the code.

Technical support and assistance are the top priority when it comes to selecting an automation testing tool, so make sure you get continuous technical support for your tool.

Additional features like screenshot testing, visual appearance testing, real-time testing, etc. must be included with the automation tool.

Compare these critical factors for different automation tools, and then select the best ones from them.