Assertion Testing

An automation test case comprises actions to be performed on web elements on a page, and validations on what effects those actions have on the software. A failed assertion points to a potential deviation from the expected behavior. Thus it is an important step towards verification, debugging, documentation, and making the test scripts more effective.

What is Assertion Testing?

The assertion testing is used to verify a logic with boolean expressions (true or false). It gives a true value if the logic being verified is correct, else it returns false. In case true is obtained, it indicates that there are no errors in the code and vice-versa. It can be incorporated at any part of the test script.

Thus an assertion based testing helps to detect defects at both the development and the testing stages. It is a methodical approach to check the software amidst various conditions. Whenever the assertion fails, it signals to the actual location and type of bug which enables easy debugging. In short, assertion testing helps in delivering a more reliable and quality software.

Advantages of Assertion Testing

The advantages of assertion testing are listed below −

• It identifies bugs which are minute and not easy to detect.
• It identifies bugs at the moment they are reflected in the software.
• It helps to detect deviations which may be missed by manual code reviews and traditional testing approaches.

Disadvantages of Assertion Testing

The disadvantages of assertion testing are listed below −

• It does not have any in-built reporting feature.
• Some failed assertions result in stopping the test execution without completing the end to end test case. Hence some errors may go undetected.
• It consumes a lot of time to debug if there are a large number of errors.
• All verifications can not be performed by assertion, some of them need to be done conceptually and not by practical approaches.
• If an assertion is not implemented correctly, it may miss to detect a potential error in the software. Moreover, it may also report an invalid error, resulting in loss of time for developers and testers.
• For complex logical expressions and calculations, the assertions take time to execute, leading to consummation of memory resources. This may be acceptable at the development and testing stages, but not at the production environments.

Steps to Perform Assertion Testing

The steps to perform assertion testing are listed below −

• Identify Test Scenario − Identify the scenarios which are the best candidates for automation testing.
• Choose Correct Automation Tool − Select an automation tool, for example, Selenium that can be used to implement Assertion Testing.
• Record or Create Test Scripts − Design or record test scripts which perform all the actions on the elements, namely click, type, etc on the web page.
• Add Assertions to Test Scripts − Add the required assertions to the test scripts to identify errors in the software. For example, verify the error messages, text, elements presence and state, data, navigation etc.
• Execute Test Script − Execute the test script consisting of the actions on the elements and assertions.
• Analyze Test Results − Analyze the test results and find the potential defects along with an execution report to facilitate debugging.
• Debug − Examine the failed assertions to conclude if there is a valid defect or the test script and its assertions need to be modified to make it more fit and trustworthy.
• Re- Execute Test Script − Re-execute the test script to confirm if the software is working as per the requirements.

Conclusion

This concludes our comprehensive take on the tutorial on Software Assertion Testing. We’ve started with describing what is assertion testing, advantages and disadvantages of assertion testing, and what are the steps to perform the assertion testing.

This equips you with in-depth knowledge of Software Assertion Testing. It is wise to keep practicing what you’ve learned and exploring others relevant to Software Testing to deepen your understanding and expand your horizons.