10 Automation Testing Techniques for Beginners
The distance between manual and automation testing is more than a few miles long. The testing industry has taken a large step towards automation testing with modernization and tech evolution. In manual testing, the testing industry has been a tiring sector.
It is filled with repetitive processes and workflows that end up being underpaid jobs, judging by the manual effort put in. Automation testing successfully takes over the testing field as a successor. It is solving the issues faced with manual testing processes.
Now we all know where we are headed, i.e., automation testing. But, the process of transformation from manual testing to automation testing is a rather tricky one. Especially for beginners. To help you out, the following guide discusses ten automation testing techniques for beginners.
Keyword Testing
Keywords play a vital role in every context on the modern internet. Keywords help redirect the traffic towards the targeted web page and generate revenue. Keywords are used in advertisements and many other sectors that target a niche audience. The keywords help you run the advertisements in the right section and drive the most efficient traffic. The process of keyword testing includes making sure the contents are redirected to the source and providing the right audience. Keyword testing is also called action word-based testing.
API Testing
API components have seen a growth in popularity among developers in the past couple of years. API stands for application programming interface and acts as a middle man between the user interface and database. API testing is crucial to test the APIs’ functionality, performance, reliability, and much more. Data exchange occurs in XML and JSON formats making it efficient to use any language for test automation.
The use of APIs will only increase further and become a crucial part of the development process. Hence, beginners should learn automation testing for APIs if they want to succeed in automation testing and software development.
Web Service Testing
Web service testing is a type of software testing that validates web services. Web service testing can help check the functionality, performance, security, and other aspects of an API. Web series testing tests the performance and the security of the APIs. Any automation tool like Postman can be used to create an automation code. In some cases, it is similar to unit testing.
Parallel Testing
Parallel testing has been proven to be time effective by increasing the number of executions at a time. In this process, the second test is triggered right after the first test, creating an illusion of parallel testing. Parallel testing consists of two or more tests conducted simultaneously to test separate parts of a program.
It is most commonly used to test if the heritage version and the new version of the software behave the same or different ways. It also helps check whether the new version has tackled all the existing problems and is ready to be used successfully.
Socket Programming Testing
Socket programming is testing the local machine, to the server, and back to the local machine. This manual testing can be transformed into automation testing by introducing a handshake code that can trigger the server while testing on the local machine and back to the local machine. The process becomes less time-consuming and more efficient.
Update Testing
Update testing refers to testing an update for an existing and running software. It is usually done to test an update on an existing user’s machine. This testing is vital as updates dispatched with problems can cause issues with functionality and usability.
Although to test an update on a web service, a new profile is created, so the existing cache does not affect the testing process of the updates. Testing for updates is mostly conducted to test the functionality of the new update. Most of the time, the process of migration from the old to the new version, any possible changes in the user experience, etc., is what a tester is looking for.
Unit Testing
Unit testing is a software development process of testing small pieces of code known as units. The main aim is to isolate each system unit to identify the problem, analyze the units, and fix the problem. Unit test is mostly used to reduce bugs and defects in new updates of existing software or a newly developed system. Due to being an early-stage testing method, it saves costs of testing after major processes.
Automation Testing Techniques: Integration Testing
Integration testing combines and groups the units to form a subunit. The test is conducted to analyze the specified functional requirements of the units. This process lies between the unit and system testing. After unit testing, the units are grouped and analyzed, and the treated output is sent for system testing.
Big Bang Testing is a sub-integration testing method, where all the input and components are integrated at once and then tested one at a time as a unit. Big Bang Testing is convenient for small systems.
System Testing
After the integration testing, the integrated subunits are sent for system testing. In this test process, the system undergoes specified tests as a whole. System testing targets FRS (functional requirement specification) and SRS (system requirement specification). System testing provides information about the quality and functionality of the product or service to the stakeholders.
Data-Driven Testing
Data-driven tests, also known as DDT, are conducted in situations where a series of data is recorded, analyzed, and collectively tested with different values and inputs to check the functionality. Data-driven testing is also known as table-driven testing or parameterized testing. Data-driven testing makes it convenient to add inputs to the table when new subunits or partitions are added to the system. The database used for data-driven testing includes ADO objects, DAO objects, and data pools.
Automation Testing Techniques: Parting Thoughts
Automation testing is time and cost-effective whereas manual testing is not. The input value is read and recorded from a data file and stored in many data sources like XLS, XML, and CSV. This helps the tester build a for and against the case in a single test. Manual testing might become obsolete in a few years and be completely replaced by automated testing.
