{"id":1043917,"date":"2021-06-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beyondsoft.com\/sg\/insights\/blog\/considerations-for-designing-a-test-automation-strategy\/"},"modified":"2024-01-31T09:36:46","modified_gmt":"2024-01-31T09:36:46","slug":"considerations-for-designing-a-test-automation-strategy","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.beyondsoft.com\/sg\/insights\/blog\/considerations-for-designing-a-test-automation-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"Considerations for designing a test automation strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The importance of test automation is evident. As more and more organizations move towards continuous integration\/continuous deployment (CI\/CD), the elimination of manual processes in the testing pipeline is critical to ensuring a quality product is delivered rapidly and reliably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But automation in and of itself doesn\u2019t create value for your organization. Automating flawed processes doesn\u2019t help, nor does simply throwing tools at the problem. In this article, we\u2019ll explore a few things to consider when designing a test automation strategy that will yield the rewards you and your team are looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Focus on automating the right tests<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Test automation has the potential to improve your existing testing pipeline significantly, but it also requires a rethinking of the testing process as a whole to create actual value. Simply taking each manual process and automating it can lead to wasted time–or worse, it can complicate certain feedback loops that cause more<\/em> manual work elsewhere in the development pipeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key is to identify which parts of your testing process create bottlenecks and focus on automating those. Automating testing processes outside the bottleneck creates the illusion of speed but doesn\u2019t make things run more quickly. For example, automating a test that runs annually takes more time than it saves. On the other hand, automating repetitive, frequent tests provides immediate value. It\u2019s also important to think about automating high-risk test processes or those with a high degree of failure. Putting solid thought into what you\u2019re automating and why<\/em> delivers far better results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tools are just that: tools<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With the rapid proliferation of test automation tools, it can seem as though procuring new tools will automatically bring gains to your testing process. However, tools are only as good as the people that use them and the strategy behind their use. Building the right team with the proper skillsets and focusing on using the right tool for the right job is critical to success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make sure that you fully understand your needs, limitations, and requirements and establish your criteria before selecting a tool. In addition to budget and licensing costs, your criteria might include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n