Top 10 Test Automation Best Practices to Follow
Tags: test, automation
Published: 2024-03-14 07:10:37

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Testing is vital for businesses to ensure their applications work as intended. There are two ways to conduct testing – manual and automated. Oracle applications are no exception to this. Testing of Oracle applications ensures no disruption in your business operations. Implementing the Oracle update with manual testing can be challenging due to increasingly sophisticated features. That’s where Opkey comes in. Opkey is a codeless testing tool that offers Oracle test automation. With automation testing tools, businesses can easily perform regression testing, integration testing, etc. This blog will delve deeper into the top 10 best automation practices.

**Decide Which Tests to Automate**

Not all tests are suitable for Oracle test automation. Evaluating and prioritizing test cases is crucial based on execution frequency, complexity, and stability. Focus on automating repetitive and time-consuming scenarios with high ROI and leave exploratory or ad-hoc testing for manual efforts.

**Divide Tasks Based on Skill**

**Repetitive Actions with Vast Data**: Tests that involve repetitive actions with extensive datasets are prime candidates for automation. Oracle test automation excels at executing repetitive tasks consistently and without the risk of manual errors.

**Prone to Human Error**: Automated tests are particularly valuable for scenarios prone to human error. Automating these tests significantly reduces the likelihood of errors, ensuring more accurate and reliable results.

**Require Multiple Data Sets**: Tests demanding multiple data sets are ideal for automation. It allows for seamless execution of tests with varied datasets, providing comprehensive coverage.

**Extend Across Multiple Builds**: Tests that span multiple builds benefit from automation, ensuring consistent and thorough testing across different stages of development.

**Must Run on Different Platforms/Configurations**: Oracle test automation is crucial for tests that run on diverse platforms, hardware, or operating system configurations. It ensures uniform testing across varied environments.

**Focus on Frequently Used Functions**: Automated tests are effective for functions frequently used within the application. By automating these tests, you ensure that critical functionalities are consistently validated.

**Collective Ownership of Tests**

Promote a culture of collective ownership, where the entire team takes responsibility for maintaining and updating automated tests. When creating test suites and cases, it is prudent to assign tasks based on the technical expertise of team members. For instance, tests requiring an automation tool may be assigned to team members with varying skill levels, ensuring efficient script creation.

**Remove Uncertainty**

The primary objective of automation is to attain consistent and accurate test results. To achieve this, it is imperative to eliminate uncertainty. Prioritize stability in your automated tests. Identify and eliminate elements that introduce uncertainty, such as dynamic locators or environment-dependent conditions. Regularly review and update tests to adapt to changes in the application, avoiding false positives and negatives.

**Test on Real Devices**

Ensure your automated tests are running on emulators and real devices. This approach helps uncover device-specific issues and ensures a more accurate representation of user experiences. Real device testing enhances the reliability of your automation suite. Automation testing tools, like Opkey, offer access to many real devices for comprehensive testing.

**Pick the Right Testing Framework or Tool**

Use codeless testing tools for Oracle test automation. However, the industry has various testing tools, like open source and free testing tools. These tools require programming expertise in various languages, such as C#, Java, JavaScript, etc. On the other hand, codeless testing tools offer automation testing in very little time compared to traditional testing tools. It leverages new-age technologies, such as AI and ML, and ensures no disruption in your organization after any update. Moreover, its self-healing test script capabilities ensure that the QA team doesn’t need to create a new test case.

**Keep Records for Better Debugging**

Maintain detailed and organized logs of test executions. This practice aids in efficient debugging by providing insights into the test environment, data inputs, and intermediate steps. Clear records expedite the identification and resolution of issues, ensuring a streamlined debugging process.

**Use Data-Driven Tests**

Incorporate codeless testing tools to use data-driven testing; it provides insights after each testing. This helps to enhance the versatility and coverage of your Oracle test automation suite. Separate test data from the test scripts to enable easy updates and modifications. This approach ensures that tests can be reused with different datasets, promoting efficiency and reducing redundancy.

**Early and Frequent Testing**

Integrate automated tests into the continuous integration/deployment (CI/CD) pipeline. Run tests early and frequently to identify issues as soon as they arise. This practice enables rapid feedback, accelerates the development cycle, and promptly addresses defects.

**Prioritize Detailed & Quality Test Reporting**

Generate comprehensive and easily understandable test reports. Include details such as test execution status, logs, and any identified issues. Quality reporting facilitates informed decision-making, enhances collaboration, and provides stakeholders with a clear understanding of the application’s health.

**Opkey: The Best Oracle Test Automation Tool**

Opkey is a codeless automation tool specifically designed for Oracle test automation. It has revolutionized the way of testing and allows organizations to reduce the testing time from months to hours. Furthermore, Opkey comes with thousands of pre-built test cases that ensure businesses can perform the testing without putting extra effort into creating test cases. One doesn’t need to write code to create test scripts, as Opkey’s drag-and-drop functionality enables single-click test creation, saving time and resour