Quality Assurance VS Quality Control (QA VS QC): What’s the Difference?

<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#Introduction">1 Introduction</a></li><li><a href="#Types_of_Software_Bugs">2 Types of Software Bugs</a><ul><li><a href="#1_Implementation_Bugs">2.1 1. Implementation Bugs:</a></li><li><a href="#2_Specification_Bugs">2.2 2. Specification Bugs:</a></li><li><a href="#3_Absent_Specification_Bugs">2.3 3. Absent Specification Bugs: </a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#What_Causes_Bugs_in_Software">3 What Causes Bugs in Software?</a><ul><li><a href="#1_RegressionInjection">3.1 1. Regression/Injection: </a></li><li><a href="#2_Inadequate_Testing">3.2 2. Inadequate Testing:</a></li><li><a href="#3_Communication_Gap">3.3 3. Communication Gap:</a></li><li><a href="#4_Improper_Planning">3.4 4. Improper Planning:</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#How_can_Software_Bugs_be_Prevented">4 How can Software Bugs be Prevented?</a><ul><li><a href="#1_Test-Driven_Development_TDD">4.1 1. Test-Driven Development (TDD):</a></li><li><a href="#2_Continuous_Integration_Continuous_Testing_CICT">4.2 2. Continuous Integration Continuous Testing (CICT):</a></li><li><a href="#3_Behaviour_Driven_DevelopmentBDD">4.3 3. Behaviour Driven Development(BDD):</a></li><li><a href="#4_Specification_Review_and_Management">4.4 4. Specification Review and Management:</a></li><li><a href="#5_Clear_Communication">4.5 5. Clear Communication:</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#Why_are_not_all_Software_Bugs_Preventable">5 Why are not all Software Bugs Preventable?</a><ul><li><a href="#1_Effort_Tradeoff">5.1 1. Effort Tradeoff: </a></li><li><a href="#2_User_Immunity_to_Bugs">5.2 2. User Immunity to Bugs: </a></li><li><a href="#3_Team_Structure_and_Dynamics">5.3 3. Team Structure and Dynamics: </a></li><li><a href="#4_Software_Patch_Releases">5.4 4. Software Patch Releases: </a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#Conclusion">6 Conclusion</a></li></ul></div>
<h2 id="introduction">Introduction</h2>



Creating a bug-free software is hard, to the extent that it seems like a myth. Bugs in software represent the discrepancy between the expected and actual behaviour of the software. Although it&#8217;s unrealistic to make software bug-free, efforts can surely be made to minimize the number of bugs in software through various prevention and detection techniques.&nbsp;



Prevention techniques are the ones that can be used to prevent bugs from occurring in the software. Detection techniques are the ones that can be used to detect the bugs that exist in the software. As bug detection can happen only after the bugs begin to appear in the software, detection is a costlier technique than prevention to minimize the bugs in software.



Let us discuss the major types of software bugs, factors causing them, and how to prevent them.



<h2 id="types-of-software-bugs">Types of Software Bugs</h2>



Software bugs can be broadly classified into 3 major categories:



<h3>1. Implementation Bugs:</h3> Bugs introduced during the implementation of software can be classified as implementation bugs. These bugs don’t exist in the requirements and design phases of the software but get introduced when the corresponding specifications are implemented in the code. Therefore, these can also be termed as coding bugs.



For example, consider the login page for an application. According to the specification, a valid username may contain alphabets and numerals. During implementation, the developer allows the use of symbols in the username along with alphabets and numerals.&nbsp;



These are the most common types of bugs prevailing in software and can be prevented to a large extent. 



<h3>2. Specification Bugs:</h3>Bugs introduced at the time of creating specifications for software can be classified as specification bugs. These are the bugs that get introduced when technical specifications for requirements and design are created.&nbsp;



For example, according to the specification, if a user enters an incorrect password, the error message “Incorrect Password!” should be shown to the user. As per the standard security guidelines, the error message in this scenario should be “Incorrect Username or Password!”.



 If a naive developer, who doesn’t know about standard security guidelines and practices followed in software products, is tasked with implementing the specification and he/she unknowingly goes ahead and implements the behaviour as mentioned in the specification, then the bug occurring here is a specification bug.



Such bugs, if not caught early, can impact the product development cycle. 



<h3>3. Absent Specification Bugs: </h3>Bugs that get introduced in the software because workflows and use-cases related to them were not considered during the creation of specifications can be termed absent specification bugs. These are the bugs that arise because nobody thought they could happen or would be needed when the specifications were created. </li></ol>



For example, the specification for a website doesn’t talk about supporting HTTPS. Therefore, it is assumed that HTTPS support is not needed for the website.



Security vulnerabilities in products are a classic example of such bugs. The security aspect is generally not considered during the initial phases of product specifications and may get missed in later phases until someone starts seeing the associated risks and raises alarm.&nbsp; 



<h2 id="what-causes-bugs-in-software">What Causes Bugs in Software?</h2>



Following are some of the common factors which cause software bugs:&nbsp;



<h3>1. Regression/Injection: </h3>A regression/injection is known to have happened when a new code change impacts the existing code in an undesirable manner, like a side-effect. This means that until the new code change was made, the software was working as expected but after the new code change, a bug has been introduced in the software.&nbsp;



Regressions/Injections are common when:



i. Teams are working with large and complex codebases of legacy products.ii. Teams are working in a disjoint manner such that they are not aware of how the modules they are working on may impact each otheriii. Product design is not clean enough to avoid side-effects in the code.



Whatever be the reason, regressions/injections pose serious challenges to the quality of a product and surely need to be prevented.



<h3>2. Inadequate Testing:</h3> If the software has not been thoroughly tested during its development cycle, there is an increased likelihood of bugs being left undiscovered in the product. These bugs would eventually be discovered by the end-users, raising concerns about the quality of the product.



This lapse in testing could be due to various reasons such as:



i. Lack of appropriate testing procedures for the product.ii. Shortage of experienced testers in the team.iii. Lack of time and resources needed for testing.



These bugs can surely be prevented from reaching the end-users by addressing the factors leading to inadequate testing.



<h3> 3. Communication Gap:</h3> Specifications depict the thoughts and vision of the people creating them. Any gaps in communication among people creating the specifications would eventually find their way in the specifications created by them.



These gaps in specifications can give way to miscommunication, assumptions, and conflicts leading to bugs. If some scenarios were not considered during creating a specification, expected behaviours for these scenarios would also be missing in the specification. 



This lack of information in the specification creates the opportunity for the development team to make assumptions regarding the expected behaviour for these scenarios. 



As assumptions are the first step on the path that leads to the difference between the expected and actual behaviour of a product, new bugs can get introduced in the product.



Sometimes, it may happen that different specifications or different sections in the same specification have conflicting expectations for the same use-case or scenario. 



Since development teams working on implementing these specifications may only refer to the sections relevant to them, such conflicts may be hard to catch early paving the way for bugs.&nbsp;



<h3>4. Improper Planning:</h3>Not considering scenarios that can impact the product later reflect poor planning. Such lapse in planning could also be due to a lack of relevant expertise in the team.



For example, if there is no security expertise in the team, it’s easy to miss on the planning of security-related efforts.&nbsp;



Improper planning may result in a lack of crucial components/modules in a&nbsp; product which may put the whole product at risk later.



<h2 id="how-can-software-bugs-be-prevented">How can Software Bugs be Prevented?</h2>



Following are a few techniques that can help in preventing software bugs:



<h3>1. Test-Driven Development (TDD):</h3> TDD encourages creating failing tests for the feature/product before developing the feature/product. As the development for the feature/product reaches completion, the test cases begin to pass, validating the expected behaviour for the feature/product.



If tests are created before the feature/product, the likelihood of a feature/product reaching its end-users untested is greatly reduced. TDD can serve as a powerful technique to prevent bugs arising due to inadequate testing.



<h3 id="2-continuous-integration-continuous-testing-cict">2. Continuous Integration Continuous Testing (CICT):</h3>



CICT emphasizes that every code change integrated into the central code repository should be automatically tested with predefined test cases. Thus, continuous testing is possible only when <a href="https://testsigma.com/automated-testing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="automated testing (opens in a new tab)">automated testing</a> is implemented and integrated with CI/CD system. 



To achieve CICT for a product, it is crucial that the test automation system is integrated with the build system of the product.



Having a CICT pipeline for the product makes sure that any regressions/injections in the product are caught as soon as they are introduced. This saves a lot of time and effort that is otherwise spent in tracking down the changes that caused the regression/injection.&nbsp;



<h3>3. Behaviour Driven Development(BDD):</h3>BDD encourages the use of a Domain Specific Language (DSL) for communication between and within teams. Using DSL helps in reducing miscommunication among stakeholders.



When BDD is used, tests can be created in a simple text language like English which makes it easy for everyone in the team to participate in creating and reviewing tests without getting into the nitty-gritty of code syntax. 



This flexibility and transparency in creating and reviewing test cases can help a lot in reducing bugs occurring due to communication gaps between and within teams.



Testsigma is a unified test automation tool that has taken test automation to a new level by allowing automation in simple English. To know more about <a href="https://testsigma.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)">Testsigma click here</a>.



<h3>4. Specification Review and Management:</h3> As the scope for the product evolves, so do specifications related to it. The dedicated effort may be required to review and track the updates happening in specifications. Early catching of any updates in the specifications which may lead to a potential conflict, can help in preventing bugs later in the implementation of the product.



<h3>5. Clear Communication:</h3> Open and clear communication among teams and team members can help a lot in highlighting absent/conflicting scenarios in specifications. If every team member is encouraged to communicate about use-cases or scenarios that they think are missing/conflicting in the specification then, such issues can be identified much quickly and early.



Encouraging teams to seek inputs from relevant stakeholders and brainstorm for the possible expected behaviours in cases of missing/conflicting specifications can help in reducing bugs arising out of assumptions made for implementation.



<h2 id="why-are-not-all-software-bugs-preventable">Why are not all Software Bugs Preventable?</h2>



Despite various prevention techniques available, bugs still find their way in products. There can be multiple factors for this, such as:



<h3>1. Effort Tradeoff: </h3>At times, you might need to choose between preventing bugs and evolving the product for new user groups, technologies and business domains.
With limited resources at hand, prioritizing bug prevention over new product features and updates may not always be a good business decision.



<h3>2. User Immunity to Bugs: </h3>Unless the bugs in the product make it really hard to use from a performance and stability perspective, users understand that bugs do exist in software and a bug-free software is not a realistic expectation.



<h3>3. Team Structure and Dynamics: </h3> Some of the bug prevention techniques might not work for you depending on your team structure and dynamics.



<h3>4. Software Patch Releases: </h3> If a critical bug in the product has made its way to the end-user, you know it’s not the end of the world and there is an option to provide a patch release or an early next release.



<h2 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h2>



It is always good to prevent bugs whenever possible. It saves a lot of time and effort later. But as discussed above, despite best efforts, some bugs might still find their way in the product. And it&#8217;s alright as long as these bugs don’t threaten user loyalty of the product.&nbsp;



A software with lots of features but poor stability and performance is as useless as a stable and highly performant software that doesn’t have enough features to achieve user workflows. To choose between preventing bugs and adding more features to the product, you need to find the right balance between the two.&nbsp;

Techniques To Prevent Software Bugs

How to Document Bugs and Issues so your team draw the greatest benefit from them

How to Write a Bug Report? Some Effective Tips

Common testing mistakes made by beginners Testsigma

Common Software Testing Mistakes Beginners Make & How To Avoid

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” &#8211;&nbsp; a famous quote by Hellen Keller is very much valid even in current times, especially in the context of teamwork.



The relationship between any two people is considered good when communication between them is healthy. And on the same lines, a team is able to work ‘together’ better when their communication is strong.



The testers in a software development team will be understood better if they are able to convey the software testing information and insights properly. In this article, we will discuss how to improve communication in a team from the perspective of testers.&nbsp;



Below are 7 ways that testers can communicate software testing insights better: 



1. Establishing Channels For Cross-Functional Communication Communication in a small team is usually not a challenge because one-on-one interaction is easy and simple. But as the size of an organization grows, the communication channels become complex in nature. Sometimes team members lack the know-how of sharing their knowledge with the right people and the communication gap widens.



This may lead to multiple people working on the same thing at the same time, which could also lead to a loss in productivity and ultimately revenue.&nbsp;



The solution is to establish proper channels for collaboration. A short meeting daily to plan the work and the practice of sharing work status with everyone proves helpful in avoiding such situations.&nbsp; 



One communication tool that all the team members use to communicate with each other is also useful. Slack and JIRA are some tools that companies use and have proved to be valuable.



2. Well-defined Reports



	Information related tasks and daily status is one aspect of communication. Another aspect is reports. Testers do many big tasks that can only be understood if they are followed up with well-defined reports. Test execution reports for example.



Testers execute a high number of test cases, for multiple features and for multiple releases. Sending reports, to concerned people, for each of these according to the timeline and goal of testing will make the testing process transparent for the team. Other team members can also pitch in their suggestions to improve the processes.



Typically, The test execution reports should include the objective of testing, testing scope, test results metrics, types of testing performed, test environment &amp; tools, and conclusion.



3. Bug Reporting <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/a-testers-guide-to-deal-with-missed-bugs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bugs are something that testers deal</a> with almost daily. Whenever a bug is encountered, it should be reported for timely action.&nbsp; The purpose of the report is to convey to the developers and the management the bug in short in the title. The test steps are to provide the reproduction steps if needed.&nbsp;



Bug reports should be constructed keeping in mind that the Developer or the Manager does not need to consult the tester to understand the bug or to furnish any other details again. 



An ideal bug report will include details of when it appeared and why.



For intermittent occurrences, the pattern of which it occurs, the different product versions, environment name, etc. It is a good practice to record a possible fix for the error if known, include screenshots, videos, and error logs where possible.



4. Removing Communication Barriers



If organizations really want the information to flow freely, it has to be easy, not just for the members who are working on a computer, but for those as well who are working remotely. By using third-party integrations such as Slack and Jira, all the members of different teams can share information from all corners of your organization and all across the world in an instant. The inclusion of <a href="https://www.appypie.com/integrate/apps/slack/integrations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Slack integration</a> further enhances communication and collaboration capabilities, enabling efficient and effective information exchange.



5. Strengthen Important Messages



When a team grows beyond twenty members, the collaboration between the members decreases significantly, especially in teams that are in different departments, locations, and roles. This says that strengthening the goal of working together can improve team communication and collaboration to a great extent. It is important for the enterprise software teams having people in different departments, roles and regions to reinforce important messages with multiple teams. This could mean that the team managers highlight the important messages for the team or such messages are sent with an important tag.



6. Training of Developers and Testers



Developers and testers should learn from each other. Developers should help testers understand the code base and the testers should help the developers understand the test suite and the logic behind the test techniques used or followed. The training will help both the developers and testers to easily collaborate and share important software testing information and insights related to the testing as well as development more often.



Teams which are using Agile and DevOps workflows should use CI (Continuous Integration) tools such as Jenkins.&nbsp;



7. Effective Integration with CI/CD



&nbsp;The CI/CD pipeline should be implemented in such a way that if a test fails, the report should be sent only to the concerned developers to avoid the bombardment of emails to those member’s inboxes who are not concerned with it. Otherwise, receiving many emails related to CI/CD status multiple times a day might compel people to ignore the mails. Check out some <a href="https://hunter.io/blog/cold-email-software/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cold email outreach tools</a> which will reduce your security and privacy concerns when it comes to emails. You could also check an <a href="https://snov.io/email-verifier" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">email address checker</a> to verify addresses before sending the emails. 



<a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com" target="_blank">Testsigma</a> is an automated testing tool that is built after considering all above-mentioned strategies for improving communication between team members. Let’s see how:



<ul class="list_style_disc"><li>Testsigma generates custom reports with text logs, video recordings, screenshots that can be shared with different members of the team working at different levels according to the information they need. </li><li>Testsigma has a “Report Bug” feature which helps the testers in drilling down the test results to get more information for the root cause of the failure and file a bug into several integrated bug platforms such as JIRA. </li><li>Testsigma allows its users to share test results via email, manually or automatically. </li><li>&nbsp;Testsigma hosts all <a href="https://testsigma.com/reports" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="test execution reports (opens in a new tab)">test execution reports</a> on the cloud. It helps the users to view and analyse the test results for each test environment from anywhere, anytime so you can better identify what areas need focus and determine the reach of your test coverage.</li></ul>



<ul class="list_style_disc"><li>It ensures that the application runs on every OS, device and browser combination that is supported.</li> </ul>



<ul class="list_style_disc"><li>Testsigma also allows its users to share the software testing insights through the communication tool Slack. Slack is an amazing communication tool which is becoming highly popular among companies of all sizes. Screenshot of an issue, text and insights in other forms can be easily shared via Slack. </li><li>Testsigma has a test lab replete with the latest devices and browsers to support cross-browser and cross-device testing. Not only this, schedulers can be used to schedule test plan runs. </li><li>Testsigma is built to address the automated cross-browser testing requirements and allows for easy sharing and integration of actionable feedback instantly with the team. This ensures an uninterrupted user experience across all the browsers.</li> </ul>



Current IT industry is becoming more and more complex with teams being geographically dispersed, organizations moving to the cloud and teams opting for emerging methodologies such as Agile and DevOps. This ecosystem makes it more difficult to communicate and evaluate the software testing insights from the testing activities. 



With powerful reporting and analytics tools, Testsigma helps organize and share data easily and effectively. It allows the testers, stakeholders, and decision-makers to remain updated regarding the progress and results at any given moment.



All in all, Testsigma has put in dedicated efforts to make any result easily shareable with all necessary integrations.



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Top Ways to Communicate Software Testing Insights Better

Top 7 Ways to Communicate Software Testing Insights Better

Though manual testing will always have its place, test automation is a necessary part of an organization’s testing process as it can help the business achieve larger business goals like high-quality products with less cost and reduced investment on resources. Also, there are other benefits such as quick test results, shortened release cycles among many others.&nbsp;



The decision of whether to use an automation testing tool in an organization or not is in the hands of the upper management. It is important for the management to understand that adding automation testing to an organization’s manual testing operations is very important. When automation testing is adopted, increased test coverage can be achieved as resources can be free to do more productive tasks. 



In this article, we will see how Testsigma helps the web and mobile dependent businesses to reduce the cost of&nbsp; software releases and continuously release great quality software products faster. 



<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#How_does_Testsigma_help_shorten_release_cycles">1 How does Testsigma help shorten release cycles?</a></li><li><a href="#How_can_Testsigma_reduce_your_business_cost">2 How can Testsigma reduce your business cost?</a></li><li><a href="#How_will_other_teams_benefit_from_the_tool_in_addition_to_the_testing_team">3 How will other teams benefit from the tool in addition to the testing team?</a></li><li><a href="#A_clear_test_automation_strategy_should_be_developed">4 A clear test automation strategy should be developed</a></li></ul></div>
<h2>How does Testsigma help shorten release cycles?</h2>



Businesses and organizations, usually release new features and updates without much delay. Testing is often considered as a bottleneck here because it can take a long time before giving a green signal for release. Automation is the ideal solution in such situations but if a tool takes up a lot of time to create, maintain and execute test cases, the ROI of test automation reduces.



<a href="https://testsigma.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)">Testsigma, as a test automation tool</a>, help teams reduce the time taken for creation, maintenance, and execution of test cases as discussed below: 



<ul class="list_style_disc pl-25 pt-1"><li>Quick creation of tests: Testsigma requires near-zero initial setup time and cost to get you started. With the help of a test automation framework, you can get a structure for the test automation tasks such as quick test creation, test execution, and reporting. The tests are simple to understand and write. 



Check out Testsigma&#8217;s <a href="https://testsigma.com/test-development" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Test Development (opens in a new tab)">Test Development</a> approach.</li> 



<li>Easy maintenance: &nbsp;If the developer makes changes in the application, the existing automated test script also needs to be changed. This may take a lot of time and effort. The self-healing feature of Testsigma automatically fixes minor changes made to the source code and hence prevents the tests from failing. Further, affected resources, test cases can automatically be identified in case of a changed resource. Testsigma&#8217;s new Suggestion Engine feature will diagnose for alternative solutions for a failed step.</li> 



<li>Parallel test execution: Parallel testing can speed up your testing to take it from days to hours. Testsigma allows you to execute tests in parallel. With effective parallelization, you can divide the time spent running tests by simultaneously testing in multiple browsers and devices in its Test Lab or on your local machine, at the same time, instead of waiting for one followed by another.</li></ul> 



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<h2>How can Testsigma reduce your business cost?</h2>



<ul class="list_style_disc pl-25"><li>It helps you detect bugs early in the development cycle, also known as Shift Left testing approach which can have a huge impact on reducing your business costs. The earlier you find bugs in development, the less costly they become for the company to resolve. </li><li>With Testsigma, you can create tests along with the development which saves a lot of time for testers after the development is done.</li> 



<li>With Testsigma, you can make payment according to your usage. You do not have to pay additional money for Users, Test Development and Test Execution on local devices. With the cloud, you can get your own dedicated testing environment resources as per your need and only pay for what you use.</li> 



<li>With Testsigma’s cloud-based infrastructure, there is no need for investment in setting up traditional testing environments. Cloud-based automation testing provides the virtual infrastructure needed for testing and can be accessed from anywhere anytime. </li><li>Automation can not only help you find bugs early in the software development lifecycle, but you can also find them quickly through readily available integrations with needed tools including Slack, Jira, and Github. </li><li>As Testsigma uses simple English to write automated tests without any requirement of tools or programming knowledge, everyone can create and execute automated tests five times faster using natural language and run tests on thousands of devices available on the cloud.</li></ul>



<h2>How will other teams benefit from the tool in addition to the testing team?</h2>



<ul class="list_style_disc pl-25 pt-1"><li>An automation script can help you cover large areas of code to check whether it passes or fails instead of manually executing a basic test case.&nbsp;</li> <li><a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/automating-a-pickerwheel-using-testsigma/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Testsigma uses simple natural language to automate</a> testing for all types of applications and the simple natural language automation allows non-technical team members to create/review the automated test cases, thus enhancing collaboration. This also facilitates the implementation of a DevOps approach and improves the communication between teams.</li></ul>











<h2>A clear test automation strategy should be developed</h2>



Having a clear test automation strategy is critical as it benefits the company as a whole. It not only allows for smoother implementation by maintaining quality during fast release cycles but also helps you set relevant KPIs beforehand. This will help the company achieve higher ROI.



If the management does not understand the importance of adding automation testing in the company’s testing operations or decides to stop test automation in the middle of the implementation process, both ways it can hurt both the testers as well as the company as a whole in the longer run. It is important for you to understand that automation testing bridges the gap between frequent software releases and maintaining a high-quality product.



Management mostly like numbers, graphs, and reports.



Testsigma provides detailed test reports for all the test case executions that consist of a powerful visual feedback system including screenshots and logs for easy understanding. In addition, Testsigma also provides a video of test execution. Suggestion engine in Testsigma helps diagnose and fix a test step failure.&nbsp;



With tools like Testsigma, the future of test automation is bright as it comes as a complete package for a company who is looking to create quality products and also getting to the market in time. It unites all resources together on a single platform to give you faster results with minimal initial time and efforts.



With Testsigma, you can see ROI right from the beginning instead of years later. 



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Why Choose Testsigma as your Automation Testing Tool

Why Choose Testsigma as your Automation Testing Tool?

Making a decision to start <a href="https://testsigma.com/automated-testing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">test automation</a> is easy, but choosing the right test automation tool is not. There are teams that are spending a lot on hiring new manual testing resources but find it hard to invest in automation. The reasons could be many. One major cause that we are about to eliminate for you is understanding the criteria for selection of testing tools.<gwmw style="display:none;">



Sometimes, teams spend significant time exploring tools and get find overwhelming information out there that they give up on the idea of automation altogether. Other times, choose a generic tool, start with automation, but then never get past the first few test cases.



In this article, we have put together some points that will help such teams navigate their search for the right <a href="https://testsigma.com/qa-automation-tools">test automation tool</a>:<gwmw style="display:none;">



<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#Top_10_Criteria_for_Selection_of_Testing_Tools">1 Top 10 Criteria for Selection of Testing Tools</a><ul><li><a href="#1_Project_Requirements">1.1 1. Project Requirements: </a></li><li><a href="#2_Team_Skills_Learning_Curve">1.2 2. Team Skills / Learning Curve: </a></li><li><a href="#3_Budget">1.3 3. Budget: </a></li><li><a href="#4_Ease_of_Test_Case_Creation_and_Maintenance">1.4 4. Ease of Test Case Creation and Maintenance: </a></li><li><a href="#5_Reusability">1.5 5. Reusability: </a></li><li><a href="#6_Data-driven_Testing">1.6 6. Data-driven Testing: </a></li><li><a href="#7_Reporting">1.7 7. Reporting: </a></li><li><a href="#8_Support_for_Collaboration">1.8 8. Support for Collaboration: </a></li><li><a href="#9_Support_for_Tools_for_Integration">1.9 9. Support for Tools for Integration: </a></li><li><a href="#10_Training_and_242157_Support">1.10 10. Training and 24&#215;7 Support: </a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#Conclusion">2 Conclusion</a></li><li><a href="#Frequently_Asked_Questions">3 Frequently Asked Questions</a><ul><li><a href="#How_to_Choose_Automation_Tool">3.1 How to Choose Automation Tool?</a></li><li><a href="#Which_Tool_is_Mostly_Used_for_Automation_Testing">3.2 Which Tool is Mostly Used for Automation Testing?</a></li><li><a href="#What_are_the_Criteria_for_Selecting_a_Test_Automation_Tool_for_Your_Project">3.3 What are the Criteria for Selecting a Test Automation Tool for Your Project?</a></li><li><a href="#Is_Selenium_the_Best_Testing_Tool">3.4 Is Selenium the Best Testing Tool?</a></li><li><a href="#When_should_We_Choose_Automation_Testing">3.5 When should We Choose Automation Testing?</a></li></ul></li></ul></div>
<h2 id="top-10-criteria-for-selection-of-testing-tools">Top 10 Criteria for Selection of Testing Tools</h2>



<h3 id="1-project-requirements">1. Project Requirements: </h3>



There is no point in looking for a solution when you don’t know the problem.



So, before you start exploring the various tools and technologies available in the market for test automation, you need to list down your project requirements and the problems you are looking to solve.



The list, in general, should answer the below questions:



<ul class="list_style_disc"><li>Type of application that needs to be tested: It could be web, mobile, API or a desktop application.</li><li>Platforms that need to be tested: If yours is a desktop application, list down the operating systems that should be tested. If yours is a <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/3-steps-automate-mobile-applications-using-testsigma/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mobile application</a>, then list down the supported mobile operating systems. If yours is a web application, then list down the supported browsers.</li><li>Language your application is built in: This can help if you are planning to use a programming language for automation.&nbsp;</li><li>Need for <a href="https://testsigma.com/cross-browser-testing">cross-browser testing</a>/cross-device testing: If yours is a web application or a mobile application then you will, most probably, need this.</li></ul>



In addition, you could also add requirements that you deem important.&nbsp;



<h3 id="2-team-skills-learning-curve">2. Team Skills / Learning Curve: </h3>



When selecting a tool for automation there could be 2 types of tools:



<ul><li>A codeless test automation tool</li><li>An automation tool that requires coding</li></ul>



If yours is a team that already has people that are skilled in some programming language then you can think of using an automation tool in that programming language. Or, if you plan to hire skilled people for automation then you don’t need to consider this point.



 But, if you are planning to have an automation tool that will not need you to look for people with the required skillset, going for <a href="https://testsigma.com/codeless-automation-testing-tools" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">codeless automation tool</a>s will be a good idea. These tools allow the <a href="https://testsigma.com/automated-testing">automation of test cases </a>without the need for knowing a programming language. <gwmw style="display:none;">



Check this guide to know about <a aria-label="Codeless Testing (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com/codeless-testing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Codeless Testing</a> in detail.<gwmw style="display:none;">



<h3 id="3-budget">3. Budget: </h3>



This is a very important criteria for selection of testing tool. You might easily say that you will want a free tool because you don’t want to spend on automation if you can avoid it.



 But, you also need to consider that the amount of time being spent on automation, the number of people working on the tool and the machines being used for automation also constitute the amount you spend on automation. So, consider below points before deciding on the budget:



<ul><li>Cost of human resources being used for automation: If there is a tool that does not need you to hire new resources, especially for automation, consider it a saving.</li><li>Time spent on learning the tool: If there is a tool that has a low learning curve, that is an indirect saving in the cost you might have spent in terms of the time the resources spend on learning the tool. Or hiring resources that are skilled in that particular tool.</li><li>Time being spent on automation: If there is a tool that makes it easy to create and maintain test cases, thereby saving time, consider it a saving in cost.</li><li>Cost of infrastructure: Talking about cloud and hosting, you can go for an ideal <a href="https://www.cloudways.com/en/php-hosting.php" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">PHP hosting</a> that gives an amazing managed hosting experience.</li></ul>



<h3 id="4-ease-of-test-case-creation-and-maintenance">4. Ease of Test Case Creation and Maintenance: </h3>



Not every tool is made to handle all kinds of scenarios. So, to make sure that your chosen tool meets your needs, try automating a few test cases of your application to know if the tool suits your needs. That could be done with the trial version of a tool if your search has narrowed down to premium tools.



Also, to avoid spending more time in test case maintenance as compared to test case creation, make sure to choose a tool that fits your budget including the maintenance costs. There are tools that have the ability to <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/self-healing-tests-maintenance-testsigma/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">self-heal the test </a>cases in case of minor changes in the application.



 Such tools help to reduce the cost of test case maintenance. Also, it helps if the tool supports pause and resume of test case execution for a better debugging experience.



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<h3 id="5-reusability">5. Reusability: </h3>



To avoid writing the same code multiple times in multiple test cases and to avoid duplication of efforts, look for tools that allow the reuse of already created test steps in different test cases and projects.



<h3 id="6-data-driven-testing">6. <a href="https://testsigma.com/data-driven-testing">Data-driven Testing</a>: <gwmw style="display:none;"></h3>



If yours is an application that needs testing for a variety of data at multiple interfaces, it is important to choose a tool that supports data-driven testing.



<h3 id="7-reporting">7. <a href="https://testsigma.com/reports" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Reporting</a>: <gwmw style="display:none;"></h3>



Test case creation and test case execution would be useless if the reports were not useful so do go through all the features in the reporting supported by a tool. 



Few of them would be:



<ul><li>Screenshots for failed steps</li><li>Video for test execution</li><li>Stack trace for the error</li><li>A clear indication of <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/why-do-selenium-tests-fail-top-reasons-testsigma/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">failed test </a>cases/steps</li><li>Time taken for execution of test steps and test cases is reported</li></ul>



<h3 id="8-support-for-collaboration">8. Support for Collaboration: </h3>



If you are doing automation of a project for a client, the client will want to review the quality of automated test cases.



 It will also be beneficial if other non-technical members of the team are able to automate/review the test cases. So, in such scenarios, look for tools that make collaboration with the management and clients easy.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h3 id="9-support-for-tools-for-integration">9. Support for Tools for Integration: </h3>



If there are some process improvement or <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/ci-cd-tools/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CI/CD tools</a> that you already use or plan on using, make sure that you chose a tool that integrates with them.<gwmw style="display:none;">



<h3 id="10-training-and-24x7-support">10. Training and 24&#215;7 Support: </h3>



Consider a scenario &#8211; you started using a tool for automation, and after automating about 10 test cases successfully, you got stuck on the 11th test case; you don’t know how to resolve the problem. You have looked at all possible forums but you don’t have a solution in sight. If you want to save the time, use a tool that has 24&#215;7 support to resolve any problems you encounter.



<h2 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h2>



Sometimes, teams decide to create their own test automation frameworks because they cannot find a right test automation tool that fit their testing requirements.



At the moment, there really are multiple types of test automation frameworks and tools available in the market that support automation on a varied variety of applications and are still being improved.



So, do go through the above points and spend some time looking at available test automation tools before thinking of implementing a framework on your own.



At the end, I would like you tell you about test automation tool testsigma. it is a <a aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cloud-based tes</a><a href="https://testsigma.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">t automation tool</a> that lets you automate test cases just in simple English &#8211; no coding required. In addition, you can automate your test cases for web as well as mobile apps at the same place. Do check it out if it meets your needs. 



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<h2 id="frequently-asked-questions">Frequently Asked Questions</h2>



<h3 id="how-to-choose-automation-tool">How to Choose Automation Tool?</h3>



To choose the right test automation tool, you have to ensure it’s capable, powerful, flexible, and up to the mark for your project requirements. By saying capable, powerful, and flexible, your selected tool should be capable enough to manage all the test cases and test data smoothly. It should also be flexible enough to integrate with other third-party tools to extend and customize the functionality and make testing even easier.



<h3 id="which-tool-is-mostly-used-for-automation-testing">Which Tool is Mostly Used for Automation Testing?</h3>



There is an abundance of testing tools available in the market that can be divided into two categories. The first one is the no code low code test automation tool which requires little or no knowledge of programming to perform any type of test automation.



<h3 id="what-are-the-criteria-for-selecting-a-test-automation-tool-for-your-project">What are the Criteria for Selecting a Test Automation Tool for Your Project?</h3>



criteria for selection of testing tool are the following:



<ul><li>Capable- It should be able to manage the project test cases and test data efficiently.</li><li>Flexibility- It should be able to integrate with other third-party tools to extend the functionality tool.</li><li>Cost-effective- It should come into your project budget.</li><li>Learning curve- Learning to use the tool should not be challenging for your other team members.</li></ul>



<h3 id="is-selenium-the-best-testing-tool">Is Selenium the Best Testing Tool?</h3>



&nbsp;.If you are from a developer background, then Selenium is a free and open-source tool project that provides various tools, resources, and libraries to make test automation easy for everyone.



<h3 id="when-should-we-choose-automation-testing">When should We Choose Automation Testing?</h3>



When you required speed and accuracy at the same time, you should go for automation testing instead of manual testing, automation testing enables your team to do more in less time by providing the features like test cases to manage the project all test cases, test data management to manage the project test data, test labs to run the test case in the combinations of operating systems and browsers, etc.



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factors for selecting a test automation tools

What are the factors for selecting a test automation framework?

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-674083b0309d9 wp-block-group">
<h3 id="1-people">1. People</h3>
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<div class="wp-container-674083b030e3c 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-674083b031258 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>



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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

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