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How to create an effective test automation strategy
This article outlines some test automation best practices and answers the following questions:
- When and why should you implement test automation?
- How do you determine the right testing-technique combination?
- What methods are most common for the different testing levels?
When and Why: Test Automation Best Practices
It doesn’t make sense to test a system that hasn’t changed unless you want to know more about it. You can experiment with test cases to learn more about the behavior of the system than its documentation describes.
There are two reasons for testing:
- Testing enables change
- Tests describe the behavior of the system
Regression Testing
The ultimate test automation goal is to ship faster and more often, with no bugs. Nobody wants their release delayed because the test cycle took too long. Shipping the software without first validating that it’s acceptance criteria have been met is a bad idea. When software is being refactored, automation can require a lot of maintenance. Building and maintaining the tests can be too expensive in some cases. Keep this in mind when you decide how to implement your automation.
