Automation Testing Framework for Agile/Scrum Methodology


Software development is a difficult task. Architects have known since the beginning of the software development process that without a management structure, the process will devolve into anarchy. From the waterfall approach to the agile model, new software development life cycle innovations arose as a result.

Most mobile and web projects are produced utilizing some type of Agile development approach, and all aspects of the software development lifecycle, from development to deployment to testing, are guided by the same quick go-to-market concepts.

When it comes to software development, testing is an important aspect of the process that cannot be overlooked. Agile methodologies make it easier to spot defects earlier in the development cycle, allowing engineers to quickly repair them. However, testing in the later stages of software development frequently necessitates doing several tests for specific scenarios.

Developers have a limited number of features to build in each agile sprint, whereas testers must test all of the apps. That entails testing new features as well as all existing features to ensure that new development does not interfere with existing product.

Manual testing becomes a slower and more stressful choice in these situations. Teams begin to cut corners in order to save time, and the product's quality suffers as a result. As a result, companies that use agile development methods are turning to automation testing to keep up with continuous development and delivery.

Today, we'll go through seven different approaches to make automation in agile development more productive. But first, let's look at why automation testing is so important in agile development.

Agile Automation Testing

Automation that is flexible in agile techniques, testing in software development is a method of leveraging test automation. The goal of agile automation testing is to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the software development process while maintaining quality, timeliness, and resource consumption. As a result, putting such a strategy in place necessitates a great deal of coordination and communication amongst teams.

Since the agile approach was introduced a few years ago, with its founders shouting and willing to do away with the ordinary and laborious reality of the classic waterfall model, the impact of the same has been seen in Automation Testing.

Apart from the repeated tests, agile QA specialists face a number of issues that can only be overcome by automation testing, as agile development is built on integration and ongoing analysis of the software product being developed. The following are some of the problems −

Cracking of Code due to Frequent Builds

Code updates are typical in agile development; however, they frequently result in code breakage, particularly during integrations. Continuous integration and deployment necessitate a continuous testing methodology as well. This involves integrating automated testing into your CI/CD pipelines to quickly address this situation.

Inadequate Test Coverage

As the number of features increases exponentially in later phases of agile development sprints, there will be less and less time to test all of them in the limited time available. That means you'd have to exclude a few user stories from testing in the hopes that they weren't affected in the most recent release, but with automated regression testing, you can release your product with proper functionality and guaranteed quality every time.

Bottlenecks in Performance

When we try to make a web application more functional, we wind up making it more convoluted. Furthermore, because it contains a large amount of code, the app's performance decreases. As a result, automated load testing tools can help you uncover performance bottlenecks as well as track the performance of your online app.

Inadequate API Testing

Incorporating sophisticated APIs into a web app can make it much more complicated, and we frequently disregard API testing in these situations. You may easily resolve these issues with the help of automation testing solutions like LambdaTest.

Mobile Testing Is Difficult

The number of mobile devices has increased dramatically in recent years. Every day, additional devices are introduced to the market, making it difficult for testers to test each one. You can ensure that the code does not break with each new build by using a dependable and comprehensive automation testing suite.

These difficulties demonstrate why automation is necessary in agile development, despite the fact that there are additional advantages to employing automation in agile development.

Waterfall Automation Vs Agile Automation

Automation Testing is normally feasible in the realm of the traditional software testing life cycle when the application is stable, steady, and the requirement is involving a significant amount of time and, in most cases, a set of highly skilled automation expert resources as well as a significant amount of set-up costs. Automation Testing's primary goal is to minimize expenses over time while also ensuring that no new faults are created as a result of current test cases.

Automation testing, by its very nature, is not exploratory in nature, as the primary goal of automation testing is to save time and money. Automation testing isn't designed to find fresh and inventive flaws. The primary goal of automation testing is to corroborate what is currently in place.

Points to Consider During Automating Agile Tests

So, when it comes to evaluating the use of agile methodologies in relation to Automation Testing methods and procedures, there are a few key considerations to keep in mind. As a result, we must think about things like the time it takes to develop and code, the validation of the designed scripts against existing test data, and the adoption of the scripts for testing (whether the tests are of functional or regression purposes) So the underlying truth behind all of these events is that in order to carry out all of these events, We must ensure that these jobs take a significant amount of time, and in an agile setting where an average sprint takes 1-2 weeks to complete, it is plainly too tough to consider allocating so much time to automating scripts in this manner.

Another important element to consider is the type of changes in requirements that occur when the agile methodology is used. By definition, agile methodology is a strategy that is particularly useful for responding to short customer-induced change requirements and so lends itself well to frequent modifications during the application's entire development.

Automation testing, on the other hand, is highly useful for the more stable and less frequent forms of requirements. As a result, automation testing is not well suited to the numerous types of frequent changes in requirements that happen with the implementation of any agile methodology.

Tools for Agile Automation

When it comes to the adoption of automation testing within the scope of an overall agile methodology, the choice of applicable automation technology is also a potentially very essential factor. When it comes to accessing various vital resources belonging to that particular testing automation framework, licensed automation tools, for example, enforce rigorous security access criterion to different sorts and levels of users.

In comparison, agile methodology emphasizes mostly open collaboration and open-ended interaction between team members, and thus restrictive policies that directly affect how users interact with the team would have a negative impact on overall team cohesion, potentially leading to results that are neither very helpful nor very conducive to the project's overall success.

As a result, the process's primary goal should be to ensure that quality automation test scripts are delivered within a reasonable time frame, as provided by agile approach. We need to choose our potential automated test cases in a more sophisticated manner so that these automated test scripts lend themselves well to future re-use while also ensuring that they can be created within the allocated time frame (as required during the agile methodology process).

After considering all of the above factors, we can see that even when using agile methodologies, we need to consider different types of tests, such as regression tests (because even during agile testing, there is a significant amount of testing work that needs to be done in order to ensure better quality of the overall product).

Let's take a look at some of the most fundamental scenarios where automation testing may be employed, and how we can apply it to agile testing.

Advantages of Automated Development in Agile

Agile development benefits from automation testing in a variety of areas, including speed, performance, reliability, programmability, reusability, and more. The following are some of the key advantages of automation testing in agile development −

  • Turnaround time is reduced − Automation testing allows you to use agile to establish continuous integration, which can assist the QA team get things done faster.

  • Quality Assurance − You can assure the quality of your web app at any time by using a well-known and trusted automation testing tool.

  • Execution should be repeated − If particular test cases for your application are run on a regular basis, the daily build execution can be readily verified with the correct automation tool and strategy.

  • Collaboration and communication improvements − By allowing teams to share the testing process, an automation solution not only increases product quality, but it also promotes communication and collaboration between teams.

Updated on: 17-Aug-2021

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