The Benefits and Challenges of Automation Testing in 2023

Automation Testing is the new standard for ensuring the best application testing process. This is because, with the help of test automation, the developers can ensure the end product is as intended.

The introduction of test automation in the application development process also ensures that the app-developing companies can build a positive image for the company.

Since test automation is comparatively new to the app development market, there is a lot unknown about this advanced form of technology.

App-developing companies need to have a definite idea about not only the benefits but also the shortcomings and challenges of test automation.

This whole idea will help them to utilize the full potential of various automation testing processes like Selenium automation testing.

Let us begin our discussion with the basics of this technology. With this article, we will take a detailed look at various things that developers must consider before starting the transition to automated testing practices.

We will also discuss some of the best tools and platforms that can help developers to utilize the full potential of the automation test bench.

Understanding Automation Testing

To understand the advantages and challenges of test automation, the developers must have a basic idea of automation testing. In simple terms, we can explain test automation as eliminating human involvement in the application testing process.

Instead, the system will use a text file consisting of all the required data and parameters that will help it to interact with the application.

Based on these interactions, the system will generate a detailed report showing the stability and user interactivity of the application.

This report will help the developers to understand whether the application is ready to be released to the open world.

We would also like to mention the developers can make the required changes to the text file to make it suitable according to the requirements.

It is also possible for the app developers to store and reuse huge segments of the test code with automation testing.

Since its massive usefulness, recent data shows that almost 66% of the application development industry has already transitioned to automation testing.

Some of the popular forms of automation testing include Selenium automation testing. Selenium has been one of the most famous names in this field for over a decade. There are also other alternatives to Selenium, like Playwright and Cypress.

The Benefits of Automated Testing

Now that we have finished developing a basic idea of automation testing, it is time to have a brief knowledge about all the advantages of initiating automation testing.

This knowledge is critical to help the developers utilize the full potential of this application testing process.

Based on our research, we have created a list of the essential benefits of test automation. They are as follows:

• Since automation testing aims at removing human involvement in the application testing process, it is devoid of any error that can arise due to the involvement of human beings. Moreover, since a machine conducts automation testing, the test results will not be affected by fatigue which is often a major issue while working with the manual test bench. Therefore, automation testing plays a major role in improving the accuracy of the application development process.
• Automation testing also helps developers improve the efficiency of the app development process. This is because, with test automation, the developers can easily conduct repetitive test cases. It allows the application developers to focus on other creative ideas for the project. For instance, they can concentrate on creating new features that can be added to a future update.
• Automation testing has various features that help to improve the speed of the application development process. For instance, the developers can execute the test cases in a parallel configuration while using test automation. The advantage of such a configuration is that it makes it possible to run the test cases on different machines and meet different requirements simultaneously. Moreover, since automation testing does not include human involvement, it can run the test cases 24 hours round the clock.
• Automation testing can help the application developers test the application’s functioning on various configurations and system requirements, which is often impossible with a manual test bench. So, automation testing plays a significant role in improving the overall test coverage. Moreover, with test automation, the developers can massively enhance the application’s compatibility. This means that automation testing has an indirect role in increasing the company’s audience base.
• While using automation testing, the developers can integrate various third-party plugins, libraries, and frameworks to improve further the quality of the application that is undergoing the development process. Moreover, automation testing makes it very easy for the development team to collaborate with the testing team. This increased synchronization ensures that the development and testing process can be conducted side-by-side. It is a major step towards reducing the testing cycle for the application.
• From a long-term perspective, automation testing is one of the most cost-effective testing processes currently available in the application development market. This is because, with automation testing, the developers do not have to worry about a huge manual test bench consisting of multiple human developers.
• Automation test cases are highly reusable. This means that while working with this advanced testing process, the developers can reuse huge sections of the application test code in future app development projects. It is also straightforward to store and maintain these test cases and ensure they’re compatible with future web development standards.

The Challenges Present in Test Automation

As we all know, nothing in this world is perfect, and everything has disadvantages. Even in the case of automation testing, the huge advantages cannot overshadow the massive drawbacks or challenges present with this form of testing.

We think that the developers must be aware of these challenges to avoid any unwanted surprises. They are as follows:

• Automation testing comes with a steep initial investment. This investment will cover the expenses required to integrate various tools, plugins, and libraries that are critical for the proper execution of automated test cases.
• While storing automation test cases for long periods, the developers must occasionally review these test cases. With the help of this review process, the developers will ensure that the test cases are compatible according to the modern standards of the application. This will become an immediate issue when the development companies are working on certain applications that undergo a frequent updating process.
• For the proper execution of test automation, the developers must get accustomed to all the automation testing practices. This also involves the learning curve when the app testers and developers have to learn all the features of an Automation Testing tool and framework.  This learning curve requires a substantial amount of time that will slow down the overall testing speed of the company.
• While implementing Automation testing, the developers must have a testing strategy. It will help them to understand the test cases that can benefit the most from automation testing. Automating the wrong test cases will fail to yield the desired results for the company.
• Two of the common errors present with Automation test cases include false negatives and false positives. These errors can arise when the developers are using automation testing on a web element that depends on other elements of the app.  So, while using this technology, the developers must address this issue. In case it is unaddressed, it will massively slow down the app and, in a worst-case scenario, completely crash it.

Integrating Tools and Platforms in an Automated Test Bench

Tools and platforms play a massive role in improving the simplicity of the automation testing process. Moreover, various platforms integrate additional features to enhance the quality of the final product.

We can consider the example of cloud platforms that help developers to initiate test cases over the Internet.

The advantage of this process is that the developers and testers do not have to maintain an expensive device lab.

Instead, they can achieve similar test results by initiating and executing all the test cases on remote servers.

The use of remote servers also removes geolocation barriers in the application testing process. So, the developers can conduct all the essential test cases from anywhere globally.

We can improve our knowledge about the influence of cloud platforms by moving our focus towards LambdaTest as our benchmark:

To introduce LambdaTest to all the new developers, we can define it as a unified intelligent digital experience testing platform that allows developers and testers to execute cross-browser test cases on the latest web applications.

LambdaTest also offers various advanced features like parallel test initiation for improving the efficiency of the test cases by almost 15 times.

This platform can work with automation files from not only Selenium but also from other reputed options like Playwright and Cypress.

It is noteworthy that LambdaTest can execute the Selenium test cases on over three thousand different browser versions simultaneously.

This platform is also suitable for verifying the proper performance of internally hosted web apps for a company’s usage.

Finally, the combination of hundreds of real devices with existing thousands of emulations and simulation software helps to improve the accuracy of the test cases.

LambdaTest also allows the developers to maintain an activity log for the application development process.

Conclusion

The primary aim of this article was to spread adequate awareness about healthy automation testing practices.

This article has all the significant benefits and challenges that developers must consider before initiating automated test cases.

We also discussed the various tools and platforms that can benefit an automated test bench. The developers must remember that every tool is unique and aims to serve a specific segment of the user base.

So, developers and testers need to complement their strategies. We are slowly moving towards a development market that will be completely taken over by automation testing.

So, the developers and the testers need to keep themselves informed about all the innovations and additions in this segment. The app companies can also conduct various seminars to spread this knowledge.

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