LTS QA

 

Automation testing has emerged as a new destination for quality assurance, resulting in consistently high demand for automation testing labor. But amid the tech talent war, companies do need an effective test automation engineer hiring process to attract quality automation candidates.

So, in this article, we will guide you through 5 steps to hire a test automation engineer. This guide comes from real recruitment experience at our company as well as consulting some experts in the industry. Let’s take a look first:

• Clarification of requirements
• Write a job description
• Source and shortlist candidates
• Interview
• Final step

How To Hire A Test Automation Engineer?

1. Clarification of requirements

Clarifying the role should be the first step to hiring a true Test Automation Engineer. To do that, you need to define whom you want to hire, their contribution and the skills needed. At LQA, we divide automation test workers into three main groups which are junior, middle, and senior. Also, this article will focus more on a senior automation tester interview as it requires more aspects to consider.

Generally, a senior tester engineer will take part in the planning phase, make decisions, handle complicated tasks, and lead a small team. He/she can also be the bridge between the team and other stakeholders if needed. Therefore, we often require as follows:

• Manual test experience
• Automation test experience
• Test scripts creation ability
• Understanding of test automation technique
• Language ability
• Management skills

As automation tests differ from manual tests in the way that they use code-based test scripts to automate processes, a senior automation test worker should be able to define, develop, execute, and maintain test scripts. He/she also possesses manual test experience and understands test cases, hence can decide when to use manual tests and when to apply automation tests to optimize the QA process. Besides, he/she ideally understands various kinds of test automation frameworks to select the best suit.

2. Write a proper automation test engineer job description 

A smart JD is a key to an effective test automation engineer hiring process. This is when the hiring department understands the above requirements and builds an ideal candidate profile on paper. As we are seeking a senior role, the job description (JD) should be custom and specific. We recommend you include the following aspects.

Company summary

Talk about the employer branding, working environment, and whatever makes your company stand out. Especially, employer branding is an important part of a good job description. According to Glassdoor statistics, 75% of active job seekers are more likely to apply if an organization manages its employer brand. So, don’t forget to briefly convey your company’s reputation in your JD.

Job responsibilities

Here, let talk about the role’s duties and contribution to the company. Senior automation engineers also care about their effect on the company as well as their career path. Thus, they wish to see more impactful activities in the responsibility section, such as planning, managing, optimizing, and innovating, instead of raw tasks only.

Requirements

This is the section for must-have and nice-to-have skills and expectations for this role. Here, clearly mention what you expect from the applicant. For example, bachelor’s degree in computer science, Python language knowledge, mobile or web application automation test experience, Selenium WebDriver framework ability, etc. Plus, they ideally have equivalent certificates in software testing like the ISTQB and in languages such as IELTS certificates.

Benefits

And last but not least, don’t forget to include details of the salary and other compensation that he/she will get. According to Glassdoor, money is the biggest motivator for 67% of candidates. Meanwhile, Zety statistics showed that 74% of job seekers expect to find salary information right in the JD.

3. Source test automation candidates and pre-screen

In this step, the HR department seeks candidates through various sources, including active and passive candidates. Remember to post the job as soon as possible to increase the chance of receiving more applications as well as for the selected candidate to get ready. Particularly, when you source passive candidates who are employed, it may take a month or more for them to be ready.

Here, we recommend two effective ways to source automation engineers as follows.

Find them in forums and groups for automation engineers, such as:

• The largest communities of testers in the world like uTest.
• Top-performed automation test groups on Facebook like Automation testing – Seleniums.
• The top recruitment sites for IT talents, e.g. Dice and Linkedin.
• Place where tech engineers are the most active such as Github and StackOverflow.

Partner with companies that provide hiring support, including:

• Headhunting like McDermott + Bull.
• Employee referral programs like Boon and Jobvite.
• Staff Augmentation or B-O-T services such as LQA.

Recruiters then come up with a list of potential candidates, do pre-screening and brief telephone interviews, and return to the automation department with a list of ideal profiles. The person in charge of the test department will screen again to find out the top potential candidates for the interview phase.

At LQA, the automation leader is responsible for screening and evaluating the candidates. For such high-level positions, apart from reviewing the information provided by this person, he also refers to the references of previous colleagues and checks the candidate’s social networking profile.

4. Conduct automation test engineer interviews

After several steps to find out the most potential applicants for a test automation expert, we now come to an in-person automation test interview. But first, do you know what our CTO and automation leaders advise the most when it comes to an interview in tech? They are:

• Make it a comfortable and practical talk instead of police interrogation (obviously, right?).
• Focus on effect, as experience is not always the number of working years.

• Don’t bring a big technical test into the interview that takes 5-6 hours of your candidates, unless you are hiring employees for Google and Microsoft.

Why should you focus on effect?

At LQA, we concentrate on the impact when hiring a senior automation test engineer. E.g., if a candidate has generated 100 test scripts for UI automation tests but none of them work efficiently, or he has executed a small number of similar tasks during his previous 3 years of working, then we won’t prioritize him.

Conversely, once an applicant with less working time proves his ability via the effect, such as in a previous automation project, he was able to lower the time for executing a regression cycle from this time to that time and reduce time-to-market for new releases, then we highly value this.

Why shouldn’t you ask for a big test? 

Because we already have an overview of the candidate’s ability from step 3, plus there are various questions that the interviewer can ask to deeper check if this person is proficient in automation testing techniques. At LQA, we prefer to bring an actual project to the interview and ask related questions to know if they have the practical knowledge and skills that we need.

Here are some test automation interview questions to more accurately assess an automation engineer’s ability.

Define the scope of automation:

1. How would you define the test cases for automation?
2. Please select the test scenarios to be automated from this QA process and say why or why not for a scenario to be automated.

Select automation testing tool:

1. How would you decide on the tools and frameworks?
2. Please choose automation testing tools and framework for this QA process and explain why.

Management skills:

1. What is your principle to avoid and handle conflicts between testers and developers?
2. Please tell us about your previous challenges in test automation and how you dealt with them.

Others:

1. Any other examples that you want to show to demonstrate your abilities?
2. Do you have any questions for us?

Lastly, remember to check if the candidate fits your organization’s culture and working environment, as he/she as a senior member will have a relative effect on other employees. Don’t hesitate to ask why he/she wants to be part of your company, their working methodology, management style, etc., and observe the way he/she behaves.

5. The final step to optimize future recruitment

The final step is when you make decisions and inform both selected and non-selected candidates about the test automation interview results. We have only one piece of advice here – do get back to all the candidates.

What we’ve noticed is that some companies just don’t get back to all interviewed applicants. Still, carefully informing them of the results will give the candidates a better feel for the company, help you extend the candidate pool for the future, and avoid bad reviews that lower the company’s reputation.

Final words

This article has come to an end! Above is what we want to share with you about how to hire a test automation engineer. Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for companies to attract tech talent, but we’ve seen this Test Automation Engineer hiring process works for our company as well as our partners so we give it to you as an additional reference source.

About LQA

LQA has been a trusted Quality Assurance partner in the global IT market with clients in 9 different countries including Japan, Korea, the U.S., Singapore, Hong Kong, etc. We have implemented the best QA engineer hiring practices to build a qualified tech talent pool with over 50 testing staff. Hence, don’t hesitate to contact us if you need a trusted QA vendor for your business!

Outsourcing automation testing is a popular choice among businesses who want to save cost and time in their testing process, but not every one of them knows how to successfully choose an automation testing services provider. To do this, you need to be aware of many aspects, ranging from requirement clarification, technical skills required, etc. Let’s find out more about the actions you should take to find an automation testing services provider in this article.

 

1. Clarify overall requirements

Always define the overall requirements of your project before choosing any service provider. You and your business need to well understand what you expect from the outsourced projects, both in terms of the technical aspects and expenditure to devise a detailed plan for your operations.

 

Goals and objectives

What businesses most expect from automation testing services can be cost reduction, faster time to market or the need for experts in automation testing. Define which is your priority and you can proceed to the next steps. Based on the information about this, you can find the vendors that can meet your particular needs.

 

 

Kind of testing

Automation testing is not a one-size-fits-all solution for your testing process. As automation testing can only take care of some particular kinds of testing, there are scenarios in which your products definitely need manual testings. In other words, there is a variety of what you can test with automation testing, and you need to consider them carefully before starting the testing activities.

For example, you can implement automation in functional testing, unit testing, integration testing, smoke testing, non-functional testing, performance testing, regression testing, etc. But for Adhoc testing, user acceptance testing, etc., it is vital you carry out manual testing.

Read more: Automation testing vs. Manual testing

 

Scope of work

You can outsource your whole testing department, or just some functions of your project. With the scope of work clear in mind, you can then form a checklist of what specific features need to be outlined.

 

2. Have a checklist of technical skills in automation testing services

With automation testing in general, there are plenty of testing tools and programming languages to be implemented. But for an outsourced testing project, you need to stay consistent with the choice of the testing tools.

 

 

For each test objective or approach, there are different automation testing tools, so you just can’t grab any automation software tester to join your team. From the initial decision for the testing tool, you will have to find the test personnel who have the technical knowledge and experience in the following criteria:

• The programming languages required in that tool (Python, Javascript, C#, etc.)
• The supported platforms and reporting functionality of the tool (iOS, Android, etc.)
• Script maintenance and reusability

Read more: Interview questions for software testers

 

3. Know your desired ROI (How much time, effort and money can be saved)

For automation testing projects, the most frequent reason for doing this is to get a better ROI (return of investment). The cost for setting up an automation testing team and writing test cases, test scripts may take a much longer time than that of a manual testing project, but the long-term outcomes will help the team save better.

 

 

Since this is such an important and beneficial thing for businesses to pursue, they also need to be more careful when calculating the ROI. From the metrics of how much time the project will work on, how many people need to be on the project, you ask the service provider to give a wrap of the overall ROI you can gain from the project, and then choose the vendor with the most promising numbers.

 

4. Clarify the expected speed of regression tests

When implementing automation testing, one benefit you can gain from it is the testing speed. Automation testing allows you to shorten your testing time in some particular testing types, say regression testing, as one month’s work can be done within just more than a week. Knowing this, you also need to work out the expected time to market for your project, hence the testing timeframe is indicated.

 

 

With the attention to the speed of regression tests, there are some particular things you can require from your vendor to achieve it:

• The use of test management software
• The implementation of the test schedule
• The technical measures to ensure consistent speed

 

5. Clarify the cost (Salary & Benefit, Tool cost, Maintenance cost)

Hiring an external party to deliver automation testing may be costly. Although the overall price for testing is very little compared to the development cost, automation testing is another spectrum as the job requires knowledge of certain programming languages. In terms of costs, you need to consider the following things:

 

Salary & benefit

Be aware of the average salary and benefits for automation test engineers both from your region and from other parts of the world. From this information, you can decide which country you want to hire the automation testing services from and the scope of price for your project.

 

Cost for automation tool

For automation testing, you can either choose the open-sourced tool or a commercial tool. Each has its pros and cons as follows:

• For open-sourced tools, you don’t have to pay for anything when working with them, but you are more prone to security and maintenance risks.
• For commercial tools, it is very costly for you to use them, but after all, you can get full support from the tool developer and better security measures.

 

Maintenance cost

One major problem with automation testing, in general, is the maintenance cost. If there are any changes in the developing process, the automation code for testing just might not work, causing the test team to find and fix the code all over again. This maintenance process may take up hours or even days to detect the changes and fix the code, hence the cost for maintenance is also another thing you need to note on your contract.

 

 

6. Seek you automation testing services with Lotus QA

Lotus QA has the expertise and experience with automation testing services in many domains such as retail, food and beverage, healthcare, etc., making us one trustworthy and professional service provider for businesses wanting to implement automation testing. When working with us, you will get access to:

• High Security: LQA not only follows stringent procedures of ISO 27000:01 for optimal security and international standardized process but also flexibly adapts to clients’ requirements
• Quality Human Resource: we ensure staff competency through strict rounds of interviews, on-job orientations, continuous learning & development for the most suitable QA staff.
• Flexibility: We provide different working models to allow clients to choose or change the plan at any time.

Contact us for more support with automation testing services:

• Website: https://www.lotus-qa.com/
• Tel: (+84) 24-6660-7474
• Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/LotusQualityAssurance

 

Automation Testing moves at the speed of light, as the technological trend and applications are influenced by the ever-evolving change of the information technology market.

From the starting point of writing and executing the test scripts with bare support from technical tools, automation testing team now leans towards the utility of automation testing tools with various choices in terms of pricing plans, programming skills and other technical aspects.

After years of development and enhancement, the current pool of automation testing tools is now considered the pathway to success in the journey of transforming from manual to automation.

 

3 Types of Automation Tools

Automation tools are the destination for businesses and firms to come to for the optimal solution.

You must have been familiar with How to do automation testing. But do you really know the nature of them, such as their categories, price range, etc.? With this pace of development within the market, automation tools can be divided into 3 categories as follow:

 

Open-Source Tools

Open-source tools are the most common type for many firms and businesses to implement their automation testing process.

With these tools, the source code for testing execution has deliberate access. Plus, the source code can be utilized in both ways, either with full adoption or partly modification, depending on your needs.

For general utility, open-source tools allow quick access and viability for customization of an advanced test case. Hence, the use of an open-source tool requires SDETs (Software Development Engineering Testers) to have a programming background to deliberately customize the source code according to the specification of the project.

Note: Open-source tools for automation are free. In contrast, the cost of training and hiring adequate automation testing engineers is much higher than that of manual testing.

 

Commercial Automation Tools

Commercial automation tools, or vendor-source tools – are one other option for automation tools. With purchase through a monthly or annual subscription, you get access to premium features of these tools

One fine example of these features is the customer-centric service. If you encounter any problem during your time with the tool, full support 24/7 with a dedicated team will be at your service.

 

Custom Frameworks

No doubt open-source and vendor-source automation tools are the most popular ones, with a percentage of the utility of more than 80% of the market. Nevertheless, they are not always the answer, especially for niche projects. 

 

The differences and incompatibility in the testing processes, testing environments, test methodology require the testing team for a custom framework to be developed in accordance with their project’s features.

 

As compared with the open and vendor-source tools, custom frameworks are far more complicated and burdensome to develop. For most of the time, custom frameworks are the last resort for the testing team and technical experts only if the other types of tools are incompatible with the project.

 

How to Choose the Best-Fit Automation Tool?

Despite being spoilt for ubiquitous choices of automation tools, businesses can follow these 5 following steps to come up with the strategic tools best fit for your firm.

 

1. Acquire a profound understanding of project requirement

A thorough understanding of the project requirements acts as the foundation for any further development of that project, including the automation testing process.

With the undeniable improvement and enhancement of automation testing, the scope and scale of the tests and projects require minute details to alleviate the test results and proficiency throughout the operation of the testing team.

The checklist of what to be clarified includes:

•       Kinds of application (web app, mobile app or desktop app)
•       Scope of the project (number of test cases, test scripts, etc.)
•       Skill competence of the testing team

Having sorted out the checklists of project specification, businesses can indicate a strategic business analysis to put into an official project requirement. Only with the clarification of every single detail can the chosen tool integrate seamlessly with the project/application.

 

2. Devise budget and pricing plans

For any business, the ultimate target is to gain as much revenue as possible. In other words, a positive ROI for your business, in the long run, is the utmost important goal. 

Fascinating as it is, not every firm is willingly ready to invest such a big amount of capital with no ROI in the near future.

 

To successfully pull this off, the first thing you need to do is devise a budget and plan for your capital. Depending on the budget, it will be easier for you to pick the appropriate software and the suitable automation tool.

 

With the detailed plan of the expenses and infrastructure for an automation testing lab, product owner or higher-level executive can have a grasp of how the whole testing process will operate with the given revenue. Hence, the decision on what tool to be implemented will be more cost-effective and proficient. 

 

3. Determine the available skills of SDET and the programming languages

The inroads of automation testing take huge effort and knowledge of programming languages and other technical skills.

Most of the automation testing tools necessitate popular programming languages, including Java, Python, etc. The application of these programming languages is a must, but to proficiently and competently implement them in the automation testing environment is another story.

For usable and sustainable test scripts, automation testers are obligated to write code that conforms to the designated quality standards of the project. Along with this, it is also quite important to deliver test scripts that are both efficient and comprehensible, even for newbie testers. 

This could help in automation training and maintenance for later.

 

4. Clarify supported platform cross-browser compatibility

Supported platforms of the project are to be clarified as for each different platform, there are different tools to optimize the testing process.

For example, Selenium is an open-source framework to perform web testing; Kobiton specializes in Mobile and IoT Continuous Testing; Ranorex is for desktop applications.

Regarding cross-browser compatibility, testers have to consider these features:

• Different browser-OS combinations, devices, and assistive tools
• Shortlist of the most important browser-device combinations. This can be concluded from the target market, business indicators and other additional values. 
• The behavioral analysis of your target customers to come up with the most common combinations of browsers and devices.

 

5. Clarify other technical aspects

Distinct from manual testing, automation testing process demands for high skills in the use of programming languages, not to mention other aspects in the course of technology. 

With automation testing tools, the project leaders have to dig through the functions and performance of those available to come up with the most suitable lists of tools for your project. 

The services provided within the market of automation testing tools have diverse choices for clients. You can experience one’s core features in trial and then decide whether it’s worth your investment.

Check out: Top 10 Trusted Automation Testing Tools for Your Business

The technical aspects of any automation tools include:

• Script maintenance and reusability: As a key factor on how the cost of one automation testing project can escalate, testing scripts maintenance requires vast consideration for any possibilities of utility in the future. 

By putting a direct effect on the reusability of the test scripts, the automation testing team can save a lot of time when facing similar test cases.

A significant factor that escalates the total cost for test automation is script maintenance. Pre-written scripts in automation testing are fragile by nature. The ideal automation tool should come with capabilities to reduce such effort, such as eliminating object locator flakiness. On the other hand, script reusability saves you and the team a great deal of time for similar test cases as you can reuse test scripts.

• Technical support from tool provider: Professional technical support is offered within commercial tools. Normally, you can get help from tool providers via channels like direct chat or email. As in open-source tools, the support often comes from an active community with thousands of users.
• CI/CD integration capabilities: Tools with capability to integrate into the CI/CD pipelines ensure the testing continuity, making the whole process robust, dynamic and comprehensive. 
• Report record and format: With automation testing tools, the record of test results and further documentation is secured in digital format, which is stored for future reference and training.
• Keyword & Data-Driven Testing: The robust utility of Keyword & Data-Driven Testing assists test team in the extension and expansion of the test scope. In the long run, this is a strategic feature for higher ROI.
• The applied application under test: The application under test should have a schedule of releases for the most proficient preparation. What features to be updated and new points should be noted to clarify the procedure of automation testing.

 

No matter what your scale and what aspects to be tested in your product, you have to follow through the 5 steps above to catch the essence and the core of your automation testing process. You can either figure this out with your BA and developer team or you can come to experts in the field for a thorough analysis of what tool to be implemented.

 

If you want to hear from our professional staff of the Testing Industry, don’t hesitate to Contact us for detailed consultation. 

• Website: https://www.lotus-qa.com/
• Tel: (+84) 24-6660-7474
• Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/LotusQualityAssurance

 

As Automation Testing is currently the emerging trend and one of the tactics that corporations use to lower the cost barrier and secure minimum leakage percentile in quality assurance, the universal questions lie upon “Why” and “How” to “From Manual to Automation Testing”.

Not as easy and simple as it appears to be, Automation Testing requires the whole transformation rather than just the transition itself. In this article, the prospects of Automation Testing and how to actualize it will be discussed.

Manual Testing is often the destination for quality control and quality assurance officers when it comes to software testing. As opposed to this, Automation Testing has been soaring in popularity with high-yielding prospects, despite many of its roadblocks and challenges.

 

Manual Testing Limitations

Manual Testing has been the most popular method of the quality assurance process in general, yet it exposes some limitations that cause many businesses to become testing-ineffective.

 

Tedious, timid and time-consuming executions

 

Manual software testing is carried out by a person sitting in front of a computer carefully going through application screens, aiming at various usage and input combinations, assessing outcomes of the expected action, and logging these observations.

 

Tests are redone often during the time of development cycles for source code adjustments, or other conditions such as changing operating environments or hardware configurations.

As in a software development life cycle, the quality assurance process has always played a vital role as this secures the well-rounded product release; hence the initial outcome of the project itself.

During software development, every developer analyzes their creations and strives for error-free scenarios. 

 

However, the reality has proven the other way round with high risks of error, and more importantly, the tedious, timid and time-consuming executions throughout the Manual Testing process.

As testers try to figure them out before the product release, they sometimes reappear no matter what they do to plan the test suites. As a result, the test executions have to be carried out in a regression manner to effectively test the software.

 

Resource-intensive process

The Manual Testing process is no easy task. It has not only unprecedented change but also a heavy emphasis on the quantity of many aspects, including:

• The data input
• The device being tested
• The popular operating system

The whole resource intensive-process of Manual Testing poses great challenges for businesses as this requires critical infrastructure with a large scope, resulting in a budget deficit.  

 

Prone to error

 

To err is human, not to mention the complexity and diversity of the testing process are always at a high level.

 

The main reason why Manual Testing is so error-prone is that the test cases might be too tedious and repetitive, causing the disinterest and focus of the testers themselves. 

One more reason for this is the misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the details of the test plans. As a result, the “cogs” in the machine now fell out of place, making the whole process dysfunctional.

With all of the factors above, the error-prone characteristics will eventually and ultimately affect the firm’s financial and reputation status.

 

Not systematic and synchronized documentation

In Manual Testing, synchronized documentation for further utility and education is not available. 

More often than not, test execution results are stored in Excel or Word files. Access to these files is restricted and not always available. The testing engineers may have difficulties in the working process, slowing down the whole operation and execution of the test cases.

 

Automation Testing Predominance

 

Software testing is the ever-evolving field of the market. It takes you to be ahead of the curve to capture the essence of the latest trends and eventually resonate with the core of your products through quality assurance.

 

Under this circumstance, Automation Testing emerges at the forefront of the software testing market, which can create and generate valuable assets for a firm. 

The 8 promising prospects of Automation Testing include:

• High yield of ROI
• Consistent regression testing
• Broad test coverage
• Accuracy and Reliability
• Faster pace
• Developers and Testers unburdened
• Reduce Human Intervention
• Records of measure quality metrics

The predominance of Automation Testing and the raise of open-source automation testing tools such as Selenium, Katalon, SoapUI, etc. encourages businesses to transition from Manual to Automation Testing.

Related articles:

How to do automation testing?

High yield of ROI

Perhaps the most important and impressive of Automation Testing is the high yield of Return on Investment.

To many business owners, the huge initial investment is an obstacle for them to implement Automation Testing. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that the investment in Automation Testing is both cost-effective and time-saving in the long run.

Testers often examine the software when changes happen in order to monitor technical quality. Whenever there is an update in the code, the software tests should be repeated. It may be analyzed on all operating systems and hardware configurations before each release of the software, which is costly and time-consuming.

 

When created, automated tests can be function and run over and over again at no additional fee. Moreover, these are much faster than normal tests. Automated software test applications can shorten the time to run repetitive checks from days to hours. That means time and resources saved are converted directly into cost savings.

 

Consistent regression testing

Regression testing is the act of running old tests to ensure that the updated software hasn’t introduced or re-introduced bugs.

The process is vital as it ensures that the validated features continue to function properly.

Over time, the test suites built in this process will grow and the amount of repetitive work builds up.

Being able to automate this can save time and reduce the amount of human work dramatically. Decreasing the amount of manual work means decreasing human error, increasing consistency; especially when it comes to large sets of tedious repetitive work.

This also means that not only do automation tests reduce the cost of running tests, but also ensure the quality of the testing process.

 

Broad test coverage

Letting machines do the work also means extending the scope and depth of tests to ensure software quality.

 

Automation tools can execute thousands of different complex test cases, providing coverage that is previously impossible with manual tests. They can look inside an application and check memory contents, file contents, data tables and internal program states to determine if the product is behaving as expected.

Even the largest QA departments cannot execute a controlled web application testing with thousands of users. However, automation tools can help simulate these virtual users interacting with the network.

This means the testers can cover more possibilities, have a better understanding of how the systems work, and later improve their performance.

 

Accuracy and Reliability

In Automation Testing, the test runs in precision according to the predefined test scripts, thus avoiding many human-related errors such as incorrect data entry.

More importantly, Automation Testing supports the programming of more sophisticated scripts to generate accurate test reports, which Manual Testing is incapable of. 

Thanks to the implementation of Automation Testing, the developers and testers are unburdened with timid, repetitive and tedious jobs, making it easier for them to focus on other aspects.

 

Faster pace

It appears that in every firm, the competition between firms not only revolves around the breakthrough of the product itself, it also depends on the time to market. 

With Automation Testing in hand, the outlook for a faster pace to put the product on the market is much more optimistic. Simultaneously, the constant pressure to release new features is also toned down as the regression testing can significantly speed up, thanks to the Automation Testing.

 

Developers and Testers unburdened

As in Manual Testing, the process and procedure always require many phases of tests. Accompanied with this is the work of the whole tester team, who constantly have to work under great pressure to release new products/features. Their work is timid, tedious and quite time-consuming. Sometimes, the scope of work overloads the capacity of one, exceeding the time allowance for the testing process.

With Automation Testing comes in handy, trivial and timid work like regression testing or performance testing can be executed with less headcount of manual testers, hence no more prolonged testing time.

 

Reduce Human Intervention

As Automation Testing has become a tactic for firms who want to step into the game of information technology, the limitation in human intervention poses vast opportunities for speed and accuracy through the enhancement in the workload of the IT team.

 

With repetitive, menial day-to-day tasks, the testing process is at high risk of mistakes and bugs due to overworked and tired testers.

 

With the help of Automation Testing, the IT team will no longer have to endure the trivial tests and be bogged down by the repetitive tasks. Instead, they can focus on other tasks which require a higher level of knowledge and skills, hence eventually improving overall performance and productivity.

 

Records of measure quality metrics

The measure quality metrics in Automation Testing requires test writers to carefully consider the unique aspects of the environment and the application of the products. 

With Automation Testing, metrics of the performances and functionality of the products are well-chosen and then stored in confidentiality for the later steps of the testing process.

Automation Testing is the on-trend way to go with the whole Quality Assurance process. Despite the misconception of the complete elimination of human touch in automation testing, manual testing is still of paramount importance for test cases and test scripts. 

Perhaps the execution of Automation Testing is a cross between strategic manual testing and high-technological automation testing. It is a tough trick to pull off, but once you successfully employ Automation Testing, the outlook for better ROI and vast opportunities is broadened. It is just a matter of time for your firm to resort to automation testing for higher revenue.

 

Ready for your journey in digital transformation? Contact us now for the optimal solutions of Automation Testing. Just a few touches and your firm is fully prepared for the transformation from why Manual Testing to Automation Testing with the support of LQA.

• Website: https://www.lotus-qa.com/
• Tel: (+84) 24-6660-7474
• Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/LotusQualityAssurance

Automation Testing is a testing technique utilizing automated testing tools to implement tests on multiple platforms. This is considered an efficient software testing method coming with high accuracy and low labor consumption. Still, some obvious and hidden problems do exist behind.

Top 5 automation testing challenges that enterprises have to face:

• High initial investment cost
• High demand for necessary skills
• Complicated maintenance
• Complicated execution
• Difficulties in lab management

This article will dig into these 5 common challenges facing automation testing and solutions to minimize their effects on enterprises.

Top 5 Automation Testing Challenges

1. High initial investment cost

First, let’s take a closer look at the initial investment cost of automation testing. To estimate and calculate the Return of Investment, the first thing you should consider is the possible initial investment cost for an automation testing system, including:

• Cost for human resources
• Cost for automation tools

Cost for human resources

The automation testing process involves the utility of Automated Testing Tools and Automated Testing Engineers. These people are also called Software Development Engineers in Test. 

When comparing the Non-Technical Testers and those with Industrial Knowledge, the second ones are far more expensive. 

Also, the overall In-Demand positions for software testers are plummeting, specifically for automation testers, resulting in higher recruitment competitiveness and higher budgets for talent acquisition.

 

 

The dilemma of human resources lies upon the two forces, which are the Testing Engineers fluent in different coding languages and the Domain Expertise with non-technical knowledge and experience in coding. Whether the testers are onshore or offshore, the cost for those with coding skills is much higher than that of the non-technical testers.

To put it differently, The Non-technical Testers with knowledge of the industry are the trade-off for the Automated Testing Engineers.

Solutions: The problem of high cost for automation test engineers could be handled in two ways:

• Training current employees: This is a budget-friendly way to overcome challenges in automation testing. Still, it often takes many months for an Automated Testing Engineer to really hit it off. 
• Outsourcing automated testing engineers: To avoid spending months on training and coaching, many firms have chosen the solution of outsourcing automated testing engineers.

 

Cost for automation tools

There are two main types of automation testing tools: open-source and commercial testing tools. While the open-source testing frameworks, also called free testing tools (such as Selenium, Katalon, etc.) are free to access, the commercial ones require a payment based on licenses or the number of users.

Still, there are “hidden costs” no matter whether you’re using an open-source testing tool or a licensed one. As for the commercial framework, the payments are obviously the license and development costs. At the same time, free automation testing tools maybe not be enough for your business needs.

Solution: To reduce the cost of automation tools, you should first clarify your requirements and check if free tools can handle your needs. If not, go to a commercial solution that can benefit you the most in the long run.

 

2. Demand for high skills

The myth of automation testing is that it is always wrongly deemed as “simple”, “easy” or “quick”. In fact, the test execution including test design, writing test scripts, test maintenance and technical issue resolution, requires such high automation knowledge and solid grasp of automation tools that the salary range for automation testing engineers is very high.

Typically, automation testing engineers are required to fulfill the job requirements in terms of automation frameworks, prominent programming skills, and solid knowledge of the available automation tools. The strategic skillsets of identifying the appropriate frameworks, applying the right tools, and coordinating the testing process are vital for any automation testing engineer.

Solutions: Companies can weigh the pros and cons of in-house or outsourcing teams for automation testing. These necessary skills above can be acquired through either in-house training or automation testing vendors.

 

3. Complicated maintenance

As automation testing is the hot issue of quality assurance services, its maintenance is imperative for the overall efficiency of the testing process. Throughout the whole testing process, once a test case/script is written, it always necessitates maintenance, which is required every time the software application or features change. 

 

 

The scope of test maintenance varies in accordance with the complication level of the changes themselves. Whether it is a functional or non-functional feature update in the application, viable test cases are to be executed prior to release. As in the comparison of Automation Testing vs. Manual Testing, Automation Testing has different maintainability levels, entailing high programming skills.

Solutions:

• Modular test framework

By applying a modular framework for automated tests, the testing execution is divided into smaller pieces with different functions. Each function of the update is tested, making it easier for automation testing engineers to locate the code that needs updating.

• A separate test for each verification point

There might be a possibility that test developers of automation testing can create numerous verification points. However, the test scripts would hold the crux of complexity, making it difficult for anyone, other than the coder, to edit. With separate test for each verification point, it is easier for the team to update.

• Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery

Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) are the methods in which the minor details/changes are well-attended. With these being applied, the development and testing process is faster and more efficient.

The implementation of CI/CD equals the robust reporting of test scripts and test results. If bugs are to be leaked into other environments, the CI/CD pipeline can help you with the testing process in identifying which part needs updating.

 

4. Complicated execution

During execution, automation scripts are run with input test data. Once execution is finished, detailed test reports will be available. From these reports, appropriate and viable changes and updates can be made.

Automation Testing Execution invokes some difficulties in:

• Test approach selection
• Automation testing tool selection
• Communication and Collaboration

 

High Demand in Test Approach Selection

An appropriate automation test approach plays a key role in the effective result of a project. 

At the management level, you certainly know what and how to make the test approach; however, to make this approach in test automation is another issue. 

• The first difficulty is making the long-run automation process associated with the lifespan of a product. For example, the average cycle of a desktop application is common from 12-18 months to over 15 years. Therefore, the test approach needs to be able to execute the whole process of the software’s life span. 
• Secondly, the test approach has to make sure that when products change or update, it is capable of identifying and keeping up with these changes without human intervention. Taking the example of a mobile application, the approach can’t be “one size fits all” because the user requirement rapidly changes.

Definitely, it is hard to address these difficulties on the test approach, facing the challenge of building an effective long-run-oriented framework at the beginning.

Solution: Identify the following features:

• Testing process
• Testing levels
• Testing types
• Automation tools applicable
• HR allocation with different roles and responsibilities

 

Diverse choices of automation testing tools

One of the automation testing challenges is to select the right testing tool among a variety of comprehensive test tools in the market. There are open-source and commercial tools, and there are various types within each category. Each tool is suitable for particular scenarios, such as Selenium is an open-source tool that requests more programming skills from testers.

Particularly, the right tool has to match many factors such as the long-term orientation of the project, framework, output of the project, the requirement of clients, and the skill of the tester team. So, if you pick the wrong or inappropriate tool, the whole process can be failed from the start. Indeed, open-source tools often require a higher level of coding skill than commercial tools.

Solution:

Our expert testers recommend the following steps to choose tools:

1. Defining a set of tool requirements criteria
2. Reviewing the chosen tools
3. Conducting a trial test with the tools
4. Making the final decision whether you use these tools or not?

 

Barriers in communication and collaboration

In comparison with manual testing and development, automated tests actually require more collaboration. Once the misunderstanding from the start is disregarded or neglected, the process can be messy.

From the beginning, the must-have is good interaction between the delivery team and customer to analyze and understand completely the input and output of the project. 

When it comes to the test strategy, the tester team needs to communicate with project managers about making a plan, scope, and framework. 

The fact that automation testers not only talk with developers for understanding code but also manual testers about test cases, and infrastructure engineers about integration to build up the final product. 

Solution: Establishing a collaborative environment, such as a specific point of contact in each process, clear expectation and the responsibility of members will help everyone to deliver the information fast and conveniently. Plus, active involvement and a transparent framework will develop your unique company culture.

 

5. Difficulties in lab management

A device lab that can match the scope of automation testing has to be a big one. As some of the teams prefer building and maintaining their own device labs, this can be quite extravagant.

For every operating system, there are different versions of browsers and different devices. To fully capture and exploit the utility of this device lab, the up-to-date feature and lab maintenance has to be assured, hence the high cost.

Besides the spiking cost of having your own lab, lab management also poses a great challenge In today’s competitive world, teams need to have the ability to conduct a test at any time.

Your solution needs to provide open access to the lab and equips teams with the right tools to run and perform tests. This ultimately helps you be adaptable and keep pace with the new releases.

 

Solution: Cloud-Based Test Lab

Having a cloud-based lab is key for continuous testing unless there are some special testing requirements/scenarios with IoT, special networking (especially in the Telco space), etc.

 

To sum up, automation testing supports payoffs effectively and is a great method for companies to speed up progress; however, test automation can not completely replace human intelligence. We still need humans to make the orientation in the whole process of automation testing to avoid or reduce the challenges in automation testing.

 

Want to find the solutions for the automation testing challenges? Contact LQA now for FREE consultation with our specialists and experts.

• Website: https://www.lotus-qa.com/
• Tel: (+84) 24-6660-7474
• Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/LotusQualityAssurance

 

The ever-growing development pace of information technology draws a tremendous need for better speed and flawless execution. So, Automation Testing vs. Manual Testing, which one to go with?

 

As a reflection of this, manual testing is still a vital part of the testing process, non-excludable from the field for some of its specific characteristics. 

Both automation testing and manual testing pose great chances of cost-efficiency and security for your firms. In this article, the three underlying questions of what approach should be applied to your firm for the best outcome will be answered:

• What are the parameters for the comparison between the two?
• What are the pros and cons of automation testing and manual testing?
• Which kind of testing is for which?

 

What is automation testing?

Automation testing is a testing technique utilizing tools and test scripts to automate testing efforts. In other words, specified and customized tools are implemented in the testing process instead of solely manual forces.

Up until now, automated testing is considered a more innovative technique to boost the effectiveness, test coverage, and test execution speed in software testing. With this new “approach”, the testing process is expected to yield more test cases under a shorter amount of time and expand test coverage.

While it does not entirely exclude manual touch within the process, automation testing is a favorable solution for its cost-efficiency and limited human intervention. To put it in other words, automation testing requires manual efforts to make automation testing possible.

 

What is manual testing?

Manual testing, as in its literal meaning, is the technique in which a tester/a QA executes the whole testing process manually, from writing test cases to implementing them.

Every step of a testing process including test design, test report or even UI testing is carried out by a group of personnel, either in-house or outsourced. 

In manual testing, QA analysts carry out tests one-by-one in an individual manner to find bugs, glitches and key feature issues prior to the software application’s launch. As part of this process, test cases and summary error reports are developed without any automation tools.

*Check out:

Why Manual to Automation Testing

6 steps to transition from Manual to Automation testing

 

Magnifying glass for differences between Automation Testing and Manual Testing

Simple as their names are, automation testing and manual testing seem easy to define and identify. However, when looking into the details of many aspects such as test efficiency, test coverage or the types of testing to be applied, it requires a meticulous and strategic understanding of the two.

The differences between automation testing and manual testing can be classified into the following categories:

• Cost
• Human Intervention
• Types of Testing
• Test execution
• Test efficiency
• Test coverage

 

1. Testing cost

For every company, when it comes to testing costs, it requires ubiquitous analysis to weigh in the cost and the benefit to choose a technique for testing.

With the evaluation of potential costs and revenue generated from the project itself, the analysis will determine whether the project needs automation testing or manual testing. As listed in this table, the initial investment, subject of investment and cost-efficiency will be addressed.

Parameters	Automation Testing	Manual Testing
Initial Investment	Automated Testing requires a much larger initial investment to really hit it off. In change for that is the higher ROI yielding in the long run. The cost of automation testing is to cover Automation Testers and open-source automation tools, which can be quite costly.	The initial investment in Manual Testing lies in the cost for human resources and team setup. This may seemingly be economic at first with the cost of just 1/10 of that with automation testing, but in the long-term, the cost can pile up to huge expenses.
Subject of Investment	Investment is resourced for specified and customized tools, as well as automation QA engineers, who expect a much higher salary range when compared to those of manual testing.	Investment is poured into Human Resources. This can be either in-house recruitment or outsourcing, depending on your firm’s request and strategy.
Test volume for cost-efficiency	High-volume regression	Low-volume regression

 

2. Human Resources Involvement

The whole picture of manual testing and automated testing does not simply indulge in the forces that execute the testing, whether it is a human being or a computer. However, there are some universal differences concerning human resources involvement.

Parameters	Automation Testing	Manual Testing
User Interface observation	Automation Testing is basically executed by scripts and codes. Therefore, it cannot score on users’ interaction and opinions upon the software. Matters such as user-friendliness and positive customer experience are out of reach in this case.	The user interface and user experience are put into consideration. This process usually involves a whole team.
Staff’s programming skill requirement	Automation testing entails presets of Most In-Demand programming skills	Manual testing does not necessitate high-profile programming skills or even none.
Salary range	As estimated by Salary.com, the average Automation Test Engineer salary in the United States is approximately 4% higher than that of a regular Software Tester.	The salary range for manual testing is often lower because automated testing requires fluency in different coding languages, which manual testers are incapable of.
Talent availability	It is quite hard for talent acquisition with automation testing engineers.	It is easier for talent acquisitions as the training and coaching for manual testers are easier.

 

3. Testing types

While software testing breaks down into smaller aspects such as performance testing or system testing, Automation Testing or Manual Testing are too general and broad an approach. For each type of testing, we have different approaches, either through an automated one or a manual one. In this article, the following types of testing will be disclosed:

• Performance Testing (Load Test, Stress Test, Spike Test)
• Batch Testing
• Exploratory Testing
• UI Testing
• Adhoc Testing
• Regression Testing 
• Build Verification Testing

Parameters	Automation Testing	Manual Testing
Performance Testing	Performance Testing, including Load Test, Stress Test, Spike Test, is to be tested with Automation Testing.	Manual Testing is not feasible with Performance Testing because of restricted human resources and lack of necessary skills.
Batch Testing	Batch Testing allows multiple test scripts on a nightly basis to be executed.	Batch Testing is not feasible with manual testing.
Exploratory Testing	As exploratory testing takes too much effort to execute, automation testing is impossible	Exploratory testing is for the exploration of the functionalities of the software under the circumstance that no knowledge of the software is required, so it can be done with manual testing
UI Testing	Automated Testing does not involve human interactions, so user interface testing is not feasible.	Human intervention is involved in the manual testing process, so it is proficient to test the user interface with manual testing.
Adhoc Testing	Adhoc testing is performed randomly, so it is definitely not for automation testing.	The core of Adhoc Testing is the testing execution without the instruction of any documents or test design techniques.
Regression Testing	Regression testing means repeated testing of an already tested program. When codes are changed, only automation testing can execute the test in such a short amount of time	Regression testing takes too much effort and too much time to test a changed code or features, so manual test is not the answer for regression testing.
Build Verification Testing	Due to the automation feature, Build Verification Testing is feasible.	It was difficult and time-consuming to execute the Build Verification Testing.

 

4. Test execution

When it comes to testing execution, the expected results are correlated with the actual ones. The answer for “How are automated testing and manual testing carried out?” is also varied, based on the scenario of actual engagement, frameworks, approach, etc.

Parameters	Automation Testing	Manual Testing
Training Value	Automation Testing results are stored in the form of automated unit test cases. It is easy to access and quite straightforward for a newbie developer to understand the codebase.	Manual Testing is limited to training values with no actual documentation of unit test cases.
Engagement	Besides the initial phase with manual testing, automation testing works mostly with tools, hence the accuracy and the interest in testing are secured.	Manual Testing is prone to error, repetitive and tedious, which may cause disinterest for testers.
Approach	Automated Testing is more cost-effective for frequent execution of the same set of test cases.	Manual Testing is more cost-effective for test cases with 1 to 2 test executions
Frameworks	Commercial frameworks, paid tools and open-source tools are often implemented for better outcomes of Automation Testing.	Manual Testing uses checklists, stringent processes or dashboards for test case drafting.
Test Design	Test-Driven Development Design is enforced.	Manual Unit Tests do not involve coding processes.
UI Change	Even the slightest change in the user interface requires modification in Automated Test Scripts	Testers do not encounter any pause as the UI changes.
Access to Test Report	Test execution results are visible to anyone who can log into the automation testing system.	Test execution results are stored in Excel or Word files. Access to these files is restricted and not always available.
Deadlines	Lower risk of missing a deadline.	Higher risk of missing a deadline

 

Also read: Essential QA Metrics to Navigate Software Success

5. Test Efficiency

Test Efficiency is one of the vital factors for a key person to decide whether their firm needs automated testing or manual testing. The fast-paced development of information technology, in general, has yielded more demands in the field of testing, hence skyrocketing the necessity of automation testing implementation.

Regarding test efficiency, automation testing seems to be a more viable and practical approach for a firm with fast execution and sustainability.

Parameters	Automation Testing	Manual Testing
Time and Speed	Automation Testing can execute more test cases in a shorter amount of time	Manual Testing is more time-consuming. It also takes much effort to finish a set of test cases.
Sustainability	Usually, test scripts are written in languages such as JavaScript, Python, or C#. These codes are reusable and quite sustainable for later test script development. Any change can be easily altered with decent skills of coding.	Manual testing does not generate any kind of synchronized documentation for further utility. On the other hand, the skillsets for coding are not necessary.

 

6. Test Coverage

Error detection with Automation Testing is covered more thoroughly. Approaches like reviews, inspections, and walkthroughs are done without leaving anything behind. On the side of manual testing, the numbers of device and operating system permutations are limited. 

 

What are the advantages and disadvantages of automation testing and manual testing?

Automation testing and manual testing both pose great opportunities for the testing industry. For each approach, you have to put many aspects into consideration. In general, automation testing and manual testing have their merits and demerits.

 

Automation Testing pros and cons

Advantages of automation testing

• Reduced repetitive tasks, such as regression tests, testing environments setup, similar test data input
• Better control and transparency of testing activities. Statistics and graphs about test process, performance, and error rates are explicitly indicated
• Decreased test cycle time. Software release frequency speeds up
• Better test coverage

Disadvantages of automation testing

• Extended amount of time for training about automation testing (tools guidance and process)
• The perspective of a real user being separated from the testing process
• Requirement for automation testing tools that can be purchased from third vendors or acquired for free. Each of them has its own benefits and drawbacks
• Poor coverage of the test scope
• Costly test maintenance due to the problem of debugging the test script

 

Manual Testing pros and cons

Advantages of manual testing

• Capability to deal with more complex test cases
• Lower cost   
• Better execution for Ad-hoc testing or exploratory testing
• The visual aspect of the software, such as GUIs (Graphical User Interface) to be covered

Disadvantages of manual testing

• Prone to mistakes
• Unsustainability
• Numerous test cases for a longer time of test execution
• No chance of load testing and performance testing execution

Should you choose automation testing or manual testing?

For each approach of automation testing or manual testing, the question of what to choose for your firm cannot be answered without considering the parametric, the pros and cons of the two.

If your company is a multinational corporation with a vision for large-scale digital transformation, having huge revenue and funds for testing, automation testing is the answer for you. 

Automation testing is sustainable in the long run, enabling your corporation to achieve a higher yield of ROI. It also secures your firm with better test coverage and test efficiency. Automation testing will be the best solution for regression testing and performance testing.

 

If your company seeks a cheaper solution with test case execution under a smaller scope, you should aim at manual testing for a smaller testing cost. User Interface, user experience, exploratory testing, Adhoc testing have to be done with manual testing.

All in all, although automation testing benefits many aspects of the quality assurance process, manual testing is of paramount importance. Please be noted that under the circumstance of frequent changes in test cases, manual testing is compulsory and inseparable from automation testing. The accumulation of the two will generate the most cost-effective approach for your firm.

For the best practices of testing, you should see the automation approach as a chance to perform new ways of working in DevOps, Mobile, and IoT.

 

Want to dig deeper into automation testing vs. manual testing and decide the one for your business? Contact LQA now for a FREE consultation with our specialists and experts.

• Website: https://www.lotus-qa.com/
• Tel: (+84) 24-6660-7474
• Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/LotusQualityAssurance