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/connect/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-tools/" 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.



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/blog/leapwork-alternatives/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">test automation tool</a>:



<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 aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com/blog/cross-browser-testing-manual-vs-automated-browser-testing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cross-browser testing</a>/cross-device testing: If yours is a <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/modern-tools-for-automated-testing-of-your-web-applications/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">web application</a> 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/blog/what-types-of-test-cases-should-be-automated-for-efficient-cross-browser-testing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">automation of test cases </a>without the need for knowing a programming language.&nbsp;



Check this guide to know about <a href="https://testsigma.com/codeless-testing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Codeless Testing (opens in a new tab)">Codeless Testing</a> in detail.



<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/blog/top-benefits-of-data-driven-test-automation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Data-driven Testing</a>: </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>: </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.



<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 a <a aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">test automation tool Testsigma</a>. It is a <a href="https://testsigma.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cloud-based test 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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<ts-linktext-value>Why choose open source testing tool</ts-linktext-value>
<ts-linkurl-value>https://testsigma.com/blog/reasons-to-choose-an-open-source-test-automation-tool/</ts-linkurl-value>
</ts-link-item>
<ts-link-item>
<ts-linktext-value>Scriptless test automation </ts-linktext-value>
<ts-linkurl-value>https://testsigma.com/blog/scriptless-test-automation-solution-how-to-use-it-to-improve-your-testing-roi/</ts-linkurl-value>
</ts-link-item>
<ts-link-item>
<ts-linktext-value>How to choose test automation tool</ts-linktext-value>
<ts-linkurl-value>https://testsigma.com/blog/how-to-choose-the-right-open-source-test-automation-tool/</ts-linkurl-value>
</ts-link-item>
<ts-link-item>
<ts-linktext-value>Mobile automation testing tools</ts-linktext-value>
<ts-linkurl-value>https://testsigma.com/mobile-testing-tools</ts-linkurl-value>
</ts-link-item>
</customlinks>

10 points to help you choose the right test automation tool

10 Top Criteria for Selection of Testing Tools

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-66a357dd57e99 wp-block-group">
<h3 id="1-people">1. People</h3>
</div>



<div class="wp-container-66a357dd58682 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-66a357dd58e20 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-66a357dd596e0 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?

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