What are the 10 Benefits of Test Automation

Gartner placed Hyperautomation among the top technology trends for this year. We are moving toward a future of everything autonomous and everything fast. To match the pace of this fast-moving ecosystem, software delivery times will have to be accelerated, but not at the cost of quality. As ‘quality at speed’ becomes imperative, testing and quality assurance get an essential seat at the table. Test automation will assume priority to fulfill the demands for faster time to market and exceptional quality.

It is becoming necessary for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to automate their testing processes. Let us understand the key benefits that test automation brings along:

The key benefits of test automation

Test automation increases overall software efficiency and ensures robust software quality. Specific tools can effectively execute automated test cases and help compare actual and expected results. In this manner, test automation can guarantee software proficiency without involving repeated and manual intervention. One of the biggest business perks of test automation is that it can be implemented repeatedly with minimal effort and maximum accuracy.

1. Faster feedback: Automated testing relieves validation during various phases of a software project. It improves communication between coders, designers, and product owners and immediately rectifies potential glitches. Automated testing also assures the development team’s higher efficiency by facilitating quick feedback cycles.
2. Accelerated results: Implementing automated testing saves plenty of time, even for intricate and enormous systems. This allows the testing to be carried out repeatedly, delivering faster results with less effort and time.
3. Reduced business expenses: While the initial investment may be higher, automated testing saves companies a penny. This is predominantly due to the sharp drop in time required to run tests. It contributes to a higher quality of work, thereby decreasing the necessity for fixing glitches after release and reducing project costs.
4. Testing efficiency improvement: Testing takes up a significant portion of the application development lifecycle. This shows that even the slightest improvement in overall efficiency can make an enormous difference to the entire project timeframe. Although the setup takes longer initially, automated tests take significantly less time. They can be run virtually unattended, leaving the results to be monitored toward the end of the process.
5. Higher overall test coverage: Implementing test automation can execute more tests for an application. This leads to higher coverage, which, in a manual testing approach, would imply a massive team that is limited in time. Increased test coverage leads to testing more features and a higher application quality.
6. Reusability of automated tests: Due to the repetitive nature of test cases in test automation, software developers can assess program reaction, in addition to the relatively easy configuration of their setup. Automated test cases are reusable and can be utilized through different approaches.
7. Earlier detection of defects: Documenting software defects becomes considerably more accessible for the testing teams. This helps increase the overall development speed while ensuring correct functionality across areas. The earlier a defect is identified, the more cost-effective it is to fix the glitch.
8. Thoroughness in testing: Testers tend to have different testing approaches, and their focus areas could vary due to their exposure and expertise. With the inclusion of automation, there is a guaranteed focus on all testing areas, assuring the best possible quality.
9. Faster time-to-market: Test Automation greatly helps reduce an application’s time-to-market by allowing constant execution of test cases. Once automated, the test library execution is faster and runs longer than manual testing.
10. Information security: The effectiveness of testing will be largely dependent on the quality of the test data you use. Creating quality test data takes time, so testing is often performed on copies of live databases. Automation solutions can help create, manipulate, and protect your test database, allowing you to reuse your data repeatedly. The time and cost savings in this area are potentially huge.

To sum up

The most promising aspect of the test automation process is the value it adds to all stakeholders involved. It improves brand image, generates higher revenue, increases brand recall, and ensures customer retention. As a result, investment in product research and process innovation increases, helping the organization scale new heights and establish superiority in the market.

This will eventually yield permanent fixes to the organization’s issues and help raise industry standards overall. It is up to business leaders to recognize the importance of quality assurance and make it a part of the core business strategy. Employees need to be effectively trained and explained the necessity of quality assurance and the advantages of test automation.

Automated testing results in cost reduction, time and effort savings, quicker feedback, consistency, and faster results, thereby directly contributing to increased productivity and maximized profits. Advantages such as these can make all the difference as SMEs constantly endeavor to gain a sustainable competitive advantage. They can directly contribute to the success level of the enterprise.

Although test automation is highly recommended, not all organizations readily embrace it. The initial cost associated with configuring the automated testing process is a massive reason for this. In addition, most organizational leaders overlook this aspect and continuously put the issue on the back burner. They face resistance to change before implementing it, sprouting from a place of fear, uncertainty, and doubt.

Businesses still need to be cautious when approaching test automation vendors, irrespective of the benefits. At Cigniti, our automation is highly customized and can cover more than 50% of the testing process. With Agile testing and DevOps methodologies widely followed in the IT industry, we guarantee that you can start automating testing even with a minimum viable product. We respect our customers’ budget constraints and have plans and tools suitable for investment by phase. Talk to us today!