The implementation of development tools tends to be planned when it should be, at the start of a project. Unfortunately, this is not always the case for software testing tools. This presents some additional problems.
Interfaces to other tools and systems:
The software testing tools may need to work with or interface to other tools that are already in place, such as configuration management, development tools, or project management tools.
The software testing tools will also have to interface to the software under test. There can be significant problems in synchronizing tests with the software, which may or may not be easy to overcome.
Time for the learning curve:
The learning time for a software testing tool seems to be more critical from a psychological point of view than the same learning time for a development tool.
Although a week of training near the end of a project takes the same amount of time as a week of training at the beginning of a project, somehow it seems longer. Actually this is one of the many reasons why a test automation tool should never be introduced to a critical project that is running late.
In a maintenance environment:
It is in maintenance that the greatest benefits can be gained from test automation, by automating regression tests that can then be run every time the system is changed. However, if the starting point is a completely manual test environment, where should testers start to automate?
Benefits can be achieved by automating only a small proportion of the tests - for example, the current regression test bottlenecks or those tests which are the most tedious or error prone to run manually, the bug fixes, or just the most critical core business functions.
Software Testing engineers need to be careful & need not to automate everything - in fact, it can not be. Aim for a gradual build-up of tests over time, with the tests being automated giving the greatest benefit for the least effort.
Over time, testers will become better and better at building automated tests, particularly in a maintenance environment. This should lead to a cycle of continuous improvement in the test automation regime.
Interfaces to other tools and systems:
The software testing tools may need to work with or interface to other tools that are already in place, such as configuration management, development tools, or project management tools.
The software testing tools will also have to interface to the software under test. There can be significant problems in synchronizing tests with the software, which may or may not be easy to overcome.
Time for the learning curve:
The learning time for a software testing tool seems to be more critical from a psychological point of view than the same learning time for a development tool.
Although a week of training near the end of a project takes the same amount of time as a week of training at the beginning of a project, somehow it seems longer. Actually this is one of the many reasons why a test automation tool should never be introduced to a critical project that is running late.
In a maintenance environment:
It is in maintenance that the greatest benefits can be gained from test automation, by automating regression tests that can then be run every time the system is changed. However, if the starting point is a completely manual test environment, where should testers start to automate?
Benefits can be achieved by automating only a small proportion of the tests - for example, the current regression test bottlenecks or those tests which are the most tedious or error prone to run manually, the bug fixes, or just the most critical core business functions.
Software Testing engineers need to be careful & need not to automate everything - in fact, it can not be. Aim for a gradual build-up of tests over time, with the tests being automated giving the greatest benefit for the least effort.
Over time, testers will become better and better at building automated tests, particularly in a maintenance environment. This should lead to a cycle of continuous improvement in the test automation regime.
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