The principles of Test Automation
Published: 2023-10-11 09:55:30

Testing plays a vital role in software development. Software testing has now become a part of programming so that the developers are able to rectify errors from the beginning stage. It is a stage where the developers find bugs in the software and ensure that the code performs the function it is supposed to. Testing can be done in two ways: manual testing and automated testing. Manual testing is done by human testers who check codes and bugs in software manually. Another alternative is automated testing, it is a type of software testing that involves the use of an automated tool to execute the test scripts without any human interference. Here are the principles of test automation.

**1. Test automation improves the quality**
It's impossible to define quality numerically. The software industry has come up with many metrics to measure quality, including code coverage, number of defects, CI error rate, readability, maintainability, and test failure. Each one captures some aspect of the idea of quality. Test automation must improve quality. It is the primary principle of designing automated test cases. Automated tests improve quality metrics by continually running hundreds or thousands of tests, finding defects before they reach production, informing developers of potential problems, and checking if the system deviates from user expectations.

**2. Test automation reduces risk**
Another essential principle of test automation is that it reliably finds errors. Human reviewers cannot find every error within the code, experience shows that more eyeballs do not translate to fewer errors. Code review is necessary and productive, but it must be reliable as well. Automated testing can check the whole application from top to bottom. They find errors and bugs, you can bring down the risks and cost through test automation. Test automation can evaluate every line of code for errors and security issues.

**3. Be mindful of subtle design changes that test scripts can miss**
Too frequently, QA engineers often focus on testing the new functionality implemented in the software but overlook the design changes. So you must proactively anticipate any design changes that might result from code changes while creating test scripts for test automation. You must review some changes by yourself, test scripts might not check if you have not included a condition to review display changes. though it is not a critical error, it indicates that the test automation is not entirely reliable.

**4. Automated test suite should require low maintenance**
Any reliable and practical test suite will require periodic maintenance to keep it in good shape for repeated use. Developers tend to write concise code to create products that deliver excellent customer experience and perform as expected. They appreciate how automation makes their work easier and are incentivized to write and maintain tests. You could choose the proper test depending on the situation, keep tests reliable and avoid flaky tests. Otherwise, your test suite can waste time and create frustration. Flaky tests fail even when the code is correct or show an error for no apparent reason.

## Conclusion
The impact of bugs and defects on product value may be hard to measure, but can be out of control quickly if they are not addressed properly. You can prevent this by so choosing the right tool. WeTest provides cloud-based mobile application testing service that allows you to perform automated testing in popular frameworks. Sign up for WeTest free trial to test your apps on real android and ios devices [Click Here](https://www.wetest.net/products/automation/?utm_source=tw&utm_medium=AM-TW-3)