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This month's newsletter
describes how to
determine what test
cases are best for
automation and how to
plan new releases with a
mix of both automated
and manual tests. We
conducted a webinar last
month on this topic, if
you wish to see the
entire webinar, see it
here:
:: Recorded
Webinar in Flash format:
http://psfiles.pragmaticsw.com/demos/default.asp?filename=SPTC_2010_03_25
:: Recorded
Webinar in Windows Media
format: http://psfiles.pragmaticsw.com/demos/webinar_SPTC.wmv
Automated Test
Cases
How to get
started with Test Case
Automation?
Test Case automation is
kind of like investing.
It takes time, effort,
and planning upfront but
can yield big benefits
in the future in terms
of return on investment
and time savings.
So how should we get
started?
-
Start Small
- Find a small
project you can
automate so that you
can learn from the
automation before
you plow your
efforts into a
larger project.
-
Smoke Test
- For
larger projects,
automate your smoke
tests (smoke tests
are a small number
of test cases you
run when you first
get a new build to
ensure that the
basics work).
-
Build up to
a Regression Suite
- When considering
automation, focus on
creating automation
for regression
testing (to test
that you did not
break existing
features with new
features you are
implementing).
Start by automating
a small subset of
regression and build
the regression suite
over time.
What to Automate
First?
Time is finite, so if we
plan to automate, where
should we spend our time
to get the most bang for
our buck?
-
Frequently
Performed Test Cases
- Don't
waste time
automating test
cases that are
rarely performed.
-
Time
Consuming -
Test cases that take
a lot of time to
perform manually are
good candidates to
automate because it
can save real time
quickly.
-
High
Precision -
Test cases that take
a high degree of
precision (must be
exactly right or it
could cause major
issues) are good
candidates to start
first.
Other Automation
Considerations
When automating test
cases, you want to
ensure that you design
your test automation in
a way that fits your
team size and how you
plan to grow.
-
Small Teams
- If you
have a single
automation engineer,
you can organize
your automated test
cases using folders.
-
Large Teams
- If you have more
than one automation
engineer, you will
need to share your
automated tests.
Consider creating a
project suite with
multiple projects
and folders so that
team members can
work independently
on specific areas of
your automation.
-
Source
Control -
No matter if your
automation effort is
large or small,
always place your
automated scripts in
a source control
system. This
protects you from
loss of data and
allows you to
version your test
scripts.
Manual Test
Cases
Why continue
doing Manual Test Cases?
Not all test cases can
or should be automated,
here are some
considerations:
-
New Features
- When developing
new features of your
software, test them
with manual test
cases until those
are in production.
Then you can convert
those to automated
test cases once the
feature is stable.
-
Visual
Confirmation
- Some test
cases need a set of
eyes on them to
ensure it works
correctly. You
will find that some
of your regression
tests may stay
manual due to this
requirement.
Best Practices
for Test Cases
Management
When planning your test
management process, it
is important to follow
best practices.
This will ensure that
you have solid test
coverage and that your
process is effective and
repeatable. For your
convenience, you can
download our
Test Best Practices
document here:
http://www.softwareplanner.com/TestBestPractices.pdf.
It
covers these topics:
-
Smoke Tests
- Explains what
smoke tests are and
how to integrate
them into your test
planning.
-
Positive
Tests
- Explains
how to create test
cases that test the
features the way
they were designed.
-
Negative
Tests -
Explains how to
create test cases
that test the
features outside of
the way they were
designed.
-
Relational
Tests -
Explains relational
testing and how this
can benefit the
quality of your
release.
-
Performance
Tests -
Explains how to
ensure your
application is
speedy and
responsive.
-
Traceability
- Explains methods
for ensuring you
have good test
coverage.
-
Reviews
- Explains how to
use test case
reviews to drive
better test case
development.
-
Defect Best
Practices -
Explains how to
properly log and
resolve defects.
Trending your
Automated and Manual
Test Effort
A benefit of bringing
your manual and
automated tests together
is that your team can
begin trending your
overall test effort for
both your automated and
manual efforts together
or independently. Once
you reach this stage,
the trending can help
you make better
decisions that can drive
higher product quality.
Below is an example of
how trending might look:
If you
wish to learn more about
this and other topics,
see our past webinars at
http://www.softwareplanner.com/webinars.
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