Are you a tester, and would you like to know which software manual testing processes can be replaced by automated testing? Most managers understand that automation saves time, and that’s why they are quick to think that testers should automate the complete process. But you need to understand there are some tests you need to automate and others that you don’t need to.
To understand what automation testing is, its benefits, and processes that should be replaced, you need to know how it differs from manual testing. Humans usually do manual testing, and it’s prone to errors and other inefficiencies compared to automated testing. Most of the test cases in automation testing can be executed faster than the manual process. It’s nearly impossible to perform random testing with an automated approach while achieving this with the manual testing process is possible. The output for the automated testing is very high compared to the output of the manual process because automation testing can be run 24/7.
Below are software manual testing processes that can be replaced by automated testing.
Data-driven test cases
Data-driven test cases require several data entries or multiple data sets, like entering passwords and filling forms with multiple data variations. Maybe, you would like to test different roles with disparate permissions. This implies that every role has permission, and you can imagine running these test cases as a smoke test!
You can also test an application that monitors different parameters within an organization. Just imagine how long it will take to manually test the alertness of all systems connected to the application. With automation, you can complete all this within a few minutes. And so, automating these data-driven test cases is ideal.
Test cases with many database updates
When dealing with test cases that involve multiple data entries, you should opt for the automation approach if you don’t want to spend days on something that may end up failing. Sometimes, you might have one credential and need to test different permissions. How is that possible?
You can change the permissions for the role and log in with the same credentials; this can only be done faster through automation testing. Just write a script to help you change the permissions and login process and execute all the test cases available with the automation testing approach.
Complex test cases
Some test cases are too complex due to their nature, or they involve a lot of comparisons. It will take a few days, if not days, a couple of hours to run all these tests manually. You will require to prepare highly and set up all the work that should be automated. Failure to do this will end up messing up the whole process.
If you are testing a software application for customer relationship management, you must set up authentication and hit other APIs before finally testing the customer relationship management software. This usually takes a lot of time, as some scenarios may take a day or two.
Tests with several combinations
Some test cases involve several combinations or configurations during the software testing process. These tests can best be accomplished through automated testing. It will help to avoid more errors and save time.
You should not confuse test cases with several combinations with data-driven test cases. Test cases with several combinations imply that these test cases connect to disparate hardware and have to verify the configurations and software application configurations installed on them.
You can store the unexpected parameters in an XML file or the database. After that, connect to the device and compare the parameters stored and the actual values of the sore on the device. It’s very challenging to cover this process manually.
Test cases with higher execution time
In most cases, test cases take a lot of execution time, even when they are short and not complex when done through a manual process. They may not even involve data variations. Automating the testing process is the best way to deal with these kinds of tasks. It will help save a lot of time by preventing repetitive tasks from being lengthy.
This often happens when dealing with many independent modules where a change in one of the modules might affect the functionality of the other modules for the software application. So, you have to complete the execution process by testing all the modules through automation which takes significantly less time.
Graph test and high-rate test cases
Graphs are mainly used to represent data in the pictorial format during software handling applications. So, you will require a lot of data manipulation to keep the process going. Most scenarios include testing with minus and values and valid and invalid data.
The use of graphical tables not only saves time but also helps maintain the data’s accuracy within the files. You can automate the process for the high-rate cases that are executed more often to avoid wasting time on another process. Just imagine repeating the same process over and over again. As a result, the testers will concentrate effectively on other important tasks of the testing process.
