<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#Software_Automation_Testing_Challenges">1 Software Automation Testing Challenges</a></li><li><a href="#Lack_of_Effective_Team_Communication_and_Orchestration">2 Lack of Effective Team Communication and Orchestration</a></li><li><a href="#Not_Having_the_Right_Tool_for_Automation_Testing">3 Not Having the Right Tool for Automation Testing?</a></li><li><a href="#Finding_the_Right_Talent_with_Test_Automation_Knowledge_and_Expertise">4 Finding the Right Talent with Test Automation Knowledge and Expertise</a></li><li><a href="#Outdated_Test_Cases_and_Dilapidated_Framework">5 Outdated Test Cases and Dilapidated Framework</a></li><li><a href="#Upfront_and_Recurring_Costs">6 Upfront and Recurring Costs</a></li><li><a href="#Knowing_the_Right_Testing_Approach_to_Use">7 Knowing the Right Testing Approach to Use</a></li><li><a href="#Getting_Through_All_That_Test_Data">8 Getting Through All That Test Data</a></li></ul></div>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Software Automation Testing Challenges</h2>



Automation Testing is a byproduct of the need for efficient testing and innovation. Through automation testing, businesses can speed up the software testing process while expanding the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Automation Testing is a byproduct of the need for efficient testing and innovation. Through Automation Testing, businesses can speed up the software testing process while expanding the test coverage. (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com/blog/how-create-best-test-case-design-get-maximum-test-coverage/" target="_blank">test coverage</a>.



However, automation testing is not just a walk in the park where one can say “Okay, let’s automate and get this done quick!”. It doesn’t work that way. Here’s a list of challenges you need to anticipate before engaging in software test automation. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Lack of Effective Team Communication and Orchestration</h2>



Team collaboration is regarded as one of the most common challenges, yet critical aspect in a project-driven organization, let alone in automation testing. Everyone has to do their fair share of the workload in employing software&nbsp;automation testing. Without teamwork, testing would most likely fail.



Another deal-breaker is the lack of effective communication. By communication, we mean clear and concise feedback information that can be used to make informed decisions. The team can come up with a well-thought and carefully planned test automation plan. Effective communication breaks the barrier of having a disoriented and disorganized testing team. It practically keeps everyone in the loop. 



For automation testing to work, teamwork and communication are essential to <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/top-ways-communicate-software-testing-insights-better/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="share software testing insights (opens in a new tab)">share software testing insights</a> better.



It is important to be transparent on what is happening, what are the roadblocks the team is facing, and how the team will approach and handle them. Keeping them informed will raise another question from them as to how they, as a management team can support you. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Not Having the Right Tool for Automation Testing?</h2>



With just one search and a click away, one can have access to a plethora of testing suites and&nbsp;automation testing tools the market has to offer. From freeware and open-source tools like Selenium and Robotium to popular scriptless automation testing tools like <a href="https://testsigma.com/">Testsigma</a>.



It is not that you need to rely on a test automation tool for sure. You need to evaluate if a tool can help automate a scenario faster. However, even in such cases, many teams are reluctant to abandon existing testing scripts and continue to bear the struggles of traditional testing in today&#8217;s Agile world.



If ever you find yourself in such a situation, consider researching the tool you are eyeing to automate your test cases. Additionally, try to perform due diligence of the developer and provider. Opt for demos. Spend productive activity evaluating the tool.



Here&#8217;s an article that discusses 10 points to help you <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="choose the right test automation tool (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com/blog/10-points-to-help-you-choose-the-right-test-automation-tool/" target="_blank">choose the right test automation tool</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Finding the Right Talent with Test Automation Knowledge and Expertise</h2>



Hiring or getting someone who is an expert in software test automation is probably the first thing you have on the list especially if you are eyeing on speeding up the testing phase and reducing the product’s go-to-market time.



<a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/is-manual-testing-becoming-a-bottleneck-in-continuous-delivery/">Manual testing</a> involves manually executing test cases, test scripts, and test scenarios. On the other hand, test automation requires testers to know programming and coding to design, build, and maintain the test automation framework.



You have to remember that test automation specialists are the bread and butter of the test automation process. Their knowledge and expertise in what they do keep the ball rolling and without it, software test automation may seem difficult to achieve. 



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Outdated Test Cases and Dilapidated Framework</h2>



Software test automation is there to make the lives of the QA team much easier by automating tedious and repetitive testing scenarios. Sounds good, isn’t it? Well, all that can change if the testing team is not diligently updating the test cases.



Test cases are not something that you can do one time and that’s it – well, that’s not just it!



In a test automation environment, the reality is that test cases are constantly updated.



Every time there are changes in the requirements, browser, operating system, automation libraries, and the likes. Having outdated test cases and frameworks significantly reduce the effectiveness of your software testing automation. Besides that, what is the point in undertaking test automation if the result is practically the same as going into manual testing? Test automation that falls out of place pretty much beats the purpose.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Upfront and Recurring Costs</h2>



Setting up the platform for test automation suite incur upfront costs, whether you are using a paid service or not. Regardless of whether the platform you are using is paid or not, you still need to consider the cost involved in training the users who will be using the platforms and those who will maintain it.



Then we have these recurring costs for hosting the platform, maintaining it.



These are one of the things that should not be overlooked when you are to engage with software test automation. Employ reusable code, proper naming conventions and methods.



The user interface of the application may change between builds. A tool like Testsigma creates automated tests that are resistant to these UI changes. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Knowing the Right Testing Approach to Use</h2>



Software automation does not only require you to have your team roster full of test automation specialists, or maybe just by having the best and right tool to conduct your test automation. All that would be meaningless if the group has not yet decided on what testing approach to use.



Determining what approach to use is understanding why software test automation is needed, where does automation testing fit, and what is needed for testing and the business to succeed. Identifying the approach is crucial to the success of testing. Jumping right into the battlefield without a careful thought plan is nothing but blind testing.



With a plan of an approach geared to the test automation team, testing life cycles will be laid out along with their corresponding goals and achievable results. It also aligns everyone on the same page in terms of designing and implementing test scenarios and test cases. Additionally, it lets everyone know when the window hour is to update and maintain test scripts and frameworks. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Getting Through All That Test Data</h2>



The rapid growth of test data is inevitable when software testing automation is facilitated at an enterprise level. These data are needed to be carefully reviewed and analyzed by the test team. In no time, the test team may find themselves in the middle of test data jungle made out of test results and log files. That is good news because those data contain information which is valuable and critical in the success of test automation. Well here&#8217;s the bad news – finding that valuable information can be difficult at times given that you are sitting in a library of data that keeps on growing while the testing is an ongoing process. 



But Hey! If you are still struggling with all these challenges, <a href="https://testsigma.com/">Testsigma</a>&nbsp;would be an ideal tool to help you move ahead! Easy to learn, adopt, and maintain!



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Factors that slow down Automation Testing_Testsigma

Factors That Slow Down  Automation Testing: Test Automation Challenges

Earlier, there was the Waterfall model. Then came Agile methodology. And as the IT world slowly moved toward automation, DevOps became the next big thing. Surely, there must exist some benefits to adopting the latest software development practice. But it is only beneficial when combined with automation. DevOps test automation is a way to develop and test the code quickly and push it to the market without any major errors.



<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#What_is_DevOps">1 What is DevOps?</a></li><li><a href="#DevOps_Test_Automation">2 DevOps Test Automation</a></li><li><a href="#Where_Do_QA_and_Test_Automation_Fit_with_DevOps">3 Where Do QA and Test Automation Fit with DevOps?</a><ul><li><a href="#QA_and_Test_Automation_with_DevOps">3.1 QA and Test Automation with DevOps</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#What_is_the_Impact_of_DevOps_on_QA">4 What is the Impact of DevOps on QA?</a><ul><li><a href="#Impact_on_QA">4.1 Impact on QA</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#How_Automated_Testing_Powers_DevOps">5 How Automated Testing Powers DevOps?</a></li><li><a href="#Testsigma_Your_Best_Yet_Move_Towards_DevOps_Test_Automation">6 Testsigma: Your Best Yet Move Towards DevOps Test Automation</a><ul><li><a href="#Here_are_a_few_features_Testsigma_offers">6.1 Here are a few features Testsigma offers:</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#Frequently_Asked_Questions_FAQs">7 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)</a><ul><li><a href="#What_is_QA_in_DevOps">7.1 What is QA in DevOps?</a></li><li><a href="#Is_test_automation_part_of_DevOps">7.2 Is test automation part of DevOps?</a></li><li><a href="#Is_DevOps_better_than_automation_testing">7.3 Is DevOps better than automation testing?</a></li></ul></li></ul></div>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="what-is-devops">What is DevOps?</h2>



DevOps is the combination of software development practices that combines Software Development (Dev) with Information Technology Operations (Ops) intended to speed up the development life cycle of any software application. It is critical to delivering new features and improvements, bug fixes, and updates frequently in close alignment with business objectives.



In a nutshell, DevOps practices include Agile planning, <a href="https://testsigma.com/continuous-integration" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Continuous Integration</a>, Testing and Continuous Delivery, and of course monitoring and improving. Let us remember that DevOps is not a process or a technology or even a standard. Many businesses, software companies, and IT professionals refer to DevOps as a culture focusing on rapid delivery through the adoption of agile lean processes. DevOps heavily involves technology, technologies for building systems to be delivered and more importantly, testing automation tools for QA testing purposes.



Read more &#8211; <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/devops-testing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Devops Testing</a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="devops-test-automation">DevOps Test Automation</h2>



DevOps test automation is the practice of automating the testing of builds in the DevOps process.



Test automation is the practice of automating the review and validation of applications under development by the testing team. They write test cases, run the scripts, and raise possible bugs that are still present in the application. This all happens as per QA testing practice.



In CI/CD pipeline, QAs do not wait till the end to test the product quality. Continuous building and testing of the product go on till it is branded as fit for market release. For example, test automation in DevOps empowers businesses to build, test, and ship products faster and more reliably. It further supports streamlining incident responses and improves collaboration and communication across teams and stakeholders.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="where-do-qa-and-test-automation-fit-with-devops">Where Do QA and Test Automation Fit with DevOps?</h2>



DevOps plays a very important role in the Software Development Life Cycle (<a href="https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/software-development-life-cycle-sdlc/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">SDLC</a>), but where exactly does QA fit in the continuous integration of DevOps practice?



The answer to the question is simple. QAs, with their test automation activities, fit in every release. They, the QA tester team, thoroughly check the product and make sure it is well-polished and production worthy. They make sure that quality is ensured throughout the testing and delivery cycle, and each of the testing and development groups is answerable for it.



Continuous integration and <a href="https://testsigma.com/guides/continuous-delivery/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">continuous delivery</a> practices, and software updates take place almost every week. And it is possible for business operations to encounter problems that can be rooted mainly from being a defect in the product that pretty much affects multiple business users. This is quite a common scenario nowadays for businesses. Therefore, everyone needs a quick fix, especially when the product is failing.



Having a hot fix means it needs to go through testing right before moving to production. This is where the QAs and test team come in. This is where they need to take responsibility and accountability in evaluating and doing some assessments on whether the immediate fix resolves the current issue the production is facing and, most of all, whether the fix does not affect the functionality of any of the existing features within the application. So just as much as the Developers and Product Owners want to get rid of the outage with a quick fix, a Quality Analyst is needed to mitigate future outages to as much an extent as possible.



Check here &#8211; <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/devops-testing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Devops Testing Strategy</a>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="qa-and-test-automation-with-devops">QA and Test Automation with DevOps</h3>



Basically, QA ties together development and operations and enables them to collaborate to have software and applications up and running. Everyone in the organization takes responsibility for quality and stability, and thereby for the success of the business.



Developers think more like a tester and continually checks their own code for potential errors. Conversely, a tester, whose responsibility is to test the application or software using different types of testing tools &amp; methodologies, thinks of workarounds to fix the code. In such a scenario, organizations without a strong and definite QA and testing strategy to “continuously test” in DevOps face troubles in meeting their goals for an accelerated speed of delivery. Get to know some<a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/devops-automation-tools/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> DevOps Automation Tools to Look Out </a>.



Give Testsigma a try! It speeds up the testing process of Agile and DevOps teams. <a href="https://testsigma.com/signup" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sign up for a free trial now</a>!



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="what-is-the-impact-of-devops-on-qa">What is the Impact of DevOps on QA?</h2>



DevOps is roughly an approach, but rather it is a culture and a practice of continuous integration, continuous deployment, and continuous improvement. Multiple teams are involved and working together to work as a DevOps team. Therefore, it affects not only QAs but also the development team, business operations, production support, etc.



If we are solely talking about QAs, we can formulate the impact of DevOps test automation.



One, DevOps is considered an enabler for businesses to reduce IT budgets. Get to know the <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/why-devops-is-important-for-modern-businesses/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">importance of devops in business</a>. It improves the efficiency of end-to-end delivery and runs on a lean delivery framework. It also works as a working end-to-end test automation framework.



Nowadays, successful businesses today are design-thinking driven. The majority of them have a strong sense of urgency, aided by innovative software engineering practices. Businesses today need to have a working continuous delivery practice in place. Having one in place pretty much mandates a better outcome of product quality and speedy release. Automaton is the key to success across DevOps processes.



Delivery by co-located, integrated teams using innovative tools prevents collaboration and communication issues.



Manual errors and stove-piped communication issues are completely addressed just by having a good DevOps governance model. The model itself mandates “Fail Fast, Fail Often,” which comes from the “Test First” concept. This means that testing is a continuous process and more extensive in nature. Testing allows cohesiveness between the team of teams and the automation of everything possible. Testing is paving the way for continuous improvement in the test processes being delivered via iterations. Intelligent test automation, better regression, and continuous test augmentation, to name a few, are some benefits of DevOps.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="impact-on-qa">Impact on QA</h3>



From a testing standpoint, DevOps addresses some of the key testing challenges. For instance, in a<a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/test-environment/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> test environment</a>, virtualization, automated deployment, automated build and configuration management, data refresh, and maintenance become seamless. On the other hand, continuous Integration, automation, and verification – test first centric test-driven development, behavior-driven development concepts allow test processes to improve in a DevOps Model.



With all these, it is safe to say that as far as DevOps and Test Automation are concerned, DevOps accelerates the project delivery and life cycle of building an application. On the other hand, it is designed to speed up the testing phase without compromising the quality of the product.



Having the best of both worlds, DevOps knowledge and practices, along with Test Automation, is promising for the success of the business. With the right team roster and an automation tool like Testsigma, you will have your product live in the market in no time!



If you haven’t tried Testsigma yet, then you are missing out on shifting your QA team from manual testing to test automation in a jiffy. Above all, it lets your QA team be a part of the DevOps test automation process.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="how-automated-testing-powers-devops">How Automated Testing Powers DevOps?</h2>



You cannot do DevOps if you don’t automate testing. And although automating every step and through might be a long process, starting with the first step is a good idea. We have all the reasons why automated testing in DevOps is the way to go:



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Better collaboration and communication: DevOps with automation build clear and concise communication between all the teams and stakeholders handling that particular project.</li><li>Speed and agility: Improve the overall project timeline and quality to ensure that users get the best and most updated version of the product.</li><li>Scalability: Consistently provide quality builds in the CI/CD pipeline by distributing the development process across multiple teams.</li><li>Security: Take care of all the security and compliance measures by following the automated practices to run, test, and deploy all your builds.</li><li>Reliability: Increase product release reliability with higher test coverage options with automation.</li></ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="testsigma-your-best-yet-move-towards-devops-test-automation">Testsigma: Your Best Yet Move Towards DevOps Test Automation</h2>



Now if we start talking about the “perfect” QA tool that fits DevOps culture and practice, there are a few things we need to keep in mind. Factors like the iterative, automated, and incremental nature of DevOps. The QA tool must, at all costs, be flexible enough to handle all the unforeseen changes during testing sessions. More importantly, it should be scalable to the extent of enduring workloads during the continuous development, continuous testing, and continuous deployment phases.



What we should be looking for is a tool that completely adapts tools to how DevOps works. A tool that is an enabler that can empower your testing team for iterative releases. On a special note, the tool should be scalable and reliable to handle the incremental amount of code changes.



Just to summarize all this, what you need is a solution that is designed for Test Automation in DevOps.Sure, there can be a lot of testing solution provider in the market like UFT that uses VBScript as its scripting language, then there are tools in service virtualization for Testing and many more of them that claims to be an “all-in-one testing solution” and choosing just one would be a difficult task.



Well, in that case, sometimes it is best to try it for yourself. You may try Testsigma, an all-in-one Unified Test Automation Software for Web, Mobile apps, and Web Services, and one that works well for DevOps and CD.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="here-are-a-few-features-testsigma-offers">Here are a few features Testsigma offers:</h3>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Start with Test Automation Ecosystem, which enables you to access <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/essential-elements-of-test-automation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">essential elements required for test automation</a>. There is no requirement for a tool and setup.</li><li>Continuous Testing for Agile and DevOps teams that uses a shift-left approach incorporates Continuous Integration and Continuous Development, providing fast feedback to accelerate the delivery of web &amp; mobile apps.</li><li>Super-Fast Test Development Using Simple English lets everyone write automated tests at least five times faster using plain English. No coding skills are required.</li><li>Fully Loaded Test Lab on Cloud to Run Tests which offers over a thousand Operating System/Brower/Version combos and two thousand plus real mobile devices to run a significant amount of tests in minutes.</li><li><a href="https://testsigma.com/parallel-test-runs" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Parallel Test Execution</a> Save Time and Cost because of scalable test environments and parallel test executions to run thousands of tests in minutes for faster feedback.</li><li>AI to Reduce Maintenance Efforts and Improve Productivity by saving test maintenance time by 70%. AI also helps affected and potential failures upfront to save execution time and costs.</li></ul>



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With all these being said, it is best to say that Testsigma is built for QA teams to automate testing in DevOps. So, what are you waiting for? Don’t be left behind. Sign up now for a free 21 days’ trial!



For more information, visit <a href="https://testsigma.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Testsigma Official Website</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="frequently-asked-questions-faqs">Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)</h2>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="what-is-qa-in-devops">What is QA in DevOps?</h3>



The role of QA in DevOps is to verify the product’s quality. It is also to ensure that the application aligns with the user requirements and with the business goals.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="is-test-automation-part-of-devops">Is test automation part of DevOps?</h3>



Yes, test automation is a part of DevOps that consists of running automated test cases to validate a build’s proper functioning. Test automation comes after build development is complete.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="is-devops-better-than-automation-testing">Is DevOps better than automation testing?</h3>



Both DevOps and automation testing have their own benefits. While they both can function without one another, it is better to combine them to get the best quality final product for your users.<gwmw style="display:none;">

Where Does QA and Test Automation Fit in DevOps

DevOps Test Automation | Where Do QA and Test Automation Fit in DevOps?

<a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Testsigma undertook the work of providing customers with the best experience in using their test automation solution. What makes this test automation suite competitive from the other vendors out in the market is that it is scriptless(NLP based), maintained by AI, and can be hosted either on-premise also on the cloud.
 (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com" target="_blank">Testsigma </a>undertook the work of providing customers with the best experience in using their automation testing solution. What makes this test automation suite competitive from the other vendors in the market is that it is scriptless(NLP based), maintained by AI, and can be hosted either on-premise also on the cloud. 



What also sets Testsigma apart from the rest is, they built their solution to address all the testing-related concerns of every business, whether small or medium business to even an enterprise. 



One of the major reasons why customers prefer&nbsp;Testsigma is the product’s capability to scale to the extent of catering volumes of the workload for the largest organization especially for those organizations that adopt Agile and DevOps methodologies. 



Agile adoption is now a trend to many businesses which means that the&nbsp; playing field of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_testing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Agile adoption is now a trend to many businesses which means that the&nbsp; playing field of software testing has been levelled.
 (opens in a new tab)">software testing</a> has been levelled. 



<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#What_Is_Agile_Testing">1 What Is Agile Testing?</a></li><li><a href="#VUCA_World_Reason_Why_Companies_Opt_for_Agile_Testing">2 VUCA World: Reason Why Companies Opt for Agile Testing</a></li><li><a href="#Know_Your_Role_in_SAFe">3 Know Your Role in SAFe</a></li></ul></div>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="what-is-agile-testing">What Is Agile Testing?</h2>



Agile based testing is a process that is intended to perform a quality check on an application or software that follows the principle of agile software development. In traditional development, typically it uses a “big-bang” deferred testing approach, while agile testing develops and test systems in small increments, often developing tests before writing the code, story, or feature. 



With this approach, the test itself helps to elaborate and clearly define the intended system behavior, even before the system is implemented. In other words, quality is established at an early stage. Pretty much like agile development, agile testing is a collaborative, team-oriented process where everyone shares the responsibility of testing the software.



Yes, you have read it right! Everyone has to do their fair share in agile testing and that is to test the software! This it is often referred to as “teams-of-team”.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 



<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agile_testing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Agile testing comes with a “test-first” approach that practically applies to all types of agile work such as defining software capabilities and its features, outlining the non-functional requirements, creating user’s stories based on client’s specification and requirements and as well as coding. It can also be applied to the hardware components of the application. This is the same way tests are written during the coding or development stage, acceptance tests for capabilities and user stories and features are there to clearly define the output. Also, the right timing of clearly defining the proposed system behavior by the way also mitigates the need for overly detailed requirement specifications and sign-offs.
 (opens in a new tab)">Agile testing</a> comes with a “test-first” approach that practically applies to all types of agile work such as defining software capabilities and its features, outlining the non-functional requirements, creating user’s stories based on client’s specification and requirements and as well as coding. It can also be applied to the hardware components of the application. This is the same way tests are written during the coding or development stage, acceptance tests for capabilities and user stories and features are there to clearly define the output. Also, the right timing of clearly defining the proposed system behavior by the way also mitigates the need for overly detailed requirement specifications and sign-offs. 



Unlike conventionally-written requirements, these test cases are automated wherever possible. Even if they weren’t, they still provide a clear definition of what the system does, rather than an idea or statement of early thoughts of what it was supposed to do.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="vuca-world-reason-why-companies-opt-for-agile-testing">VUCA World: Reason Why Companies Opt for Agile Testing</h2>



Today, most of the business adopt agile mainly to addresses all possible scenario of the VUCA world. But what is VUCA World? 



First of all, VUCA stands for Volatility – Uncertainty – Complexity – Ambiguity. 



Volatile change in environments is constant. It is usually masked by rapid, unexpected and significant changes with tentative duration. Uncertainty is a component of some instances, with a lack of clarity and making the outcome unpredictable. Complexity is a manifestation of the multiplicity of interconnected factors, and the nature of it can be quite difficult for us to process and at times, it puts limit for control. Ambiguity brings along an environment that has everything in it, are hard to decipher with mixed messages and many are unknown unknowns. 



These are just some of the high-level details of what most businesses are dealing with in today’s world. 



This is why it is a good move for a business to start practicing Agile as a culture. Adopting agile means you are shifting towards DevOps and it means that testing is happening and more people are getting involved in it. 



With this enterprise level of testing, it is critical for everyone involved in agile testing to know their role and scope!







<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="know-your-role-in-safe">Know Your Role in SAFe</h2>



In a Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), testing (including automation testing) at an enterprise level means we are involving professionals from several departments. From portfolio management to program management and the team itself that is primarily composed of software developers alongside the QA test team. 



With so many participants, it is for a must not only for you but for everyone else to know which role to play for the project to succeed. 



For you to have a clear insight into this discussion, I am sharing the three-layer organizational abstract from Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). This is how a typical agile organization looks like.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2960" height="1695" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/blog-assets-production.testsigma.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/11113908/Agile-scaled-framework.png" alt="" class="wp-image-54458" srcset="https://s3.amazonaws.com/blog-assets-production.testsigma.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/11113908/Agile-scaled-framework.png 2960w, https://s3.amazonaws.com/blog-assets-production.testsigma.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/11113908/Agile-scaled-framework-768x440.png 768w, https://s3.amazonaws.com/blog-assets-production.testsigma.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/11113908/Agile-scaled-framework-1536x880.png 1536w, https://s3.amazonaws.com/blog-assets-production.testsigma.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/11113908/Agile-scaled-framework-2048x1173.png 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2960px) 100vw, 2960px" /><figcaption><a href="https://framework.scaledagile.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">source</a></figcaption></figure></div>



The Team Layer are teams of software developers and testers closely working together to create a product from selected user stories, strictly governed and prioritized by the Product Owner with the scrum master who makes sure that agile practices are in place. 



The Program and Large Solution Layer is mostly a team of Architects and Program Manager who is responsible for demonstrating a working software at the end of each sprint cycle. The are also teams from the IT infrastructure department who provisions platforms for continuous integration, development and staging, and as well as for end-to-end testing. 



The Portfolio Layer is the stakeholder group. Stakeholders are executives that make sure that the program is aligned to the enterprise’s business strategy and model. 



Now just to weed out the “devils in the detail”. Here is a more detailed breakdown of roles involved in such enterprise activity.



Testers&nbsp;are the ones who are closely working with the product owner to add and refine the done “criteria” for user stories. They are not only responsible for developing test scripts but they are also accountable for creating frameworks for manual and automated testing. In a nutshell, they always do a benchmark of the system and find flaws within it. If there are defects then they are expected to work with developers directly to create a solution and validate them. 



System Team Testers – This team is the one who develops the platform for testing and frameworks that empower the team that makes up the Agile release train. Creating and running automated tests to enable continuous integration and continuous deployment falls within their bucket too. They also provide provisioning of network and virtualization that allows the test team to test and develop independently of one another. Most importantly, they are the ones who conduct audit and testing of cross-system topics like Single Sign-On (SSO), security, compliance and regulatory standards which may or may not fall to being the QA test team “out-of-scope support”. 



Then we have the “Other Actors” from the user management team, user experience experts and several other architects who play as backup and support roles in such activity. 



Test Architects are those who define testing strategies, framework, and methodologies, and work hand in hand with System Architects in ensuring that the product application is designed for quality testing. 



Automation Architects lead the analysis and proof of concept activities when it comes to automation testing. This is to ensure that consistency for build verification tests and regression test suite are in automation is in place. Overall, they are engaged in everything that has something to do with automation such as preparing the test cases, setup specifications and configurations, the staging of test cases and its data. These are also the people who make automation testing in SAFe (Scale Agile Framework) possible. 



System Architects are not involved in testing directly, but they are the ones who design the system to cater to overall testing sessions and workloads. 



UX Experts is team of user experience experts who are deeply involved UX testing, and providing inputs as to what approach is needed for usability testing and test automation method. 



Business Analysts provide support to the agile and system teams in developing and executing end-to-end testing. They also provide recommendations on functional and non-functional requirements, and Service Level Agreements (SLAs).&nbsp; 



Product Owners at times typically involve in testing and ad hoc testing. 



Additionally, in an agile ( also SAFe ) team, testers ( also automation testers ) are becoming a part of virtual teams and are commonly referred to like the Communities of Practices (CoPs). CoPs are comprised of people from different teams and departments having common expertise and knowledge. They come together as one and participate in activities to share their expertise and experiences.



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Automation Testing in a SAFe ( Scaled Agile Framework ) in an enterprise, everyone is accountable for quality which makes everyone a tester regardless of their levels within the organization. Therefore, other enterprise businesses opt for cross-skilled resources. For instance, developer-tester role, an individual dedicated to programming as well as testing. 



Now that you have the bigger picture of Agile Testing, what role do you play in? How is your agile culture within your organization different from this? 



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Agile Automation Testing In SAFe

Software Testing has not evolved to meet the demands of the current accelerated delivery needs. As software becomes sophisticated,&nbsp;traditional approaches to Testing&nbsp;would not be sufficient. With the advancement in technology, Test Automation was introduced to accelerate the process of testing simply by automating test cases and scenarios.



In today’s world, almost every organization is onto Test Automation for better business results.



 



For the past few years, the First generation of Test Automation has been in the spotlight. These provide businesses and testing teams a macro recording which runs in parallel with an Application Programming Interface (API), whereas test execution engines send a command and wait for it to be executed. This tool was working well for short length automation and was also done by combining a logical sequence of such short length macros and test flows. 



Then came the Second generation Test Automation Tools that offers full scripting capability with more features and better support for user interaction. Most of the windows based on common tasks such as operations, application, launch, generating reports were simplified. Frameworks like these are required to be built on long term test automation to go at par with quality the business is expecting. 



As the continuous innovation in technology, <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/scriptless-test-automation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Scriptless Test Automation</a> is rapidly gaining its popularity amongst various IT companies – simply because it is designed to help the testing team to quickly build ready-to-use automated test cases and reusable code assets that have full test coverage.



Scriptless Testing is a term used for test automation done without having to write any script or code. This type of testing is also called codeless testing sometimes. Check the guide for an in-depth read on <a aria-label="Check the guide for an in-depth read on codeless testing. (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com/codeless-testing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">codeless testing.</a> 



<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#Second-Gen_Test_Automation_Tool_Selenium">1 Second-Gen Test Automation Tool, “Selenium”</a></li><li><a href="#Scriptless_Test_Automation_Tools_A_Less_to_Zero_Coding_for_QA_Professionals">2 Scriptless Test Automation Tools: A “Less to Zero Coding” for QA Professionals</a></li><li><a href="#Selenium_Vs_Scriptless_Test_Automation_Tool_What_is_Best">3 Selenium Vs Scriptless Test Automation Tool: What is Best?</a></li><li><a href="#The_Comparison_Battle_Concludes">4 The Comparison Battle Concludes!</a></li><li><a href="#Testsigma_NLP_based_Scriptless_Test_Automation_Solution">5 Testsigma: NLP based Scriptless Test Automation Solution</a></li></ul></div>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="second-gen-test-automation-tool-selenium">Second-Gen Test Automation Tool, “Selenium”</h2>



Selenium is a suite of web browser automation tools to automate browsers across a range of platforms. It is principally used to automate web apps for testing reasons even though it is capable of so many things. The majority of big-name browser vendors support it. Furthermore, many of these either have taken or are taking steps to make it a native part of their browsers. Besides, it is the core technology used in serried of other APIs, browser automation tools, and automation testing frameworks.



Selenium runs on various browsers and operating systems, and a range of programming languages and frameworks can control it. Plus, it can automate tedious web-based administration tasks.



It also provides for authoring tests without the necessity to acquire knowledge of a test scripting language (Selenium IDE). Selenium also provides a test domain-specific language (Selenese) to write tests in several popular programming languages, including Scala, Groovy, Java, Ruby, C#, PHP, Python, and Perl. The tests can then run against current and newest web browsers. Selenium deploys on Windows, macOS and Linux platforms.



Selenium is primarily composed of respective components with specific role assists the web application test automation development. These are Selenium Grid, Selenium IDE (Integrated Development Environment), Selenium WebDriver, and Selenium RC (Remote Control).







<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="scriptless-test-automation-tools-a-less-to-zero-coding-for-qa-professionals">Scriptless Test Automation Tools: A “Less to Zero Coding” for QA Professionals</h2>



&#8220;Scriptless” implies “no scripting and programming”. This is somewhat misleading to the audience especially to those who are new to software testing. Scriptless testing doesn’t eliminate scripting and is not suitable for the actual coding of any test automation tool. It is an extremely flexible testing framework with minimal exposure to code. In layman’s terms, it can be said that scriptless testing is an approach to conduct testing without scripting or coding in any programming language. It reduces the time required for creating automated tests by considerably minimizing the amount of scripting needed. 



Scriptless Test Automation is a more structured model where the majority of test cases can be automated by functional users and those are reusable scripts. It is a myth that test architects will be involved in scriptless testing but in real-time they are not. Based on their expertise and knowledge, test architects will be involved in identifying the possible reusable part of the test scripts. When operational scope spreads out, few new components will be added to the application and then test architects will be involved to integrate them. 



Scriptless Test Automation is being refined to highly organized tools for use in multiple real-time test scenarios. The developers of those tools shall have analyzed various business cases, deployment environments, operational scenarios before building each reusable components for their tools. Hence they offer a good standard of practical reliability as well. 



With scriptless Test Automation, testers can create better automation scripts that showcase the core functionality of the application. This type of testing will certainly reduce the number of licenses for the testing tools. Scriptless Test Automation will be more useful from product development companies where the same resources can be leveraged for multiple tasks. 



Thought it has many advantages, there are scriptless test automation frameworks that have complex underlying codes that need to be maintained and updated periodically. Those frameworks are not free – they consume initial and maintenance costs which is more than the tool’s cost. Therefore, choosing the right framework specific to your business requirement is the only manual effort you need to do. 



Using Scriptless Test Automation tools, the testing team does not need any coding or scripting knowledge to create automated tests. However, as a framework, it is a good practice to provide the capability of customization. 



For advanced users, customization can be done by writing their code for covering some unique test scenarios.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="selenium-vs-scriptless-test-automation-tool-what-is-best">Selenium Vs Scriptless Test Automation Tool: What is Best?</h2>



Selenium is required to be built on long term test automation to go at par with quality. For instance, if the testing team wanted to reuse test scripts then it is best to leverage Selenium IDE. Selenium IDE is one of the components of Selenium capable of recording, editing and debugging of functional test scripts. Test scripts have to be made from scratch by the testers, therefore, they are required to know programming or scripting. 



On the other hand, Scriptless Automation Tools already provide ready-to-use automated test cases and reusable code objects. Mostly for Scriptless Test Automation tools, these features are out-of-the-box. It is not mandatory for the testers to know programming or scripting of some sort. It empowers testers and business users to automate testers without worrying about coding. The problem of coding is largely taken care of by the Scriptless Test Automation tool already. 



In terms of debugging test scripts, Scriptless Test Automation tools eliminate the need to repeatedly debug scripted test code as this already done by the tool itself, while in Selenium, automation testers when encountering any test script errors have to debug the test code manually. 



Setting up test environments for Selenium is difficult. Selenium uses various plugins to support Test Automation thus making it a must for system owners and administrators to update and configure everything manually. Scriptless test environments can be built faster and maintained easily creating a hassle-free update environment.



Hence, making a Scriptless Test Automation tool a perfect fit for Test Automation for Agile and DevOps. 



Using Scriptless Test Automation Tool, the testing team can easily automate large test suites faster almost double the times faster compared to Selenium. It greatly reduces the “go to market” time, which comes in handy when there are major software updates. In short, the more the test coverage, the better as it produces a well-refined product which is a win-win situation for the business. 



Scalability and Flexibility is one of the most desirable in Scriptless. It is flexible to work with various browsers available in the market and it scales an amount of workload as much as the business requires. For Selenium to be flexible enough to work with multiple browsers, it needs to have components 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="the-comparison-battle-concludes">The Comparison Battle Concludes!</h2>



It’s time to reach our conclusion. Both contenders, Selenium and Scriptless Test Automation Tools do what they do best. Now, which is better?&nbsp; 



Overall, Scriptless Test Automation Tools have an edge over Selenium. Scriptless test automation tools can easily be set up, configured and maintained and does not require any plugins as Selenium does. It can handle the bulk amount of test cases way faster than Selenium.



Scriptless Test Automation Tools do not require that their functional users know scripting and programming. Users can conduct their QA activities with “<a href="https://d1gm6dy5ofa99q.cloudfront.net/assets/videos/common/automated-testcase.mp4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">ready-to-use</a>” test steps which already exist within the platform. 



Unlike Selenium, one needs to add Selenium IDE to leverage playback tool which grants users feature slightly similar with reusable codes scriptless has. If we talk about scalability and flexibility, scriptless is the one in favor. Everything you need is already available. Selenium, for the most part, requires components to utilize and fully leverage it. 



The battle is over. If you are looking for the perfect Automation Testing Suite and a complete solution fit for Agile and DevOps environments, then a Scriptless Automation Tool is definitely for you.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="testsigma-nlp-based-scriptless-test-automation-solution">Testsigma: NLP based Scriptless Test Automation Solution</h2>



When we start talking about Test Automation, we can create a list of issues every business is facing and some which are critical for the business. Some of the major pain points include the usage of multiple tools required in testing sessions, rigorous scripting and coding, test automation frameworks, test lab, integrations and other QA related concerns that need to be addressed.&nbsp; Even with all these, your testing team is all over the place. 



It’s time to say goodbye to all this.



Say hello to Testsigma<a aria-label="It’s time to say goodbye to all this. Say hello to Testsigma, a complete test automation ecosystem.
 (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">,</a>&nbsp;a complete Test Automation ecosystem! Testsigma is an NLP based Scriptless Test Automation tool meant for all! The tests are written in simple English and can automate Web, Mobile apps and API services. To learn more about the tool, the product and services, reach out to the chat section or visit the <a aria-label="Testsigma is a Scriptless Test Automation tool meant for all! It can automate Web, Mobile apps and API services in plain English.
To learn more about the tool, the product and services, reach out to the chat section or visit the Testsigma's&nbsp;home page. (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Testsigma&#8217;s&nbsp;home page</a>.



 



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Chris Gito