6 types of software testing that should be automated
Tags: testing, devops, python
Published: 2020-01-24 15:17:34

*In the current market space, digitalization is at an all-time-high, and most industries are at risk of disruption. And as businesses grow their digital footprint, additional resources are required.*

It is expected that spending on Quality Assurance (QA) and software testing will increase by 32% this year. And these efforts already account for one-fourth of an average IT budget. In addition to the obvious (the costs), software testing is becoming increasingly difficult.

**What software testing types are good candidates for automatization?**
Automating test cases through no-code [(LEAPWORK)](https://www.leapwork.com/) or low-code (eg. [UiPath](https://www.uipath.com/) or [Blueprism](https://www.blueprism.com/)) automation tools not only reduces costs by ditching developer dependency, but also allows everyone in the team to collaborate in test automation. The question is then which software testing types that can (and should) be automated. 

Firstly, some test cases are better for automation than others. In general, there is great potential for automation in tests that are:
*•	Highly repetitive
•	A critical part of the web application
•	Extensive and heavy on data, and therefore have a higher risk of error
•	Complex and time-consuming*

When we look at specific types of tests, these are the ones you should automate:

**1. Unit testing automation**
Unit testing has the purpose of validating that each unit of the software performs as designed. Then, unit testing means testing individual units of code or groups of units in a piece of software. 

*Unit testing can only be done using the white box method (as unit tests are closely tied to software development work).*

**2. Integration testing automation**
Integration testing means testing a chain of components that are supposed to handle a process or business transaction. In other words, individual units are combined and tested as a group. 

**3. Functional testing automation**
The goal of functional testing is to ensure that the functionality of the software meets certain requirements, from the end user’s perspective.

**4. Regression testing automation**
Regression testing is often described as “repeated functional testing”. It is used to test that functionality continues to work after parts of it have been modified with new code or configuration. For instance, when new features are built, regression testing ensures that old features of the software continue to work as intended.

**5. Load testing automation**
Load testing means testing how software behaves when exposed to high stress, eg. unfavorable conditions. It is therefore often called stress testing. Such conditions could be spikes in transactions, user logins per second or a large number of user inflows.  

**6. Performance testing**
As the name suggests, performance testing means testing how parts of software perform in terms of speed and effectiveness, for example during transactions. The test is usually performed to check how a website holds up to certain criteria, such as the maximum number of seconds a feature must execute within under normal usage conditions.

**When not to automate?**
The benefits of test automation are clear, but that doesn’t mean that you should automate everything just because you can. Some tasks, typically more advanced, UX-focused tasks, are less qualified for automation. Setting up automation does require an initial time investment, and you should consider the case carefully before doing so.
 
A good idea is to look for a tool that is easy to use, that has a short learning curve, and that any QA or test team member can use.

To sum it all up, software testing will become increasingly important and costly if not dealt with properly. However, in order to increase effectiveness and reduce costs, tests that are highly repetitive, critical, data-heavy, complex and time-consuming should be automated.