Agile methodologies are becoming increasingly popular in software development around the world. They necessitate a new approach to software testing that is well-aligned with Agile’s fast-paced philosophy. Although test automation was not designed with Agile teams in mind, it does make Agile testing—a critical component of the Agile concept—possible.
Software Testing in Agile Teams
In recent years, agile methodology has become a buzzword in the software industry. To promote continuous iterations in the software development life cycle, many product teams have switched from Waterfall to Agile (SDLC). Development and testing processes run concurrently in Agile methodology, necessitating the presence of a collaborative team.
Agile initiatives necessitate agile testing, which adheres to all of the practice’s principles. It is, without a doubt, an indispensable component of Agile software development. Instead of waiting for the final build, QA teams may begin testing early in the process and continue testing throughout the process.
Agile allows QA teams to access all basic units and layers of the product to test its functionality, performance, and look due to its proactive approach. It enables the completion of an Agile SDLC, guarantees that all customer needs are met, and reduces time to market in a lean manner.
Test Automation for Agile Teams and Why It’s Important
Agile technique is the quickest way to convert a concept into reality, especially for dynamic, ever-changing projects. Nonetheless, the Agile transformation is difficult. Its most significant advantage—the ability to iterate indefinitely—is also the source of a slew of serious roadblocks:
API testing can be difficult
Modern goods, particularly mobile applications, are expected to handle large amounts of data transfer across multiple servers. To ensure data integration, API testing must be done throughout the process.
Software performance is under pressure
With each new build, the product gains new features and upgrades, resulting in a large amount of new code. The structure of the application becomes increasingly intricate, putting additional strain on its performance. If the QA teams are unable to complete all performance tests in a timely manner, bottlenecks in the development process are readily formed.
Code that is constantly changing as a result of frequent builds and deployments
Agile technique is designed to respond to ongoing changes. The application’s code-based and GUI layers must be tested after each update to guarantee that they continue to work properly in the face of new modifications. It necessitates a large quantity of regression testing on the part of QA teams.
How automation testing solves them for Agile teams
The QA team must always guarantee that all developed features perform well with the current build, even if the development work scope is divided into distinct sprints. Manual testing becomes a painful option with that extensive testing coverage. Automation testing, on the other hand, by its very definition ensures test execution efficiency and overall testing quality.
Regression testing can be done with minimal effort
The most important sort of testing that can be automated is regression testing. All repetitious test cases can be programmed ahead of time and run automatically, relieving testers of the burden of executing them manually.
Collaboration and communication improvements
Every Agile project requires a collaborative team. Because QA teams are now involved in all phases of the SDLC, communication between developers and testers must be quick to keep up with rapid updates. A helpful automation testing solution provides the team with comprehensive reporting capabilities as well as a solid connection with CI/CD pipelines.
Expanded test coverage
The ability to run tests across browsers and platforms is another benefit of test automation for QA teams. As a result, the team will be able to cover all conceivable testing components of their project with the appropriate automation tool as new changes occur.
How to Implement Test Automation Effectively in Agile Teams
Test automation is inherently incompatible with agility. Automation testing works best on solid products with few last-minute modifications, not on dynamic projects that follow the Agile style. Before diving into Agile testing, it’s crucial to understand how to integrate automation in Agile teams.
Prepare for Agile by planning ahead of time
Agile projects can only be successful if they are accompanied by Agile teams. From the initial concept to the final construction, the QA and development teams are equally important to the project’s success. Both parties should be proactive in their collaboration with each other and the product owner from the beginning, while staying on top of all customer requirements.
Know which test cases to automate in Agile projects
Not every test case in an Agile project can be automated. When there are a lot of requirement changes, the Agile team frequently has to make quick modifications to the code base, which makes it fragile and unstable. Test automation systems are unable to manage such delicate objectives and, in the long term, will necessitate costly script maintenance.
Read more: Strategies to Define which Tests Should be Automated
Parallelize your testing
Parallel testing is a natural fit in this strategy with test automation because the Agile development process is all about continuous delivery. QA teams may run many tests on different devices, browsers, and operating systems at the same time with automation in place.
Use DevOps Integration to your advantage.
DevOps is a must-have in all Agile approaches since it bridges the gap between development, testing, and operations teams. QA teams can report and share their testing process across teams via DevOps integration. Many automation solutions have evolved DevOps integration as a standard.
Choose the appropriate automation tool.
As previously stated, not all Agile testing should be automated. However, the automated testing tool chosen by Agile teams should cover as much of the testing scope as possible.
- All operating systems on which the software is expected to run must be supported by the tool.
- To perform parallel testing, the program supports a wide range of divides and browsers.
- The tool’s learning curve should be short enough that all members of the QA teams can easily get up to speed;
- The program has a lot of reporting and integration features.
How do I choose the best Automation testing tools?
Conclusion
The competitive benefit of automation stands out as the demand for Agile applications grows for practically every software development company. When selecting to go with test automation, every Agile should keep these five steps in mind. The list, however, is not exhaustive. Every team and organization will need to examine other variables for their Agile automation on a case-by-case basis.
Reference: Automation Testing for Agile teams | How to Make it Right