Quality and speed are two major attributes for any kind of application. When it comes to enterprise applications, the importance of speed and quality increases manifolds. It is because the stakes are very high and the slightest glitch with the application can cost millions to the major stakeholders. Automation testing is being used as the ultimate solution to all the challenges which are being thrown by the digital transformations.
Last year’s holiday season, application of an airlines service went down just for 15 minutes and it created an unspeakable mess. More than 600 flights were canceled and thousands of applications were filed against the said airline. Above 70,000 passengers were affected due to 15 minutes of an application breakdown. However, an effective test automation strategy using the right kind of test case management tools with the result-oriented approach could have avoided the aforementioned situation.
Although test automation has a lot to offer in enterprise applications, continuous deployment and delivery are extremely critical. Here are some of the challenges and their solutions which testers can face while implementing automation testing approach practically in the enterprise applications.
Practical Challenges of Implementation Test Automation
Enterprise applications have to be perfect in all the departments. Although new emerging technologies have a lot of opportunities to offer, the challenges they bring with them are also new, hence, they require new and latest solutions.
Consent of The Top Management
Test automation requires a lot of investment and skills to incorporate test cases in order to make the right testing strategy. Since stakes are high when it comes to enterprise applications, consent of the major stakeholders should be involved. It is because of the reason that in some cases testing can affect the time to market the product. Moreover, test coverage, security, functionality, etc. should be made clear to the top management. The best way to get the “go” signal from the top management is to show them the real stats and put across the actual requirements in front of them.
Right Tools Are Important
Automation testing is all cool and fun as long as you are using the right tools. Otherwise, it can become a mess and the whole project can go to waste. Therefore, if the application demand to focus on the security, then choose the tool which ensures the security of the application. Also, make sure that the tool aligns with the overall business goals of the application. Always remember that choosing the right tool is half job done.
Test Automation Strategy
DevOps and Agile have made testing very unpredictable. Therefore, a testing strategy is completely based on the fundamentals of the risk. Hence, after choosing the right tool, it is important to build a testing strategy aligning with your business goals. You should focus on the high-risk features which have the potential to fail while making an automation testing strategy. This will help the team to understand the risks of these failures and their impact on the business.
Defining Expected Results is A Must
Although, testing strategies are risk-based, however, it is still important to define the expected outcomes of the strategy. This will help to identify all the glitches in the application at the start of the project. Hence, you’ll be able to accelerate the production time of the application. It will also give the testers a better understanding of the tests which can’t be automated.
Always remember that the ultimate goal of the enterprise application is to facilitate its users. If someone is investing huge loads of money in their enterprise application, then being a tester, it is your responsibility to make them aware of all the ground realities of automation testing. This way, you’ll be able to do your job more efficiently and you’ll also be spared of the undue burdens.