Why Automation Testing? Key Benefits and Importance

In my 15+ years of experience in the industry, I have always been correct in perceiving automation testing as mission-critical to any tech product development cycle. It is a process where we do the checks with tools. Such tools execute the process with negligible or no human intervention. It can help strongly decrease the need for human interference with the system.

I think that the significance of automation testing cannot be overemphasized here. It improves speed and enhances their quality and efficiency.

In my extensive knowledge, I have witnessed how automation testing has streamlined the development lifecycle. This testing practice brought down human error and ultimately improved the overall quality of software products.

As learners looking to make a mark in the testing domain, you might find this post insightful. I have penned down my extensive testing experience to help you get started in this exciting and dynamic space of software and application development.

What is Automation Testing?

Automated testing is a technique in which software tools determine whether the program operates fine and meets the requirements before release. It enables tests to be conducted in one go without the help of human tests and is suitable for complex or recurrent testing.

This type of testing entails using scripts created by humans and executed by tools. These tools examine the software for bugs, present reports, and compare the previous analysis. Another advantage of automated scripts is that they can be run several times after they have been scripted.

In my organization, I have used several automated tests, including JUnit, API, and regression tests. The key benefit here is that it eliminates the need for manual effort, turning all the work into scripts. For instance, if the unit tests consume a significant amount of time for the QA team, then automating them becomes extremely effective.

Automated tests have the advantage of being reused for various types of applications. They are essential for keeping up with continuous testing, integration, and delivery in software development.

Taking an Automation Testing Course in Bangalore can greatly improve your preparation, equipping you with vital skills and insights that will enhance your competitiveness as a candidate.

Why is Automation Testing Important

Let us now see why automation testing is ideal in the software development process.

1. Expanded Role of Software Testing: Automation testing can run tests that manual testing can’t. An instance is regression testing. It involves running the same tests with different data or inputs. Now, this can be complicated for manual testers, but it can be done quickly with automation.

2. Faster Testing Process: This type of testing is much quicker than manual testing because it uses tools and scripts. This speed advantage helps QA teams run tests many times quickly and still meet strict deadlines.

3. Increased Test Coverage: This testing approach will cover more tests quickly and efficiently. I have personally experienced that it can handle long tests faster. As a result, I can do more tests within tight deadlines. I think this is possible because automated tools can run tests without needing supervision.

4. Finding Problems Early: It helps discover bugs early in the software development process. I feel this is imperative because fixing issues early saves time and money. It can run automatically when the source code changes to spot any problems. Running tests simultaneously also produces detailed reports. This makes it easy to compare results.

Also Read: Roadmap for Automation Testing

Why automation testing is needed

Let us examine in more detail why automation testing is required.

1. Better Team Efficiency 

In my experience, the use of automated software for repetitive tasks is helpful. It frees up time for your team. This means I could get more time to work on more exciting and satisfying projects. It benefits the entire company as we get better at our jobs and deliver better efficiency.

2. Enhanced Work Quality

This type of testing is like having a helper for developers and testers. It checks for software problems so developers can fix them fast and well ahead of time. This test happens whenever the source code changes. It lets the team know if something goes wrong. As a result, developers are doubly sure of the quality of their work.

3. Unmatched Precision

Manual testing can lead to errors, even by the most careful experts. I have seen that this happens due to its repetitive nature. But automated checks execute the same steps accurately every time. Plus, they record detailed results of the process. When we are relieved from repetitive tasks, it helps. My team can now focus on making new test scripts and handling more complex features.

4. Automation Achieves What Manual Testing Can’t

Even the biggest software and QA teams can’t handle checking a web application with thousands of users. This type of testing can create virtual users to simulate several hundred or users interacting with a network and web applications.

Also Read: How to Install JUnit in Eclipse

Benefits Of Automation Testing

Now, we have a fair idea of why automation testing is important. Let us discuss benefits of automation testing. 

1. Enhance the Quality of Manual Testing: Automating tests doesn’t mean replacing humans altogether. I have seen many times that some elements within it still need a human touch. However, using automation for some tasks can quickly improve apps and launch them in the market.

The good thing about automation is it makes hard work easier for us humans. This means we can spend more time coming up with new and better checks and due diligence. It will not be wrong to say that manual testing is always made much better with the use of automation.

2. Getting Feedback Faster: When companies use test automation, they can get feedback on new software features more quickly. This means we can inform the developers what’s wrong with the software faster so they can fix it sooner.

When the feedback cycle is faster, companies are less likely to release software with bugs. Test automation helps find bugs early to fix them during development. This speeds up the entire production process.

3. Testing on Multiple Platforms at the Same Time: Making sure that software works on different web browsers is important. But manually checking it on every single browser is a lot of work.

I feel this is the biggest advantage of this type of checking. Test automation tools like Selenium, Cucumber and more help us effectively assess how the software works on different browsers. This means the team can finish checking the software on many browsers and devices quickly.

4. Phenomenal ROI : Using automation instead of people for checking issues might seem expensive initially, but it delivers amazing ROI in the long run. This is because with automated tools, you need fewer people to do the job. That means you can use your employees for other important tasks that need human thinking. Some areas include planning and managing products. I feel it will definitely help companies work better and add to the top line.

These were some of the key advantages of automated testing for companies looking to accelerate development and shorten the time-to-market.

Also Read: What is Hyperautomation?

Why Automation Testing is Superior To Manual?

Compared to manual testing, I strongly feel that automation can do a larger volume of tests within the same timeframe. This boosts efficiency and widens the scope of the checks.

Why opt for automation testing over manual? Time is the key factor that drives this rationale. This type of testing emerged due to the prolonged duration associated with manual checking for production issues and bugs. Automated processes significantly accelerate this process.

Manual testing eats up a lot of time. With the increasing demands of software engineering, automated testing has become indispensable in swiftly meeting deadlines and market needs.

Also Read: Software Testing Strategy

Why and When to Use Automation Testing?

There are various interesting points to be aware of whether automated testing is great for a situation or not. In my experience, here are some significant points to consider while deciding.

1. When manual testing is not effective

Sometimes, manually checking for issues isn’t enough. This usually occurs when the technology or platform is too complicated. In these cases, it’s better to take the help of automation tools. It saves time and money, especially when the check isn’t too complicated. This type of testing helps check the main features of the software correctly.

2. Number of Test Cases 

How many tests you have can help you decide if you need automation. If you only have a few, like ten or fewer, manually checking for problems might be okay, even if you have to do it many times. But if you have a lot of tests, doing them all manually is tough. 

Automated testing can help cover more use cases and give better results. Whether you pick automated or manual testing depends on whether the benefits outweigh the costs.

3. Frequency of Testing

The key thing to watch is how often you need to do specific checks. I have the opinion that we need to approach automation only when we don’t have to do the same tests over and over manually. This saves a lot of time and resources compared to doing the same thing using human experts.

Also Read: Automation Testing Metrics

Conclusion

Regular automated testing is great if you care about making a good product. It helps make sure your app works well. This gives investors and users the confidence in using it.

Automated testing costs money at first and takes time to set up. But in the long run, it saves time and money by catching mistakes early and making sure everything works smoothly.

If I were to put it simply, automation testing training will help a lot. This type of check will help find problems faster than testing manually. Hence, I feel that you need to know about this domain well. For this, you can enroll in the automation testing course from Star Agile and look forward to a rewarding career. 

Also Read: How to Learn Automation Testing?

FAQs

1. Why do we need automation testing?

It helps us find mistakes quickly before they are sent to QA. Tests can happen on their own whenever the source code is updated, and if there’s a problem, it notifies the team or the developer. These features save developers time and make them sure about their work.

2. Why do we switch to automation testing?

Manual testing takes a long time, but automation makes it quicker. It helps us get feedback on how good the software is more quickly. This is useful when we have a deadline or a software update. It speeds up the whole process of software development.

3. Why is automation the future?

Automation is the future of software testing since it upgrades productivity and precision. With the rising complexity of software applications and the growing interest in quicker release cycles, automation testing has become vital in guaranteeing the quality and dependability of software products. 

4. Is automation testing a decent profession in 2024?

Being an automation tester is a savvy professional move. Organizations utilize more automation in their software, so the requirement for talented automation analyzers is increasing. They are crucial in ensuring software works well and has no problems. So, if you’re into IT, going for an automation testing course could be a great path.

5. What is the scope of automation testing?

The scope of automation testing is huge and includes different spaces, including- 

• Web 
• Mobile
• Desktop
• API testing

There will likely be a greater need for automated testing as cloud-based solutions become more widely used and digital technologies advance.