Manual software testing processes are gradually being done away with. However, some die-hard manual testers are trying to cling on to a few of their remaining testing processes that are still relevant.
However, automated testing is overtaking manual test processes gradually. Soon enough, almost all manual software testing will be replaced by automated test processes. This is no surprise because of all the disadvantages manual processes have when compared to automated testing. A side-by-side comparison of both these testing processes reveals that when software tests are conducted manually, this wastes money and consumes time. At the same time, manual test processes are not as accurate as automated testing using scripts and advanced tech tools. With that being said, which manual testing processes can be replaced with automated testing? Let’s find out.
Regression testing
Amongst all tests conducted during a software development project, regression testing is one of the most tedious and inconveniencing of all. Testing all units and running an end-to-end system test always after adding new features consumes a lot of time and wastes resources. Automating this manual test process saves a lot of time and effort since testers can write testing scripts for automatic testing. Alternatively, software testers have the option of using readily-made solutions provided as cloud-based SaaS testing tools.
There are so many options for automating regression testing that contributes to expedited deployment and minimal human error when conducting this test process. As a software tester or QA analyst, you can choose between these AI-powered tools or write a testing program that uses your specific test scripts to run regression tests. The main goal is simplifying tests that determine the software’s functionality after new features are added or certain code units are configured.
Security test processes
All enterprise systems and end-user digital platforms require a certain level of security. Depending on the use of each software project, high-level security protocols could be required to preserve its functionality and usability. For example, digital platforms collecting consumer data for their business operations could require more security than an open-source project. In whatever case, the software development and QA teams are responsible for implementing the respective security measures.
After development, a series of security tests need to be conducted, and they can often be tedious or manual processes could miss some potential breach points. To minimize the risk of human error and expedite security test processes, automating this part of testing using AI-powered tools can yield better results. Experienced system security analysts might also prefer writing their own programs to test security autonomously, which also works with the cause of automating software testing processes.
Automating integration tests
DevOps engineers and software development teams with multiple programmers working on projects know integration tests pretty well. These test processes are conducted when integrating all independent software units into one project. When integrating software code units, integration tests need to be conducted to ascertain if the project is functional. Similar to regression tests, integration testing is done repetitively, with each unit being added to the project.
Therefore, automating integration tests could play a huge role in saving time and expenses. Automating integration tests entails running the code through a centralized automated debugger to find any faults or errors upon integrating different code bases. This process is much easier if unit testing was conducted before integrating the codebases to make up the software product. Software testers can find integration test tools with comprehensive testing parameters to seamlessly integrate the different components and units.
Software unit testing
Developers and DevOps engineers are primarily tasked with testing their respective individual software units. Software units and individual codebases are the foundation of any development project. As such, testing if each unit functions properly before integrating it and deploying the software product is essential. Testing software units minimizes the work required during integration tests, as mentioned above.
Properly conducting unit tests simplifies the workflow from the development phase going forward. In the long run, software unit testing expedites the time it takes to deploy a computer program or mobile application. Unit tests can be automated using AI-powered tools that debug and check for any code errors before passing them on to the integration phase. Automating this process can further expedite the deployment of a software program and also improve the overall quality since the project will be built on a solid foundation.
Automated system tests
Typically, after all the tests are conducted, and a project is approved for deployment, one last test must be conducted. The system test is the last phase of a development project, and it works by testing all functionalities and features while ascertaining if the integrated units behave properly. Automating system tests reduce the time it would usually take if they were conducted manually.
Running an end-to-end system test is not a walk in the park, and it can take very long, which pushes back the deployment date. This is caused by human resources. There is no QA analyst or software tester who can work on testing a program 24 hours a day. However, automated test processes can do this, and that significantly reduces the time it takes to conduct end-to-end system testing on a software development project.