Automated Usability Testing Tools
Published: 2024-03-01 03:55:28

Welcome to our blog where we delve into the realm of automated usability testing and its profound impact on web development. In today’s fast paced digital landscape, ensuring a seamless user experience is paramount. Traditional manual testing methods can be time consuming and prone to human error. However, automated usability testing offers a solution by automating repetitive tasks, streamlining the testing process, and ultimately enhancing the quality of web applications. Join us as we explore the benefits, best practices, and tools for implementing automated usability testing in your development workflow. 

**What is Automated Usability Testing?**
Automated Usability testing streamlines the evaluation process of software product users experience, by automating user interaction, data collection, and analysis, leveraging technology to accelerate and provide insights compared to traditional manual methods.

**What is Usability Testing?**
Usability testing is a method of testing the functionality or effectiveness of an app, website, software, or other products by observing real users as they attempt to complete task through it. The primary goal of usability testing is to gather feedback to improve overall user experience.

**Automated vs Usability Testing**
In essence, from the purpose, methodology, scope, timing, and automation feasibility both methods of testing employ different methodologies, they are both crucial components of software assurance quality. Automated testing focuses on the functionality and reliability of the product, whilst usability testing focuses on the user experience satisfaction. Both methods go hand in hand to ensure software meets both functional and usability requirements. 

## Benefits of Automated Usability Testing

**Efficiency**: By automating repetitive tasks, developers can save time and resources, allowing for faster cycles and accelerated time to market.

**Accuracy**: Automated tests are consistent and reliable, reducing the risk of human error and ensuring thorough test coverage.

**Scalability**: With automated testing, it’s easier to scale up testing efforts to accommodate larger projects or frequent updates.

In the realm of automated testing, choosing the right tool can make all the difference in ensuring the seamless functionality and user friendliness of software. Two leading contenders in this domain are Selenium and Cypress. In this blog, we'll embark on a journey conducting a test to evaluate the performance, usability, and functionality of these tools. 

**Selenium**: Selenium is a popular open-source testing framework used for formulating automating web browsers. It supports multiple programming languages like Java, Python, and JavaScript, making it versatile for various development environments.

Justification: Selenium is widely adopted in the industry and offers robust features for automated usability testing, including cross-browser testing, support for multiple operating systems, and integration with continuous integration (CI) tools.

**Cypress**: Cypress is a modern testing tool specifically designed for web applications. It provides a fast, reliable, and easy to use testing experience with built in support for automation, assertion, and debugging.

Justification: Cypress offers real time testing, which allows developers to see test results as they occur. Its ability to control and debug tests directly in the browser makes it efficient for identifying and fixing usability issues.

**Scenario**:
We have an online storefront with a web application where customers may view goods, put items in their carts, and check out. 

**Test Setup**: 
   **Selenium**
- Using Selenium WebDriver in java, we'll write a test script to automate user interaction with the web application.

- The test will include actions to assess the basic function as stated in the scenario. 

   **Cypress** 
- We'll create a test suite using JavaScript to simulate user interactions and validate applications behavior.

- The test will include actions to assess the basic functions such as logging in, browsing products, adding items to the cart, and completing a purchase.

- Usability metrics will be evaluated by assessing the clarity of error message, ease of navigation, and intuitiveness of the user interface. 

**Executing Tests**:
Performance Testing:
Using Selenium, we'll execute the test script across different browsers and devices to assess performance variations. Selenium's capabilities will be leveraged to capture performance metrics during test execution, such as page load time and network requests. We'll analyze the collected data to identify performance bottlenecks and for optimization in the web application. 

**Usability Testing**: 
We'll run the test suite to stimulate user interactions and evaluate the application's usability. Cypress's real time feedback and visual test runner will assist in identifying usability issues such as broken links, inconsistent UI elements, or confusing navigation paths. 

**Implementation Testing**:
Both selenium and Cypress tests will be executed to validate the implementation of key features and functionalities. Selenium tests will verify the correctness of backend processes such as adding items to the cart, calculating totals, and processing payments. Cypress tests will focus on frontend implementation details such as form validations, button functionalities, and error handling. 

**Analysis and Reporting**: 
After conducting our test we'll compile the results and observations to generate a comprehensive report. This report will detail: 

- The performance metrics collected when test was conducted by Selenium
- Usability findings conducted by Cypress
- Implementation issues highlighted by both Selenium and Cypress 
- Recommendations for improving the performance, usability and implementation based on the testing

We were able to obtain load time measurements both before and after the application underwent a variety of actions throughout Selenium testing. Depending on the precise actions taken, we noticed significant variations in load time. For example, it took about 6 seconds for the application's home page to load after logging in. On the other hand, the program displayed a 12 second load time when viewing item descriptions. These results suggest that the performance of the application load time was due to a variety of hyperlinks being used. 

In the web application we tried to mimic user behavior by using Cypress to create an application to become a customer of the business. Nevertheless, while running the test, we ran into certain restrictions. Even though we tried to mimic common user activities, such as navigating and submitting forms, we ran into problems that made the test less effective. With the implementation of error handling to be on the look out of unexpected errors and expectations, along with addressing and identifying any recurring issues, we were able to solve the restrictions issues in our previous attempts.  

**Conclusion**:
To sum up, our investigation into automated usability testing tools has yielded significant knowledge on the wide range of instruments accessible for evaluating the usability of software programs, once used correctly. Every tool, from well known heavyweights like Selenium to cutting edge upstarts like Cypress, has distinct advantages and skills that meet various testing need and goals.

The insights gathered from automated usability testing are crucial in promoting continual development and innovation in the fast paced digital age when user experience is paramount. These are essential tools in the pursuit of software development excellence, whether they are used for evaluating design choices, locating navigational problem, or finding performance bottlenecks. 

As we conclude our exploration, let us remain vigilant in our pursuit of quality and user satisfaction, leveraging the power of automated usability testing tools to build software. "Through collaboration, innovation, and a commitment to user-centric design, we can shape the future of software development and create experiences that truly resonate with users worldwide."

**Reference**: 
Cubnet Techno Labs Pvt. Ltd. (n.d.). An overview on usability & 6 Tools to Automate it. https://cubettech.com/resources/blog/an-overview-on-usability-testing-6-tools-to-automate-it/

Hotjar. (n.d.). Advantages and Disadvantages of Automated testing. https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-automated-testing/

JavaTpoint. (n.d.). Advantages and Disadvantages of Automated testing. https://www.javatpoint.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-automated-testing

Maze. (n.d.). 8 Usability Testing Tools You Need to Know About. https://maze.co/guides/usability-testing/tools/

Youtube. (n.d.). Best Automation Testing Tools Ranked. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NruSIn-7QA&t=165s

BrowserStak. (n.d.). Selenium Testing on BrowserStack. https://www.browserstack.com/selenium

Testim. (n.d.). Cypress vs Selenium: What you need to know. https://www.testim.io/blog/cypress-vs-selenium/#:~:text=Cypress%20is%20an%20automation%20web,end%2Dto%2Dend%20tests.