The world is witnessing challenging times(COVID-19), and we sincerely hope that you, your loved ones, and your colleagues are taking precautionary measures and are staying safe. It is also encouraging to see the world’s resilience as it comes together to fight this rising threat.



We wanted to assure you that in the light of the current circumstances, we are taking all possible steps to ensure the safety of our employees as well as maintain uninterrupted services for our customers.



At <a href="https://testsigma.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)">Testsigma</a>, we’ve taken the following measures to ensure the safety and well-being of our two greatest priorities &#8211; our employees and our customers:



<ol start="1" class="list-number pl-5"><li>The entire team is working from home without any disruption since last few weeks, and we foresee this continuing until the situation improves.</li><li>All non-essential travel has been put on hold and a special task force has been set up to monitor and address any operational issues.</li><li> Systems have been tested, Testsigma platform will run without interruptions and you will continue to get the same quality of 24&#215;7 support from Testsigma. Our support team will continue to be available 24X7. You can reach us at <a href="mailto:support@testsigma.com">support@testsigma.com</a> or via chat for instant responses.</li><li>During this time, our support teams are available and can be reached through email, website, online sessions, and chat. Our product support team has activated their Business Continuity Plan (BCP) to abide by Service Level Agreements that meet the ongoing customer needs.&nbsp;</li><li>We have built redundancy into our engineering and customer support teams, so even though thankfully, none of our employees have fallen sick due to the virus, we’re confident that our processes and redundancies will ensure business as usual from our side to you.</li><li>If you&#8217;re facing bandwidth constraints due to COVID-19, our automation experts are happy to jump in and help you with anything (training, automating your tests, setting up your test automation plans) that you may need. We&#8217;re happy to do it free of cost because we know you may not have planned a budget for this unexpected event.</li></ol>



If you&#8217;re looking for our advice on how to ensure continuous Testing during COVID-19, here&#8217;s my thought on <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Optimize your Testing efforts for continuous delivery during COVID-19 pandemic (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com/blog/optimize-your-testing-efforts-for-continuous-delivery/" target="_blank">optimizing your testing efforts for continuous delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic</a> outlining ideas to get you to proactively think about ways you can optimize your delivery times with limited resources. 



We are in this together. We will continue to monitor the global situation and offer continued support to our employees, customers, and partners as needed. 



In this hour of crisis, I hope that this assurance helps you worry a little less and focus more on the people you care about most.



As always, we thank you for your business, and we are committed to doing everything we can to ensure that your business can continue to operate with minimal disruption. Most importantly, we hope that you and your family are safe and remain healthy. 



-KR Naidu Founder &amp; CEO | Testsigma

Note from Testsigma CEO

In these tough times(COVID-19), the well-being of customers and employees is the most important for every organization.



During this unexpected crisis, there are teams working from home while there are few workplaces that have a reduced workforce. It is a given that the thoughts, efficiency, and availability of your team will not be the same as you may expect otherwise.



In these conditions, it is vital that the robustness of your software is not compromised.&nbsp;



Considering the disturbance that everyone in the world is going through, there will be a few tasks that you may not be able to do as planned, while there will be some important tasks still that will have to be done.



For optimum results, optimization of your team’s efforts will be key.



The development teams will have to focus on the optimization of delivery cycles to achieve business continuity on the basis of the availability and efficiency of the workforce.



A well-implemented continuous delivery process will be the solution here.



Below are some points which are important for all the teams including Dev &amp; QA for optimum and continued operations:



<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#People_Process_Business">1 People, Process, Business</a></li><li><a href="#1_People">2 1. People</a></li><li><a href="#2_Process">3 2. Process</a></li><li><a href="#3_Business">4 3. Business</a></li><li><a href="#Below_are_some_points_which_I_feel_are_important_for_Dev_QA">5 Below are some points which I feel are important for Dev &amp; QA :</a></li></ul></div>
<h3>People, Process, Business</h3> 



<div class="wp-container-679353b8c304f wp-block-group">
<h3 id="1-people">1. People</h3>
</div>



<div class="wp-container-679353b8c34ee wp-block-group pl-15">
Focus on your team. Understand their strengths and patterns of working. When we are challenged by many odds, it would be hard to expect 100% from everyone. Some of them might not be used to working remotely. Give them time and better to over-communicate to fill the gap. 



There are some innovative ways to connect your teams remotely like online games, virtual tea-breaks and sharing photos and playlists. Do not hesitate to make use of them. Communication becomes a key challenge in these times. Schedule regular catch-ups with your team and don’t just focus on work-related talk.&nbsp;



This is the time to identify your champions who can deliver in any circumstances. If you are a small team or a start-up these are the people who can take your company to the next level. Encourage your champions and assign them the key areas to focus on. Give your teams the usual freedom and accountability to achieve the goals for the week.
</div>



<h3 id="2-process">2. Process</h3>



<div class="wp-container-679353b8c3956 wp-block-group pl-15">
There might be a definite change in the productivity of your teams. Due to this almost every company has to change its priorities. Make sure you educate everyone about the change of priorities and make them align with the new plan. It might need some process changes as well. Your updates might need to be more frequent. 



There should be clear in and out times and appropriate status updates in the communication platforms. It will help everyone know when to expect others and when someone would be offline. 
</div>



<h3 id="3-business">3. Business</h3>



<div class="wp-container-679353b8c3faa wp-block-group pl-15">
Don&#8217;t prioritize everything. The situation is very much uncertain. Just focus on what is required for business continuity, and wait for the things to get better. &nbsp;Start preparing for the emergency fund in case it might be needed in the near future. Stay focused on your current customers and work on your leads to get your next customers. Reduce unnecessary expenses and aggressively optimize the current process.&nbsp;



Many companies are going to see a steep fall in terms of numbers, very soon all these companies will stand a chance to grow much faster than the fall that we are going to see now. What is important is how you prepare yourself and the teams for that growth. Plan for the worst and get ready for the best!
</div>



<h3 class="pt-15" id="below-are-some-points-which-i-feel-are-important-for-dev-qa">Below are some points which I feel are important for Dev &amp; QA :</h3>



1. Customer issues and requirements should become your mainstream development: It should be the case even otherwise if you don&#8217;t follow this already it&#8217;s time you change your strategy. Bring your core team here. Make sure you <a href="https://hiverhq.com/customer-support-guide" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">support all your customers</a> without fail. Don&#8217;t let this branch run by a secondary team.



2. Not the right time for big releases: If you have already planned a big release, it is good to hold until you get clarity. Simple things like stable network connectivity are also a problem to push your updates, there are many more odds that you need to think of.



3. Frequent minor updates are always better: If you are a SaaS business, it is recommended to release frequently with minor changes, so that the impact would be very few when things go wrong. During this time where communication, availability, and accessibility is difficult, it’s not the right time for major updates.&nbsp; 



4. Make sure your regression suites are lean and relevant: Your turn around time needs to be better than before. Create suites with affected test cases so that you can get things done quickly with fewer resources. If you have large test suites and take a long time for execution, parallel execution is one option. But, if you want to save more time, filter the high priority test cases and create another test suite that can be executed when time is running low.



5. Are your pipelines(DevOps) not automated yet? If not, it’s time to think about it: If you are a DevOps hub and all your pipelines are automated, you stand a better chance to release updates more often and continuously. If you don&#8217;t have your DevOps set up yet, it&#8217;s time for you and your team to understand the need and get started with it. Not just for now, It is going to add huge value to your company in the long term.



6. If you follow DevOps/Continuous Delivery practices, are your pipelines 100% automated? If that is the case you are all set to deliver continuously with fewer resources even at the difficult times, like what we are seeing now. If not, identify the gaps and try to automate your pipelines 100%. Perhaps you may not have approvals to try commercial tools. In that case, there are lots of free tools. You could also start with free versions of commercial tools and see how it works for you. Also, make sure that these tools scale to the next level when you as a team and the company go to the next level.



7. Don&#8217;t have test automation yet then this is the right time to start. Pick free tools to begin with: If you have worked on test automation, it would have been easy for you to continue your regular delivery cycles confidently.&nbsp; If not, in these times when resources are limited, it is all the more important to ensure quality because, in case of a failure, it may be a difficult task to fix with limited resources.



8. Start automating your regression suites: If you don&#8217;t have test automation yet, start implementing now. If your delivery cycles are not as usual or planned, your team might have time to start this activity.&nbsp;



9. Involve others in test automation if your tools support: If your SMEs &amp; QAs have free time during this time, it’s better to involve them in test automation. So that your delivery cycles would be faster later when things get back to normal. During this time, change of work also will help them focus more and they will give their best. If you are just starting with test automation, choose a test automation tool that allows other stakeholders including developers, managers, and clients to start test case creation with a low learning curve such that your automation tasks are completed even if the testing team is low in number.



10. Integrate your automated tests with your continuous integration pipeline: For end-to-end automation and continuous delivery, it is essential to integrate your testing with the CI/CD pipeline and having a tool that integrates with needed tools readily is the need of the hour.



11. Time to check your automation efficiency: If you have not measured your test automation ROI yet, take a look at it. Check how much it can save for you, with the investment that you have already made. When the team sizes are shrinking, can your test automation complement their errors? If not, understand why and where are the gaps and take necessary action if they are small. Again, don&#8217;t look at the changing processes during this time.



12. Take steps to reduce the number of feedback cycles and time for each of them: Since a lot of remote communication is involved now, try avoiding back and forth for your feedback. Also, try to reduce the number of feedback cycles, because there will be a significant communication delay for each cycle during this time.



We know that we can pull through, we just have to be careful, optimistic and focus on being efficient every step of the way.



If you need any help, we will always be available via the usual channels. Praying for the health and well-being of all! 



K R Naidu, CEO, Testsigma

Optimize Your Testing Efforts for Continuous Delivery

Data Driven vs Keyword Driven Frameworks for Test Automation

The Differences Between Priority and Severity in Testing

Types of Testing – What are Different Software Testing Types?

Mobile UI Testing – How to Perform with Testsigma?

Must Have Skills For an Automation Tester

15 Must Have Skills For a Top Automation Tester

To improve the quality of a software product built by developers, software testing is the key. Testing is essential to ensure that the end product delivered is stable and works according to the required specifications. As software testing plays a significant role in the delivery of the final product, it is necessary to consider that the testing process must involve accurate, exhaustive test cases and firm test strategy.



Test coverage has a huge impact on what is received as an end product. Efficient and apt test coverage covers all minute points &amp; areas, that many times go neglected. Complete test coverage should include scenarios on latency, speed, security, and usability. Hence, organizations always look for testers who can comprehend testing with precision and effectiveness. 



<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#Common_TestnbspAutomation_Mistakes_QA_Teams_Tend_To_Make">1 Common Test&nbsp;Automation Mistakes QA Teams Tend To Make</a></li><li><a href="#1_Identifying_what_can_be_automated_and_not">2 1. Identifying what can be automated and not</a></li><li><a href="#2_Not_providing_proper_training_to_team_membersnbsp">3 2. Not providing proper training to team members&nbsp;</a></li><li><a href="#3_Lack_of_Supervision">4 3. Lack of Supervision</a></li><li><a href="#4_Not_paying_heed_to_your_Return_on_Investment_ROI">5 4. Not paying heed to your Return on Investment (ROI )</a></li><li><a href="#5_Automating_large_tasksnbsp">6 5. Automating large tasks&nbsp;</a></li><li><a href="#6_Use_of_Record_Playback_tools_for_scripting">7 6. Use of Record &amp; Playback tools for scripting</a></li><li><a href="#7_The_tool_is_chosen_just_because_it8217s_open-source">8 7. The tool is chosen just because it&#8217;s open-source</a></li><li><a href="#8_Other_common_test_automation_mistakesnbsp">9 8. Other common test automation mistakes&nbsp;</a></li><li><a href="#What_are_the_basic_principles_to_achieve_success_while_automating_a_process">10 What are the basic principles to achieve success while automating a process?</a></li><li><a href="#Tips_for_QA_team_members_to_achieve_a_good_success_rate_in_automationnbsp">11 Tips for QA team members to achieve a good success rate in automation&nbsp;</a></li><li><a href="#Tips_for_QA_Team_Leads_to_achieve_success_in_automation">12 Tips for QA Team Leads to achieve success in automation</a></li><li><a href="#Conclusion">13 Conclusion</a></li></ul></div>
<h2 id="common-test-automation-mistakes-qa-teams-tend-to-make">Common Test&nbsp;Automation Mistakes QA Teams Tend To Make</h2>



<h2 id="1-identifying-what-can-be-automated-and-not">1. Identifying what can be automated and not</h2>



For a tester, understanding what areas to automate and how it will help the organization is the basic rule of thumb for the success of test automation. If a tester fails to understand the primary goal of automating a process and what benefits it will bring to the organization, it would be a waste of money.



If you have no experience with automation, it’s difficult to decide which tasks to automate and which ones to execute manually. But it’s also a mistake going in without a plan. You need to have a clear understanding of automation and how it will affect daily tasks, cost and time in the long run.



<figure class="wp-block-embed-wordpress aligncenter wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-testsigma-blog"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="uGk4PZpoY7"><a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/when-to-choose-test-automation-framework-over-manual-testing/">When to Choose Test Automation Framework Over Manual Testing</a></blockquote><iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);" title="&#8220;When to Choose Test Automation Framework Over Manual Testing&#8221; &#8212; Testsigma Blog" src="https://testsigma.com/blog/when-to-choose-test-automation-framework-over-manual-testing/embed/#?secret=suCVZQefX0#?secret=uGk4PZpoY7" data-secret="uGk4PZpoY7" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
</div><figcaption>How to determine which framework is right for your organization? </figcaption></figure>







<h2 id="2-not-providing-proper-training-to-team-members">2. Not providing proper training to team members&nbsp;</h2>



Organizations often fail to understand that making a change is easy, but making people accept the change and live with it is really very hard. This is where businesses struggle. They adopt automation without taking their team on board and don’t understand their employees who make or break the deal. 



There are two critical phases where you need to ensure your team is with you:



1. &nbsp; Training and adaptation



2. &nbsp; Testing and implementation of the automated solution



The introduction of any tool requires proper training of the tool to the members who will be using it. It should not be rolled out to the organization and asked to do hit and trial. The tools should be made familiar with a bunch of people and then once they are well versed with it they should train others.



The best way to do this is by offering training. Before enacting your automation strategy, <a href="https://www.visme.co/teams/training-and-development/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">create a training document</a> and have multiple meetings and workshops. It’s also helpful to host a testing session to ensure your staff fully understands the automated processes. 



<h2 id="3-lack-of-supervision">3. Lack of Supervision</h2>



Supervision is not limited to managing your staff and their roles during automating a project. Supervision also includes managing the entire project along with the automation process. Failure to manage your automated processes results in losing control of the project and impacts sales adversely. Supervisors should always monitor the automated process activity to ensure all processes are successful and if something goes wrong, they should be the first one to know and get the issue fixed.



<h2 id="4-not-paying-heed-to-your-return-on-investment-roi">4. Not paying heed to your Return on Investment (ROI )</h2>



Investment in automating a process is not limited to license purchase only, it may require much more investment such as :



<ul class="list_style_disc"><li>Cost of implementation and installation</li><li>Extra tools and services</li><li>Hiring specialized staff</li><li>Running cost</li></ul>



For more insight on it,&nbsp; please refer to the link below:&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/blog/when-to-automate-and-why" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/blog/when-to-automate-and-why/</a>



<h2 id="5-automating-large-tasks">5. Automating large tasks&nbsp;</h2>



It’s a common perception, first to automate larger tasks. But, practically it is always better to automate smaller tasks first and focus on larger tasks later.



If you start automating the larger tasks first, it is going to be difficult and time-taking to complete. You also risk making serious errors and disrupting your whole process. Hence, it may lead to a loss of money.



What if you’re bogged down with multiple large projects. If automating them is the only solution, reorganize and prioritize these tasks into smaller chunks. Automate some parts of the task which you think are repetitive and work independently on the other parts. 



<h2 id="6-use-of-record-playback-tools-for-scripting">6. Use of Record &amp; Playback tools for scripting</h2>



Record and playback tools generate complex scripts that are difficult to understand and maintain. Record and play features should only be viewed as a way to generate skeletal scripts. It should not be used as a final step in automated script creation. When automation is newly introduced in any organization, many testers depend on record and playback for creating test scripts, as they are not well versed with the automation process and methodology. Effective and Efficient Automation Testing requires good knowledge of the system and the creation of simple scripts. When testing scripts are simple, they are easy to understand for everyone in the team. Such scripts are also easy to maintain and update for testers that are well aware of the module.



<h2 id="7-the-tool-is-chosen-just-because-it-s-open-source">7. The tool is chosen just because it&#8217;s open-source</h2>



Nowadays, Open source tools are being widely accepted in the market. But, selecting an open-source tool as it would be cost-saving should not be the only tool selection criteria.



Open-source tools require you to be well versed with technical skills. If any issue crops up while handling the tool, you won’t be able to get the support over the phone or mail from the vendor.&nbsp;



Open-source tools attract users as they have no licensing fees but they also come with some limitations. Some have limited functionality and may not give you all the features you need, so be very clear about what you require and how the tool will help you to automate your desired requirement.



Many organizations end up using both open-source and commercial tools together since the commercial tools can fill in any missing functionality that the open-source tools don&#8217;t have, and often add value on top of the open-source tools.



The article&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Many organizations end up using both open-source and commercial tools together since the commercial tools can fill in any missing functionality that the open-source tools don't have, and often add value on top of the open-source tools. The article&nbsp;Reluctance To Abandon Automated Tests And Switch To Scriptless Automation Testing discusses&nbsp;why new user-friendly scriptless automation testing tools are still a second thought.
 (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com/blog/reluctance-to-abandon-automated-tests-switch-to-scriptless-automation-testing/" target="_blank">Reluctance To Abandon Automated Tests And Switch To Scriptless Automation Testing</a> discusses&nbsp;why new user-friendly scriptless automation testing tools are still a second thought. 



<figure class="wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped"><ul class="blocks-gallery-grid"><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><figure><img loading="lazy" width="4454" height="1144" src="https://testsigma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Testsigma_Easy-scripting.jpg" alt="Testsigma_Easy Scripting" data-id="7683" data-full-url="https://testsigma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Testsigma_Easy-scripting.jpg" data-link="https://testsigma.com/blog/8-top-test-automation-mistakes-and-tips-for-qa-teams-to-avoid-them/web-3/" class="wp-image-7683"><figcaption class="blocks-gallery-item__caption">Write simple reliable tests in Testsigma</figcaption></figure></li></ul></figure>



<h2 id="8-other-common-test-automation-mistakes">8. Other common test automation mistakes&nbsp;</h2>



The most common test automation mistakes which organizations tend to make while indulging in the fresh setup of automation process are:&nbsp;



<ol><li>Not understanding the benefits of automation</li><li>Not setting automation goals</li><li>Using automation to improve a bad process</li><li>Automating larger tasks as opposed to automating time-consuming tasks</li></ol>



Before you implement your automation strategy, understand these test automation mistakes and prevent making them. 



<h2 id="what-are-the-basic-principles-to-achieve-success-while-automating-a-process">What are the basic principles to achieve success while automating a process?</h2>



Some simple tips can be kept in mind while implementing automation:



1. Keep things simple. Do what is required. You should not overdo things to make it look fancy and complicated.



2. Doing simple things does not mean automating an easy process. It means you should take baby steps to achieve your automation goals. You may start automating with a simple feature, but it may happen that the final implementation of automation turns out to be complex.



3. The team should be cross-functional. You should not restrict the automation job either only with the testers or only with the developers. Each of the disciplines has to step into each other’s shoes to achieve automation of the project. This approach gives everyone an in-depth knowledge of the project and also the ability to tackle any technical issues that may arise.



4. Take your time to understand the application which you want to automate. Design it well to avoid technical mistakes.



5. Keep asking for feedback frequently from clients and testers to ensure the right product is being built.



6. Apply proper coding standards and practices. The design should be simple, try to keep the tests independent of each other. Consider factors like “maintainability” of the test suit.



7. Automation for a team is not just the implementation and maintenance, but it also includes the integration of the automated suite to Continuous Integration(CI). It requires testers to learn and adopt new skills, new tools, and technologies. 



<h2 id="tips-for-qa-team-members-to-achieve-a-good-success-rate-in-automation">Tips for QA team members to achieve a good success rate in automation&nbsp;</h2>



<ol><li>Each individual is responsible for their work product and its quality.&nbsp;</li><li>You should be responsible for your work, how to do, what to do and when to do. Team lead should not tell you what to do, every single day.</li><li>You should never hesitate in communicating, asking questions no matter even if you feel it is irrelevant, raise concerns, red-flags or issues as soon as they arise.</li><li>&nbsp;You should keep yourself updated and never stop learning.</li></ol>



<h2 id="tips-for-qa-team-leads-to-achieve-success-in-automation">Tips for QA Team Leads to achieve success in automation</h2>



<ol style="padding-bottom: 10px"><li>Establish strong processes and train your associates in such a way that they can work independently with minimum or no supervision</li><li>Consider the team’s opinion on timelines, schedules, effort estimations, and planning.</li><li>You should be approachable to the team for any type of communication.</li><li>Be a team player and share responsibilities.</li></ol>



<figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="3001" height="828" data-id="4652" src="https://testsigma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Shift-Left-Testing_Testsigma.jpg" alt="Scriptless Test Automation_Testsigma" class="wp-image-4652"/></figure>
</figure>







<h2>Conclusion</h2>



In a competitive market, where the client demands high-quality products with fast-paced delivery, automation surely helps, if chosen wisely. Before automating any process, understand the requirement well, find out the limitations, list down all requirements that can be automated.



Once the requirements are thoroughly understood, then comes the crucial part of tool selection. While selecting the <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/select-right-automation-testing-tool/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Once the requirements are thoroughly understood, then comes the crucial part of tool selection. While selecting the right test automation tool, always focus on return on investment, time-saving on the process, cost-saving and overall benefits it brings to organizations. (opens in a new tab)">right test automation tool</a>, always focus on return on investment, time-saving on the process, cost-saving and overall benefits it brings to organizations. 



You should not just run behind automation and think it would create magic and help in faster delivery of the product. Wisely select the areas of automation, have a clear test strategy and test plan. Start automating a smaller module, everyday repetitive activities and focus on larger modules later to avoid the common test automation mistakes we are likely to make.



To excel in the world of automation, you should keep <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="You should not just run behind automation and think it would create magic and help in faster delivery of the product. Wisely select the areas of automation, have a clear test strategy and test plan. Start automating a smaller module, everyday repetitive activities and focus on larger modules later. To excel in the world of automation, you should keep upgrading your&nbsp; testing skillsets, taking challenges and never giving up. (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com/blog/top-20-websites-for-online-automation-testing-courses-and-certifications/" target="_blank">upgrading your testing skillsets</a>, take up challenges and never give up!

Few mistakes to not make in test automation_Testsigma

8 Top Test Automation Mistakes And Tips For QA Teams to Avoid Them

12 Latest Software Test Automation Trends To Look For In 2022

12 Latest Software Test Automation Trends To Look For

Top 20 Websites For Online Automation Testing Courses and Certifications_Testsigma

Wait a second...Did you try Testsigma?

Wait a second...
Did you try Testsigma?