<a href="https://theagileadmin.com/what-is-devops/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">DevOps</a>, as a solution to implement Agile, is being used worldwide for over a decade now. It lets teams automate all redundant development and Ops related tasks. Thus, it helps teams achieve the main goal of Agile &#8211; quick and frequent releases. But, the one process that has still lacked proper attention is the quality of the releases.



The concept of <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="DevTestOps (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com/devtestops" target="_blank">DevTestOps</a> was introduced to put a special focus on continuous testing for each step of the development process along with DevOps. DevTestOps ensures that along with Development and Operations related tasks, the feedback on quality is continuous and given the importance it deserves.



<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#What_is_DevTestOps">1 What is DevTestOps?</a></li><li><a href="#How_is_DevTestOps_different_from_DevOps">2 How is DevTestOps different from DevOps?</a></li><li><a href="#What_is_the_need_of_using_DevTestOps_How_continuous_testing_enables_DevTestOps">3 What is the need of using DevTestOps? How continuous testing enables DevTestOps?</a></li><li><a href="#Myths_about_DevTestOps">4 Myths about DevTestOps</a></li><li><a href="#Best_Practices_to_follow_in_Continuous_Testing_for_successful_DevTestOpsnbsp">5 Best Practices to follow in Continuous Testing for successful DevTestOps&nbsp;</a></li><li><a href="#Continuous_Testing_For_Enterprises_Tools_Available_in_the_Market">6 Continuous Testing For Enterprises: Tools Available in the Market</a><ul><li><a href="#Below_are_a_few_tools_that_can_be_considered">6.1 Below are a few tools that can be considered:</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#Suggested_Readings">7 Suggested Readings</a></li></ul></div>
<h2 id="what-is-devtestops"><a href="https://testsigma.com/devtestops" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">What is DevTestOps?</a></h2>



As per the DevTestOps Manifesto 2018:



“The goal of DevTestOps is not to silo “Test” from Dev and Ops, but simply to raise the visibility of testers and testing as integral parts of the DevOps quality culture”



DevTestOps is a combination of DevOps and <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="DevTestOps is a combination of DevOps and Continuous Testing. The process involves testing early, testing often and testing throughout the software delivery pipeline. It highlights the key role of the tester in the development of the product along with the Ops professionals. Devtestops ensures continuous feedback of testers to developers throughout the stages of product development, thus reducing business risk and the possibility of finding defects at later stages. (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com/blog/continuous-testing-at-the-speed-of-agile-and-devops/" target="_blank">Continuous Testing</a>. The process involves testing early, testing often, and testing throughout the software delivery pipeline.



DevTestOps highlights the key role of the tester in the development of the product along with the Ops professionals. DevTestOps stresses that the continuous testing framework should be integrated with the CI/CD pipeline. It lays most importance on the continuity of testing feedback to developers throughout the stages of <a href="https://artkai.io/services/product-strategy-consulting" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">product development</a>, thus reducing business risk and the possibility of finding defects at later stages.



In the <a href="https://kruschecompany.com/agile-software-development/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Agile testing and development methodology</a>, all members of a cross-functional Agile team are equally responsible for the quality of the product and the success of the project.



Hence, testing of an agile project is done by the whole team, not just designated testers or quality assurance professionals but also team members whose primary expertise may be in programming, business analysis, and database or system operation.&nbsp; 



Below image clearly depicts how testing can be included in different stages of a DevOps process.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><a href="https://danashby.co.uk/2016/10/19/continuous-testing-in-devops/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Tv1Y-4LFiC6I97wudGjfsRlGp_xZPSpKPS3MRugAu_QjTARCwALnPSEJkeMcweLaEUa7UmqYSgtdgZTo7iDS9ZtscVJCoYuMJEgZZx5-fUv3yQRkw_de5yFiMiMLNElhzuAlG5Fb" alt="stages of a DevOps process"/></a></figure></div>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><figure></figure></figure></div>







<h2 id="how-is-devtestops-different-from-devops">How is DevTestOps different from DevOps?</h2>



DevOps automates most of the manual operations in the <a href="http://forbytes.com/blog/agile-software-development-life-cycle/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">software development life cycle(SDLC)</a> which leads to faster delivery of the product. DevOps is successful but there are possibilities of missing critical bugs, scenarios and business requirements in the product as continuous testing is not performed.



To eliminate the possibility of missing defects, functionalities and business risks, DevTestOps idea was brought forward in which Continuous Testing was implemented as a major part of the software delivery pipeline.



Let us discuss about Continuous Testing.&nbsp;



The word ‘continuous’ means the code is continuously developed, delivered, tested and deployed. The testers identify possible scenarios based on requirements, create and execute test cases from the beginning of the software delivery pipeline and shares feedback with the development team, on the business risk involved.



It is an uninterrupted execution of automated tests while being part of the software delivery process, facilitating immediate feedback based on the business changes associated with the product and mitigating risks before they proceed to the next SDLC stage.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/GYzT4r1NzO-M4fiH2MP-1Jw7v-0NAhFUmmC-K_AXXKbvcRI0xRbISFe0NTB9h1MYVXu-K4VxqaBw7PzYQZWnV4buQAMz6_7rYPqRnvQ8K7D6mW9vDyQxqnRuoQaRynhNb8WOM4vb" alt="continuous testing 
"/><figcaption>The goal of continuous testing is to test early, test often. (Image Source: http://www.professionalqa.com/) </figcaption></figure></div>



Continuous Testing helps in testing the code through the software development cycle which reduces the gap between testers, developers and the operations team. The end-to-end automation of tests helps to integrate QA into DevOps processes to maintain continuity and thereby address the overall challenges of quicker development cycles.



The scope of Continuous Testing is pretty huge with validation of the functional and non-functional requirements of the product. It involves API testing, unit, integration and system testing of the software all done under a simulated environment with test automation.



<h2 id="what-is-the-need-of-using-devtestops-how-continuous-testing-enables-devtestops">What is the need of using DevTestOps? How continuous testing enables DevTestOps?</h2>



DevOps is enabled when continuous integration is implemented along with continuous delivery and continuous deployment. And thus, to enable DevTestOps &#8211; continuous testing needs to be integrated to already implemented setup of continuous integration + continuous delivery + continuous deployment.



With DevTestOps, testers also play a vital role throughout the process of development, delivery and deployment by enabling testing feedback at each step through continuous testing.



As testing is implemented at each stage and most of the processes are automated, it has led to below improvements:



<ul class="list_style_disc"><li style="padding-bottom: 5px">The defects are detected at an early stage hence are easier to fix, ultimately resulting in timely delivery of the product.</li><li style="padding-bottom: 5px">It shortens the regression cycle from weeks to hours by just automating the process.</li><li style="padding-bottom: 5px">The developers and testers work together with leading to a better understanding of the module and increasing the quality of the product exponentially.</li><li style="padding-bottom: 5px">The tester gets a chance to perform all kinds of testing during the phase of product development.</li><li style="padding-bottom: 5px">The tester becomes an equal owner of the product as a developer.</li><li style="padding-bottom: 5px">Automated build and deployment accelerates the process and avoids any human error and dependency.</li></ul>



<h2 id="myths-about-devtestops">Myths about DevTestOps</h2>



<ol><li>Continuous Testing requires 100% automation. As we all know 100% automation of an application is impossible hence many scripts are run manually in the process of continuous testing.</li></ol>



<li>Large organizations do not benefit from continuous testing as they have huge development and QA teams which make coordination difficult.
Continuous testing, since its inception, has been revolutionary for both testers and developers. Developers are moving closer to customers to shape the user experience according to their changing needs, whereas testers are now closer to the developers and business analysts, taking part in the SDLC from the early stages.</li>



<li style="padding-bottom: 5px">It is expensive.</li>



Yes, it is a one-time investment but once the team is equipped with functionality, return on investment is tremendous due to:



<ul><li style="padding-bottom: 5px">Better code quality as no commit goes untested.</li><li style="padding-bottom: 5px">Developer receives immediate feedback about the product from the tester which helps in finding the root cause and easily fixing the bugs in less time.</li><li style="padding-bottom: 5px">Since bugs are detected early hence the cost of fixing is less.&nbsp;</li><li style="padding-bottom: 5px">Almost no human mistake as most of the process is automated.</li></ul>



<h2 id="best-practices-to-follow-in-continuous-testing-for-successful-devtestops">Best Practices to follow in Continuous Testing for successful DevTestOps&nbsp;</h2>



<ol><li>Adopt more test automation: Do not focus only on automating the test case but also the repetitive process. It helps in saving a lot of time.</li><li>Integration of tool: Selection of the tool should be done wisely to make testing effective, faster and easier</li><li>Transparent communication: Communication and understanding between all the teams should be very effective. It avoids confusion and yields good productivity.</li><li><a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/performance-testing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Performance testing</a>: It should play a vital role during the delivery cycle to avoid any crash issue which may result due to high volume user inflow.</li><li>Perform Multilayer testing: All types of testing such as integration, API, GUI, database testing should be incorporated during the delivery cycle and maximum testing types should be automated.</li></ol>



<h2 id="continuous-testing-for-enterprises-tools-available-in-the-market">Continuous Testing For Enterprises: Tools Available in the Market</h2>



Multiple types of testing can be covered in DevOps such as unit, system, integration, end to end, performance, security, cross-platform, multiple platforms, responsive, and API testing. There are multiple continuous testing solutions in the market. These are tools that automate one or more test activities right from planning, requirements, creating a build, test execution, defect logging, and test analysis. 



As a thumb of rule, look for tools that enable easy automation and also support integration to continuous testing.



<h3 id="below-are-a-few-tools-that-can-be-considered">Below are a few tools that can be considered: </h3>



<ol><li style="padding-bottom: 20px">Selenium: It is an open-source tool, used for most of the functional test automation, supports a wide range of browsers and operating systems. However, there are many limitations and challenges using Selenium, as it requires technical knowledge and mobile automation cannot be done.</li></ol>



<li style="padding-bottom: 10px">Testsigma: Testsigma aims to improve automation and testing speed by a slew of features. The test creation is very simple, easy and quick as tests can be created in simple English. You would feel like you are not automating but just writing test cases. 

Test maintenance is further simplified by using AI and ML technologies in the backend that try to fix errors in a build due to changes in elements. Not only this a range of browsers and devices are hosted on the cloud and your test cases run on them in parallel. It also integrates with all majorly used CI/CD tools.</li>



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<li style="padding-top: 20px">Eggplant: This is a scriptless automation tool that uses image-based technology. It provides cloud-based service and test lab which ensures 24*7 access to the team. Eggplant can be used across all platform desktop, web and native.</li>







<li>Watir:&nbsp;It is an open-source tool used for web automation and continuous testing, based on ruby language.</li>







<li>Tosca:&nbsp;It is a model-based test automation tool, used widely across all platforms, and has embedded business intelligence. This tool automatically scans the AUT(Application Under Test) script and loads into the software with minimal manual steps. Business intelligence helps the tool in suggesting certain critical tests which help the team identify the trouble areas, and thus reducing the risk.</li>







<li>Rational functional tester: One of the pioneer tools in the automation industry which supports functional, data-driven, API, performance and regression testing. The tool requires knowledge of .net and java scripting to automate the process.</li>







<li>Appium:&nbsp;It is used for mobile testing. It is a kind of wrapper on selenium. This tool requires a sound knowledge of a testing framework for its implementation.</li>



A flawless DevTestOps environment can be put together when the testing team works closely with the Dev team and seeks support for continuous release and deployment through DevOps. Hence, for an organization that is looking for a solution to release high-quality products into the market without delay DevTestOps is the solution to go for.



<h2 id="suggested-readings">Suggested Readings</h2>



<a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/devops-principles/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Devops Principles: Benefits And How to Implement it?</a> 



<a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/devops-life-cycle/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DevOps life Cycle | Phases Explained with Example</a>  



<a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/how-do-agile-and-devops-interrelate/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">How do Agile and DevOps Interrelate</a>

What is DevTestOps | Role of DevTestOps in Continuous Testing

<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#What_is_Testing">1 What is Testing?</a></li><li><a href="#What_is_a_Testing_Framework">2 What is a Testing Framework?</a></li><li><a href="#What_is_an_Agile_Testing_Framework">3 What is an Agile Testing Framework?</a></li><li><a href="#Does_an_Agile_Testing_Framework_need_to_be_agile_itself">4 Does an Agile Testing Framework need to be agile itself?</a></li><li><a href="#What_makes_a_good_Agile_Testing_Framework">5 What makes a good Agile Testing Framework?</a><ul><li><a href="#Common_vocabulary">5.1 Common vocabulary</a></li><li><a href="#Test-driven_development">5.2 Test-driven development</a></li><li><a href="#Different_tests_for_different_teams">5.3 Different tests for different teams</a></li><li><a href="#Domain_experts">5.4 Domain experts</a></li><li><a href="#Exploratory_testing_and_Extreme_Roleplays">5.5 Exploratory testing and Extreme Roleplays</a></li><li><a href="#Tests_Organization">5.6 Tests Organization</a></li><li><a href="#Sprint_demos">5.7 Sprint demos</a></li><li><a href="#User_facing_documentation">5.8 User facing documentation</a></li></ul></li></ul></div>
<h2 id="what-is-testing">What is Testing?</h2>



Testing is the process of finding defects in a product/process to notify behaviour that isn’t acceptable for a user, to highlight how much of the product conforms to the expectations and what are the deviations. Testing ensures the quality of a product and forms a major component of the Software Development Life Cycle.&nbsp;



<h2 id="what-is-a-testing-framework">What is a Testing Framework?</h2>



A testing framework is a set of rules that define how to do the testing. It incorporates tools and practices that can make testing easier, effective and efficient. Broadly, it provides the pillars on which testing can be planned and executed.



<h2 id="what-is-an-agile-testing-framework">What is an Agile Testing Framework?</h2>



Agile is all about embracing the fact that change is constant. Software products that follow Agile Methodology are always on the roller coaster ride of constantly changing requirements, technical stack, timelines, deliverables, etc.



For software developed using Agile methodology, small iterations of the product are built and evolved at regular intervals(called sprints). These small iterations of the product also need to be tested to ensure that quality issues are identified and resolved timely.



A framework that enables testing of these small iterations of the product makes for an Agile Testing Framework.



<h2 id="does-an-agile-testing-framework-need-to-be-agile-itself">Does an Agile Testing Framework need to be agile itself?</h2>



Yes. As the product adapts to the changes getting introduced, the same needs to be done for its testing framework. The testing framework for an agile product needs to be constantly revisited to weed out obsolete tasks and practices and incorporate new ones. Also, not all components of the framework are needed from the start. You have to add and remove from the framework as per the need.&nbsp;



Also, you should start thinking about testing from the beginning. Not only in the Development Phase, testing should be incorporated in the Requirements and Design Phase also. More about this on &#8216;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Also, you should start thinking about testing from the beginning. Not only in the Development Phase, testing should be incorporated in the Requirements and Design Phase also. More about this on 'Is your automation testing tool ready for Shift Left testing?' The nature of testing performed in these phases could be a bit different. For example, in the Requirements Phase, testing could be related to business analysis. (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com/blog/test-automation-tool-ready-for-shift-left/" target="_blank">Is your automation testing tool ready for Shift Left testing?</a>&#8216;



The nature of testing performed in these phases could be a bit different. For example, in the Requirements Phase, testing could be related to business analysis.



In the Feasibility Analysis phase, testing could be related to legal and technical analysis. In the Design phase, testing could be related to user acceptance and security. In the Development phase, testing could be actual unit testing, smoke testing, acceptance testing, performance testing, stress testing, etc.&nbsp;



<h2 id="what-makes-a-good-agile-testing-framework">What makes a good Agile Testing Framework?</h2>



An Agile Testing Framework should be good enough to cover the breadth and depth of a product. Following are some of the features that are crucial for a good Agile Testing Framework:



<h3 id="common-vocabulary">Common vocabulary</h3>



The business and technical teams must share the same vocabulary for terms and concepts related to the product even if it means developing a few new words. Using a common vocabulary eases communication among different teams and even within the same team.



<h3 id="test-driven-development">Test-driven development</h3>



Having a test case that defines the expected behaviour even before the behaviour is implemented helps in clear understanding. You precisely know what should be implemented and are not biased by the implementation details. As long as the test fails, you know the behaviour is not correct. As soon as the test passes, you know you are on the right track. Here the preciseness of the test becomes very important. Identifying what all should be verified as a part of the test to ensure correct implementation of the behaviour is critical. At the same time, care needs to be taken to keep the test easily maintainable, loosely-coupled with the system and finite scope so that it doesn’t end up testing everything or nothing useful.



<h3 id="different-tests-for-different-teams">Different tests for different teams</h3>



Different teams on the product should have different testing criteria for the product. The way business teams test the product is and should be different from the way technical teams test the product. Business teams are better aware of the user scenarios and can better judge the product for user acceptance. Similarly, technical teams are better aware of the implementation details of the product and can better test the code quality through unit tests.



<h3 id="domain-experts">Domain experts</h3>



It is good to have domain experts, as needed, on the team. Domain experts, be it business experts or security experts can provide a different viewpoint for the product. The way business experts aren’t good with technical details, the technical team is not good with the business domain. Having business experts regularly review the product deliverables helps to bring in crucial feedback for the product that could be hard to incorporate towards the end of the product development. Also, business experts are more likely to take the product iterations to customers and gather feedback that can prove crucial in shaping the product further. Similarly, security experts on the team can help close security loopholes in the product early on. Keeping security in mind from the start is important. Following security guidelines while designing the product can help in avoiding flaws that can prove fatal later.&nbsp;



<h3 id="exploratory-testing-and-extreme-roleplays">Exploratory testing and Extreme Roleplays</h3>



Testing is more about mindset, less about a job. As you become familiar with a product, your testing skills start getting influenced by the knowledge of the product. You start making assumptions on how it should be used, which means that you won’t try to use the product differently. This leaves out the scope for testing the product with a different user’s perspective.



 A user who is a novice (like Charlie Chaplin) may have a different approach for using the product than a user who is fond of pushing the product to extreme limits while using it (like Big Bunny who is known for breaking the products).



 Users from different levels or background may approach and expect the product to behave in different ways. Performing such extreme role-plays during testing can help in identifying issues with the product that cannot be noticed otherwise.



<h3 id="tests-organization">Tests Organization</h3>



When you are dealing with a large number of test cases, that span across teams and domains, daily, it becomes crucial to organize them in a trackable manner. <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/the-unpleasant-phenomenon-in-agile-testing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Agile Testing</a> Matrix could be of help here as it not only provides a skeleton to organize the test cases but also becomes the guide to understand the purpose and objective of the test cases.



This is how a basic Agile Testing Matrix looks like:



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/PbgwQjB2xsrY22Ls_FahSnrw-6o-HiVWn0ZAcEKcaoGMqeK-nKScOY3fkmdL8ezsnhuPFfFs3ms9EhhRsFnNn2l4JluFFOvWbtegTb9UzKaeyIhNuRHPhnZdeHsbUpPSFZVJUdNH" alt="Testsigma - Tests Organization" /></figure></div>



<figcaption>Source:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.exampler.com/old-blog/2003/08/21.1.html#agile-testing-project-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">http://www.exampler.com/old-blog/2003/08/21.1.html#agile-testing-project-1</a></figcaption>



When you try to fill in this matrix with your test cases classified as unit tests, functional tests, acceptance tests, security tests, etc. you tend to realize what purpose each test case is serving for the product and how strongly your test cases are covering the product quality.



With the help of this matrix you can eventually also see which areas of the product have the least focus from a quality perspective and that can give you guidance on where to channelize your testing efforts.



<h3 id="sprint-demos">Sprint demos</h3>



Small iterations of the product built every sprint should be regularly demonstrated to the technical and business teams to check the gaps between what is expected and what is coming out. This helps in catching and correcting any differences in expectations and deliverables early on. Sprint demos also help in building confidence in the team for what they are building. It becomes easier to look at the overall picture when things translate from imagination to real-world and you start seeing some essential pieces of the structure. Sprint demos help achieve that.



<h3 id="user-facing-documentation">User facing documentation</h3>



Although it can be argued that user-facing documentation is/should not be the responsibility of the technical team, the truth is that documentation plays an important role in user experience. Documentation is the go-to place for a user with doubts/queries. When you write and/or review the documentation from a user’s perspective who is not aware of the internal details of the product, you can often see the missing pieces and problems.When you are making someone else understand, your understanding becomes better at what should be, why it should be and where it should be. This helps in identifying a different set of issues with the product, which could then be categorized as bugs or feature enhancements



Agile methodology helps in building products faster but a velocity without quality has no significance.&nbsp; Quality should be held as most important. To achieve velocity with quality, every team member should be concerned about quality. Be it design discussions or actual development of the product, every team member should wear the testing hat and notify issues early. The objective of a product is to serve quality and quality should be everyone’s responsibility.



Further Reading:<a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/agile-scrum-methodology-best-practices-agile-teams/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Further Reading: Top 13 Best Practices For Agile Teams (opens in a new tab)"> Top 13 Best Practices For Agile Teams</a>



References



<a href="https://agilealliance.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://agilealliance.org/</a>



<a href="https://agilemanifesto.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://agilemanifesto.org/</a>



<a href="http://www.exampler.com/old-blog/2003/08/21.1.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">http://www.exampler.com/old-blog/2003/08/21.1.html</a>

Understanding the Agile Testing Framework

Agile Scrum Methodology | 13 Best Practices For Agile Teams

Agile Scrum Methodology | A Comprehensive Guide to 13 Best Agile Practices

Top Automated Testing Practices to Follow

Automated Testing Best Practices: 9 Ways to Ensure Efficient Testing

A typical manual QA tester spends more than 50% of the time in testing the functionality of the application. A majority of time is spent in executing the same test cases multiple times for regression testing. If these repeatedly executed test cases can be automated, a lot of time and manual effort can be saved. 



<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#What_is_Functional_Testing">1 What is Functional Testing?</a></li><li><a href="#What_is_Functional_Test_Automation">2 What is Functional Test Automation?</a></li><li><a href="#How_is_Functional_Test_Automation_in_the_Agile_World_different_as_compared_to_that_in_traditional_testing_models">3 How is Functional Test Automation in the Agile World different as compared to that in traditional testing models?</a></li><li><a href="#How_to_make_Functional_Test_Automation_successful_in_the_Agile_World">4 How to make Functional Test Automation successful in the Agile World?</a></li><li><a href="#Functional_Testing_Tools_that_can_prove_useful">5 Functional Testing Tools that can prove useful:</a></li></ul></div>
<h2 id="what-is-functional-testing">What is Functional Testing?</h2>



Functional Testing is concerned with verifying the functionality of all the features of an application under test(AUT). These functionalities are tested against the feature requirements making sure that all the requirements for a feature are implemented and working accordingly. 



Developers generally create unit tests for the code they write, but Functional Testing is usually the first testing done by the software testing team once a feature is ready for testing. Functional testing is also included at the time of regression testing done before the final release because the user will be first going through the workflow covered under the functional tests. Thus automating these tests becomes important. 







<h2 id="what-is-functional-test-automation">What is Functional Test Automation?</h2>



When the focus of test automation is functional tests, the process is called functional test automation. Most of the test cases automated here are black-box tests that aim to verify the functionality of a particular feature. This testing could be done for user interfaces, APIs, database, security, or any interface that needs some input and gives some output. 



<h2 id="how-is-functional-test-automation-in-the-agile-world-different-as-compared-to-that-in-traditional-testing-models">How is Functional Test Automation in the Agile World different as compared to that in traditional testing models?</h2>



In traditional testing models, different tasks related to development and testing happens one after the other and usually testing starts once the development is complete. This means that the testers do not have much productive work to do while development is in full swing and this also means that developers won’t have much to do while testing is going on unless there are a lot of bugs to fix. 



Agile Methodology provides a solution to these problems by breaking big tasks into small tasks that are doable in each sprint. This also means that a deliverable is supposed to be ready by the end of each sprint for evaluation. Following this strategy, testing also needs to be broken down into smaller tasks that can be taken up at each sprint. For this, functional test automation should start in parallel with development.







<h2 id="how-to-make-functional-test-automation-successful-in-the-agile-world">How to make Functional Test Automation successful in the Agile World? </h2>



An important <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/ux-testing-ux-lessons-learned-from-my-real-life-experiences-part-1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">part in making functional test</a> automation successful is played by the test automation tool. Hence this tool should be chosen after carefully understanding the needs not only short term but long term too.&nbsp; 



Below mentioned points should give you an idea of how to go about it: 



<ol class="list_style_disc plr15" style="padding-left:0 !important"><li>Decide whether to use an already existing test automation framework or build one from scratch:</li>



At the moment, considering there are multiple options available for software test automation, it is recommended that you go through those options first and decide to build your tool from scratch only in case you are sure your application needs such an in-house framework.&nbsp;



An automation framework may need to be built from scratch if:



<ul class="list_style_disc" style="padding-bottom:20px"><li>the application under test uses a technology whose testing is not supported by any of the available tools in the market.&nbsp;</li><li>building a framework from scratch will prove more beneficial than investing in an already existing tool.</li></ul>



<li>The automation framework should give testers the ability to start with automation when the development starts:</li>



Any automation framework you choose should give your testers the ability to design test cases even before actual implementation is in place. Testers should be able to make those test cases work once the features are developed and ready for testing. 



<li>The low learning curve for creating new test cases:</li>



Time is also an investment in today’s world where software development and deployments are happening at breakneck speed. So, choosing a framework that could be learnt easily in a short time is a good investment to make. 



<li>The automated test cases should be easy to create/edit/maintain:</li>



Being developed in an Agile world, the application will go through multiple changes according to the client’s feedback. To keep up with all the changes with ease, an automation framework/tool is needed that enables easy test creation, edits and maintenance. The tool being used should also have the capability to reuse and regroup already created test steps. 



With the advent of AI, now there are tools available in the market that can automatically maintain test cases that fail due to changes in the application. 



<li>The test cases created under the test automation framework should be easy to understand:</li>



It is unsure if the same tester remains with you during the product’s lifecycle and is highly unlikely so make sure whatever framework you choose, the tests created are easy to understand. The tests should be easy since they need to be reworked on by someone who did not create them at some time. 



At present, there are multiple tools available in the market that automate test cases via plain English test steps or flowcharts or screenshots. You need to decide what best meets your requirements. 



<li>Easy to debug:</li>



If any of the automated test cases fail, there should be ample support in the tool to enable the testers to debug and find the cause of failure. If the tool does not make debugging easy, a lot of time could be spent just figuring out what caused the test case to fail. Some of the most sought out features that help to debug are: 



<ul class="list_style_disc" style="padding-bottom:15px"><li>Step by step execution</li><li>Ability to pause execution while debugging</li><li>Ability to take screenshots at the moment of failure</li><li style="padding-bottom:15px">Ability to skip steps while debugging</li></ul>



<li>Scope of integration with other tools if needed:</li>



There are a lot of stand-alone tools in the market starting with CI/CD tools to reporting tools. Before you start working on test automation, make sure the tool you use supports integration with the tools you may be planning to use or may have been already using.



Also, reporting should provide all the needed information in an easily understandable format. 



<li>Support for different types of Test Data:</li>



For different types of test cases, different types of test data could be needed. Sometimes hardcoded, sometimes passed through CSVs or JSON or XML or any other format. Make sure the tool you are using supports passing test data in the format you need. 



<li>Support for API testing:</li>



At present, APIs are the basis of development of functionalities for a lot of products. If your product also uses APIs, the test automation framework or functional testing tool you plan on using should support the automation of these.&nbsp; 



<li>Support for Visual Testing:</li>



Sometimes a need may arise to test the application visually for eg. for the presence or absence of components or text. The tool should have the support either for performing such testing or the ability to integrate with a tool that will allow testing the application visually. 



<li>Ability to run tests against all needed environments:</li>



These days applications are being released on all kinds of devices including desktops, laptops and mobile devices. The application must be tested on all the supported devices of all screen sizes and hence the support for testing on all needed environments should be verified before choosing a tool for automation. 



<li>Parallel execution of test cases:</li>



When the test cases are less in number, execution does not take much time and parallel execution support does not matter but once the number of automated test cases increase, which is bound to happen eventually. Without parallel execution, the execution of automated test cases can become quite cumbersome and may cause unnecessary delay in providing feedback. 



<li>Ability to host test cases on the cloud:</li>



Most of the companies these days use cloud infrastructure for all their development and testing needs and invest in minimal on-premise infrastructure. Thus, a tool that also enables the testers to host their test cases on the cloud and run them directly there can prove highly beneficial. 



<li>Support:</li>



Whatever tool/framework you decide to use, there will be times when you will come across a situation where external help will be needed. At such times, dedicated support for the tool being used becomes essential to make sure your functional test automation keeps going up without any interruption. 



<li>The automation should provide ROI:</li>



There is no point investing in a tool that takes up all your time in the automation of test cases first and then the maintenance of test cases later. Also, if for automation and for understanding the automated test cases you need to hire new resources with specific skills, which means additional investment in terms of money. And if the automated test cases are brittle and are failing most of the time, the contribution to quality can be considered as negligible.&nbsp; 



So, out of all the points above the most important point to consider is to use a functional testing tool that will give ROI in terms of time, money and quality eventually.&nbsp;







<h2 id="functional-testing-tools-that-can-prove-useful">Functional Testing Tools that can prove useful:</h2>



Considering the above requirements, there are a few tools in the market that meet the above requirements:



<ol><li style="padding-bottom:20px">Testsigma: Test cases can be written in plain English and the AI core ensures that the test cases are maintained automatically in most of the scenarios. The test cases are hosted on the cloud and could be executed on a wide range of devices that are again hosted on the cloud. The tool also supports integration with most of the widely used tools.</li><li style="padding-bottom:20px">TestComplete: Automation could be scriptless via keyword-driven testing or could be done by using supported scripting languages. The test cases could be run on a wide variety of browsers and mobile devices. The tool also supports integration with most of the widely used tools ranging from CI/CD to reporting.</li><li style="padding-bottom:50px">TOSCA: Automation is again scriptless(model-based approach) with easy automatic maintenance support.</li></ol>



 Refer this DZone article to know more about the different <a href="https://dzone.com/articles/scriptless-testing-is-not-just-record-and-playback?utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=feedpress.me&amp;utm_campaign=Feed:%20dzone%2Fdevops" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">functional test automation methods and tools</a> available.  



Thus, when you decide to implement functional test automation in your organization, even before choosing the tool to use, it is essential to understand all your requirements and goals end to end.

Criteria and Requirements of Functional Testing in an Agile World

Scriptless Automated Testing is not the same as Record and Playback

Record and Playback Testing vs Scriptless Automation Testing: Which is Good?

Selenium was first conceptualized in 2004 at ThoughtWorks for website automation and has come a long way from it&#8217;s first Web Driver version to becoming a <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Selenium was first conceptualized in 2004 at ThoughtWorks for website automation and has come a long way from it's first Web Driver version to becoming a W3C standard protocol. With a single interface that lets you write test scripts in programming languages like Ruby, Java, NodeJS, PHP, among others and being open-source has gained quite a lot of popularity so much so that Selenium stands tall among the most popular commercial tools today.
 (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.w3.org/TR/webdriver/" target="_blank">W3C standard protocol</a>. With a single interface that lets you write test scripts in programming languages like Ruby, Java, NodeJS, PHP, among others and being open-source, Selenium has gained quite a lot of popularity so much so that it stands tall among the most popular commercial tools today. 



Anyone who has worked on&nbsp;<a href="http://seleniumhq.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Selenium</a>&nbsp;would agree that it is not that easy. If the number of&nbsp;<a href="https://github.com/SeleniumHQ/selenium/issues" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">issues</a>&nbsp;open at the moment and the number of questions being posted on forums like StackOverflow is any indication, the problems faced by Selenium users does not seem to be decreasing.



The test cases are brittle, the failures are common, and the maintenance of automated test cases takes more time and cost than it takes to automate them. However, with a very strong community and integrations, it is workable. But if you are working in tight timelines, this wouldn&#8217;t be the ideal way. 



If we start thinking about why Selenium tests fail, an obvious reason would be that the websites and the technologies used to build them have been evolving at a fast pace. And the number of additions to the features and functionalities has only been increasing exponentially.



Keeping up with the changes and making sure the tests run reliably every single time is not an easy job. 



<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#Let_us_look_at_a_few_reasons_why_Selenium_tests_fail">1 Let us look at a few reasons why Selenium tests fail:</a></li><li><a href="#Some_common_errors_that_most_Selenium_users_may_have_come_across_but_are_easy_to_fix">2 Some common errors that most Selenium users may have come across but are easy to fix:</a></li><li><a href="#Limitations_of_using_Selenium_for_Automation">3 Limitations of using Selenium for Automation:</a></li><li><a href="#Alternatives_to_Selenium">4 Alternatives to Selenium</a></li><li><a href="#Benefits_of_using_above_tools">5 Benefits of using above tools:</a></li></ul></div>
<h2>Let us look at a few reasons why Selenium tests fail:</h2> 



<ol class="list_style_disc plr15" style="padding-left:0 !important"><li>Asynchronous websites</li>



Selenium tests are developed keeping a particular order in mind and when there are websites that are built using asynchronous architecture. The order of response cannot be fixed at all times. In such scenarios, sometimes the responses from the website are not in order. As a result, the test case fails. Such failures are tough to debug as well because they are not reproducible at all times. 



<li>Bugs</li>



With websites rapidly evolving, multiple languages and libraries are available for website development. There are a lot of features that needs to be supported.Selenium does come out with a <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="With websites rapidly evolving, multiple languages and libraries are available for website development. There are a lot of features that needs to be supported.
Selenium does come out with a better version frequently supporting any new changes that come up but they also leave out bugs and sometimes these bugs appear while people are trying to automate their websites.
 (opens in a new tab)" href="https://medium.com/hackernoon/selenium-4-0-alpha-released-what-test-automation-engineers-can-expect-6c1838b79243" target="_blank">better version</a> frequently supporting any new change that comes up but they also leave out bugs and sometimes these bugs appear while people are trying to automate their websites. 



<li>Dynamic websites that change without refresh</li>



Now websites are built that do a page reload or refresh rarely and, all the changes happen dynamically using JavaScript on the same page. In some scenarios, if there is a small error in one step, the whole test case fails because there is no opportunity to reload or refresh the page.&nbsp; 



<li>Small changes in the website source code</li>



The most common example of such a change is when a unique ui identifier(also known as locator) of an element on the web page changes. When such a change is checked in, all the test cases that were referring to this unique ui identifier fails and needs to be fixed.
Sometimes small changes are passed on to the code that make the test cases fail but Selenium does not report the exact reason for failure and it makes the test cases seem flaky. 



<li>Timeouts</li>



Timeout errors where Selenium fails while waiting for a component to load are very common while automating using Selenium and can be handled by adding appropriate &#8220;waits&#8221;. Just ensure that explicit waits are only added where necessary because that increases the overall run time of the test case. Implicit waits are better to use in such scenarios.



<h2>Some common errors that most Selenium users may have come across but are easy to fix:</h2> 



<ol class="list_style_disc plr15" style="padding-left:0 !important"><li>Alerts, Pop-ups, Nested IFrames</li>Selenium Users faced problems while automating alerts, pop-ups and Nested IFrames related functionalities on a website but with the latest version of Selenium, this problem has been handled quite well. If there is anything that cannot be handled, it is the OS level alerts because Selenium can only handle website related operations. <li>Selenium WebDriver version mismatch</li>Selenium releases WebDrivers for supported browsers to execute tests on them. If the installed browser on the system does not match the versions supported by the web drivers, an exception like this is reported: “This version of ChromeDriver only supports Chrome version 74”. The solution is to either update the Selenium WebDriver to support the installed browser or update the installed browser to the version supported by selenium webdriver and the error will go away.
 <li>ElementNotFoundException</li>
Sometimes during automation, testers miss out on accounting of small components like the page load progress icon and when the script executes, it fails to find the element that will load after the page loads. These situations can easily be solved by accounting for the page load and waiting for the page to load completely. Sometimes an implicit wait for the required element to load can also solve such problems. <li>TimeOutExceptionThis exception appears when Selenium waited for some operation to complete or for an element to appear or disappear but it did not happen during the time it was expected to wait. The time it is supposed to wait can be configured as well.</li> 



<li>Changing location for Selectors</li></ol>



Sometimes when a site is responsive, the location of the selectors on a web page changes with change in size. This results in test cases failing with the web page size. Such failures can be fixed by using a selector that does not change with changing size for eg. using unique names or ui identifiers as selectors. 



Above are the most common exceptions that people face but if you are looking for a more detailed list, check <a href="https://www.katalon.com/resources-center/blog/selenium-exceptions/">here</a>.
These exceptions may occur while testing using any automated testing tool but there are certain limitations of Selenium that are detailed below.



<h2 style="padding-bottom: 10px">Limitations of using Selenium for Automation: </h2>



<ol class="list_style_disc plr15" style="padding-left:0 !important"><li>Difficult to set up initially</li>



Selenium works with certain programming languages. Elaborate setup for development in the programming language and support for Selenium needs to be prepared before automation can be started.



<li>Substantial time is taken to automate</li>



Because every step has to be coded it takes a good amount of time for just automating a simple workflow.



<li>Substantial time is taken to maintain the test cases</li>



If there are failures in test scripts, it may take a long time to debug and figure out the root cause of failure which also means more cost.



<li>Pass/Fail Reports</li> Selenium does not offer rich reports on its own and requires third party integrations for more than just Pass/Fail error reports.</ol>



<figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://testsigma.com/signup" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img loading="lazy" width="1407" height="374" data-id="5352" src="https://testsigma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Testsigma_Banner.png" alt="Testsigma_Banner" class="wp-image-5352"/></a><figcaption>Write simple tests while the AI maintain the tests&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>
</figure>



<h2 id="alternatives-to-selenium">Alternatives to Selenium</h2>



Instead of spending a lot of time, money and effort on getting things to work with Selenium, try using other tools that are there in the market and have dedicated technical support, some of such tools are:



<ol class="list_style_disc plr15" style="padding-left:0 !important"><li>Testsigma</li>



<a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Testsigma is an NLP based automated testing tool that lets you create automated tests easily and efficiently in just plain English. The AI-powered system learns to maintain test cases if there are any changes in the website also suggest changes and indicate the tests that will be affected.https://testsigma.com/blog/selenium-alternative-for-automated-regression-testing/ (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com" target="_blank">Testsigma</a> is an NLP based automated testing tool that lets you create automated tests easily and efficiently in just plain English.



This AI-powered automated testing tool is an <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Testsigma is an NLP based automated testing tool that lets you create automated tests easily and efficiently in just plain English. This AI-powered automated testing tool is an ideal alternative for Selenium. maintain test cases if there are any changes in the website also suggest changes and indicate the tests that will be affected. (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com/blog/selenium-alternative-for-automated-regression-testing/" target="_blank">ideal alternative</a> for Selenium with all the flexibility that enterprise teams need.



 <li>TOSCA</li>



With automatic object recognition and test case maintenance, <a href="https://www.tricentis.com/products/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">TOSCA </a>is a popular&nbsp; automated testing tool.&nbsp;It maximises reusability and increases maintainability with model-based test automation.



 <li>Katalon</li>



With a Selenium-based engine, <a href="https://www.katalon.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="With a Selenium-based engine, Katalon is designed to create and reuse automated test scripts for UI without coding. It is free to use. It also has the option to automate complex scenarios using JAVA or Groovy. (opens in a new tab)">Katalon</a> is designed to create and reuse automated test scripts for UI without coding. It is free to use. It also has the option to automate complex scenarios using JAVA or Groovy.



 <li>TestComplete</li>



Tests can be recorded, scripted or manually created with keyword driven operations and used for automated playback and error logging.While Selenium can only execute tests in a browser (and mobile apps using Appium), <a href="https://smartbear.com/product/testcomplete/overview/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">TestComplete </a>supports Windows applications.



With the support of custom extensions and plugins, TestComplete functions can be extended as per need.



<figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1593" height="388" data-id="6004" src="https://testsigma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Testsigmas-unique-combo.png" alt="Testsigma's unique combo" class="wp-image-6004"/><figcaption>Sign Up for a free Trial!</figcaption></figure>
</figure>



<h2 id="benefits-of-using-above-tools">Benefits of using above tools:</h2>



<ol class="list_style_disc plr15" style="padding-left:0 !important"><li>Dedicated technical support</li>



If you face a problem you will always have support available who will give you a timeline to solve any issue you face. They will also help you figure out the issue in case are stuck. Thus you won’t be left alone in the wild looking for solutions when you need immediate help. 



<li>Easier Test Case Creation</li>



These automated testing tools do not demand scripting/programming skills.&nbsp;Katalon and TestComplete use a record and playback approach for test case creation while TOSCA automatically recognises the objects in the application and then test cases are created using the Model based approach. Testsigma on the other hand lets you write automated tests just using plain English! 



<li>Automatic Test Case maintenance</li>



Testsigma, TOSCA, TestComplete have an AI-powered core that enables automatic maintenance of test cases whenever some changes in the website cause the test cases to fail. 



<li>Easier to set up</li>



Testsigma is a cloud-based automated testing tool that hosts all automated tests on the cloud so you don’t need to spend any time or money on initial setup. There is also support for local executions(Hybrid) on your local devices. In comparison, Testsigma is quite easy to get started. 



<li>Low Learning Curve</li>



The special focus of all the above testing tools is the ease to learn them. Thus a lot of time and money that is spent on learning new tools can be saved if any of these automated testing tools are used. It would be quite easy for beginners into automation to get accustomed with these automated testing tools. 



<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="834" data-id="4519" src="https://testsigma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Testsigma3.jpeg" alt="Scriptless Test Automation Tool_Testsigma" class="wp-image-4519"/></figure>
</figure>



Selenium is still a mainstream automated testing tool since its inception but now the times are changing and when there are new technologies like AI and ML being employed, teams should explore them to actually know what they have to offer.



Since development workflows are now more complex than they have ever been, and will probably grow yet more complex over time. Selenium is poised to remain relevant for modern application testing. Depending on the requirements, we should be more open to exploring more automated testing tools and choose the relevant one that properly fit our testing requirements.



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code><a href="https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/business" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Business vector created by freepik - www.freepik.com</a></code></pre>

Why Do Selenium Tests Fail? : Top Reasons

Is AI Really Important In Software Test Automation

AI in Software Testing | Why it is Important In Software Test Automation?

Software KPIs or Key Performance Indicators in the software testing industry are some measurable values computed to gauge the efficiency and effectiveness of the software testing process as a whole.&nbsp;



Though it may seem natural to use software testing KPIs to gauge efficiency, there is a divide between the people of the testing community on using KPIs in the Software Testing industry. Some say that Software Testing KPIs can&#8217;t help achieve a much-needed balance between time, cost, and quality, while others swear by their effectiveness.



Organizations have different products, so the development methodology and the testing processes are different too.



So what a QA individual or manager needs is to: 1. Understand the process 2. Review the KPIs that can be measured 3. Figure out the KPIs for quality that should be measured for maximum effectiveness according to your project.



<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#What_are_the_KPIs_in_Software_Testing">1 What are the KPIs in Software Testing?</a></li><li><a href="#When_are_the_Software_Testing_KPIs_beneficial">2 When are the Software Testing KPIs beneficial?</a></li><li><a href="#When_is_the_Software_Testing_KPIs_not_useful">3 When is the Software Testing KPIs not useful?</a></li><li><a href="#Frequently_Asked_Questions">4 Frequently Asked Questions</a><ul><li><a href="#How_Do_you_Measure_QA_Success">4.1 How Do you Measure QA Success?</a></li><li><a href="#What_is_Software_Testing_Key_Performance_IndicatorsKPIs">4.2 What is Software Testing Key Performance Indicators(KPIs)?</a></li><li><a href="#What_is_the_Difference_Between_Software_Testing_Metrics_and_KPIs">4.3 What is the Difference Between Software Testing Metrics and KPIs?</a></li><li><a href="#What_is_KPI_for_the_QA_Department">4.4 What is KPI for the QA Department?</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#Suggested_Reading">5 Suggested Reading</a></li></ul></div>
<h2 id="what-are-the-kpis-in-software-testing">What are the KPIs in Software Testing?</h2>



There is no hard and fast rule to measure all these KPIs and you can also come up with KPIs that are not mentioned in the list. The most common KPIs that are measured in the software testing industry:



<p id="active-defectsall-the-defects-that-are-yet-to-close-are-called-active-defects-it-could-have-new-defects-that-are-open-or-that-are-fixed-but-not-verified-the-testing-manager-needs-to-decide-on-a-threshold-value-beyond-which-immediate-action-will-have-to-be-taken-about-how-to-proceed-to-lower-the-number-of-functional-defects-the-general-rule-is-that-the-lower-the-number-of-functional-defects-the-better-the-product-quality-at-a-point-in-time"><li>Active Defects </li>All the defects that are yet to close are called Active Defects. It could have new defects that are open or that are fixed but not verified. The testing manager needs to decide on a threshold value beyond which immediate action will have to be taken about how to proceed to lower the number of functional defects. The general rule is that the lower the number of functional defects, the better the product quality at a point in time.



<li>Authored Tests </li>This KPI measures the number of test cases designed during a defined time interval. This also helps measure the test cases against requirements, and the designed test cases can be further evaluated for inclusion in the regression or ad hoc test suite.



<li>Automated Tests</li>



This KPI measures the percentage of test cases automated against the total number of test cases. Usually, a higher percentage means a better probability of catching any breaks during automation runs. The threshold for the percentage of automation should be decided according to the type of product and cost of automation.



<li>Covered Requirements</li>



This KPI is used to measure the mapping of test cases to requirements. A test manager is required to ensure that all the requirements have corresponding test cases, and action should be taken on any requirements that could not be mapped to any test case and vice versa. The goal is to keep the mapping of requirements to test cases to 100%.



<li>Code Coverage</li>



This KPI is used by testers to ascertain the percentage of code they cover with their automated tests.



<li>Defects Fixed Per Day</li>



This is used to measure the effectiveness of the development but is subjective as some bugs could be more challenging to fix than others. This could be used to predict the amount of work for the testing team.



<li>Passed Requirements</li>



This KPI becomes valid when the release of a product is being planned. If any requirement has yet to pass testing, the release should be delayed.



<li>Passed Tests</li>



To understand the effectiveness of the test case design process, the number of defects reported via designed test cases is measured, where test cases passed means the design is practical and vice versa.



<li>Rejected Defects</li>



This KPI measures the percentage of rejected defects compared to the total defects reported. If the percentage is higher than the set threshold value, the underlying issue must be identified and acted upon. This could mean more training for software testers or better requirement documentation.



<li>Reviewed Requirements</li>



This KPI is to make sure that any requirement that the testing and development team is working on has been reviewed by the subject matter expert and is good to go. Reviewed requirements could lead to accurate development and testing, proving costly in the long run.



<li>Severe Defects</li>



This KPI aims to keep the number of severe defects in an application at a time under a limit if there are more severe defects, then immediate action is needed. But before using this, the testing team needs to be properly trained to identify severe defects correctly.



<li>Test Instances Executed</li>



This KPI is to measure the velocity of test execution at any point in time to make sure that the testing cycle is on track for the release.



<li>Tests Executed</li>



This KPI measures the total number of test cases executed on a build, including manual and automated, at any given time. This is also a Velocity KPI. Read here about <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/velocity-testing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Velocity Testing</a>.



<li>Time Schedule and Constraint</li>



This KPI is used to measure the average time of test execution. This helps provide testing time estimates during release planning or the development and testing plans to the project managers.



<li>Defects Closure Rate</li>



This KPI measures testers&#8217; efficiency in verifying and closing the fixed defects; this also helps to estimate the release cycle better.







<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" width="863" height="616" src="https://testsigma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/software-test-KPI-12.jpg" alt="software testing kpis" class="wp-image-22133" /></figure>



<h2 id="when-are-the-software-testing-kpis-beneficial">When are the Software Testing KPIs beneficial?</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" width="733" height="485" src="https://testsigma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/software-test-KPI-11-1.jpg" alt="Software Testing KPIs beneficial" class="wp-image-22137" /></figure>



<ul><li>You have been working on the same software testing process for a while.&nbsp;</li></ul>



When you have implemented a testing process successfully and have executed it a few times, it is the right time to measure the KPIs to know the areas where your testing process needs improvement.



<ul><li>You have an extensive testing team.</li></ul>



Having a big testing team also means that there will be an extensive distribution of testing tasks. So to make sure that the tasks are distributed effectively and are conducted efficiently, measuring some testing KPIs will prove beneficial and will also help to keep everyone on track.



<ul><li>You are thinking of introducing new processes for testing.</li></ul>



If you are revamping your testing process, it will be helpful to have some KPIs measured to the original process. It will help you decide what goals to achieve with the new testing processes.



For an organization looking to measure KPIs, it is essential to understand the existing testing process and then measure the KPIs that will bring out the necessary improvements. Knowing what value addition you are looking for is essential because these KPIs, if not used properly, could easily lead you in the wrong direction.



<h2 id="when-is-the-software-testing-kpis-not-useful">When is the Software Testing KPIs not useful?</h2>



Although measuring the effectiveness of a process is essential to know if you are doing it right, measuring the testing process via quality KPIs will not make sense in a scenario where:



<ol><li>If your product has just started with Testing:If you are going to launch your product for the first time and testing has just started, there won&#8217;t be much to measure. This time will be crucial to put a testing process in place rather than measuring the effectiveness of the testing process.</li><li>If you are not planning to have a long testing cycle:If you are making a product that would not be changing for a long time after the launch and testing will be a one-time process, measurement of the effectiveness of the process would not be beneficial as you won&#8217;t have any new testing cycles to improve upon.</li><li>If you are on a restricted budget:Just like doing any activity, measuring testing KPIs also takes time and effort and, consequently, costs. So rather than measuring the KPIs, applying a cost-effective testing process should be the primary focus when the budget for testing is restricted.</li></ol>



By ensuring the above, you are also <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/optimize-your-testing-efforts-for-continuous-delivery/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">optimizing Testing for Continuous Delivery</a>.



If you have an organization planning to move to test automation but are worried about the learning curve and time constraints during implementing it, look out for tools that enable you to automate test cases in as much time as creating them manually will take. This will help improve multiple KPIs for quality, such as Automated Tests, Covered Requirements, Passed Requirements, Passed Tests, etc.<a href="https://testsigma.com/">Testsigma</a> is one such tool that is quickly recognized for its ease of use and the negligible learning curve!



var cta=&#8221;Automation_KPI_cheatsheet&#8221;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" width="733" height="485" src="https://testsigma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/software-test-KPI-10.jpg" alt="When are the Software Testing KPIs not useful" class="wp-image-22139" /></figure>



<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<a href="https://testsigma.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Testsigma</a> is one such tool that is quickly getting recognized for the ease of use and the negligible learning curve!



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



<h3 id="frequently-asked-questions">How Do you Measure QA Success?</h3>



QA success can be measured using KPIs, which will help to get an idea about the test performance. Some key points which are mentioned in KPIs are given below.



<ul><li>Numbers of functional defects in the software.</li><li>Number of tests written in a time frame.</li><li>Numbers of automated cases present in testing.&nbsp;</li><li>How much code is covered in the test cases?</li><li>How many defects are being fixed per day?</li></ul>



<h3 id="what-is-software-testing-key-performance-indicators-kpis">What is Software Testing Key Performance Indicators(KPIs)?</h3>



Key performance indicators(KPIs) in software testing are the calculated data that help to measure the performance and effectiveness of testing. It gives an idea if the software testing is progressing in the right direction and whether it will be done on time.



<h3 id="what-is-the-difference-between-software-testing-metrics-and-kpis">What is the Difference Between Software Testing Metrics and KPIs?</h3>



Software testing metrics are the data used to track and monitor the various operations performed by the testers. Whereas organizations and testers use key performance indicators (KPIs) to determine testing effectiveness and the time and cost required to complete the testing.



<h3 id="h-what-is-kpi-for-the-qa-department">What is KPI for the QA Department?</h3>



KPI for QA is calculated by : The number of tests in a specific time period = Number of tests run/Total time.



Following initial testing, these periods should reduce and eventually settle at a basic level. QA teams can improve these figures by investigating which tests can be executed concurrently or automatically.



<h2 id="suggested-reading">Suggested Reading</h2>



<a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/metrics-for-testing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Metrics for Testing- Guide to Quality Assurance</a>



<a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/why-the-world-doesnt-need-qa-engineers-but-still-requires-quality-assurance/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Why The World Doesn’t Need QA Engineers</a>



<a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/top-software-testing-trends-to-look-out-for-in-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Top Software Testing Trends to Look Out for in 2022</a>



<a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/top-ways-communicate-software-testing-insights-better/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Top 7 Ways to Communicate Software Testing Insights Better</a>



<a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/software-testing-strategy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Software Testing Strategy </a>

What are the KPIs of Software Testing and QA

What are the KPIs of Software Testing and QA Metrics?

In this era, every organization is on the path of test automation to increase efficiency. Just like manual testing, automation testing also needs proper planning, structure, monitoring, and maintenance. Test cases can be defined as a set of conditions wherein a tester determines whether an application/software system or one of its features is working as expected or not. Test cases help clarify what needs to be done in order to test a system.



The main objective of automation testing is to reduce the number of test cases that need to be run manually. Successive development cycles need to execute the same test suite repeatedly using a test automation tool. No human intervention is required once the test suite is automated. This is sure to improve the ROI.



Automation Testing always comes ahead of manual testing. Manual testing should be done at least once and automated test scripts need to be created based on the manual test cases.



<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#Importance_of_Converting_Manual_Test_Cases_into_Automated_Test_scripts">1 Importance of Converting Manual Test Cases into Automated Test scripts</a></li><li><a href="#How_to_Convert_Manual_Test_Cases_into_Automated_Test_Cases">2 How to Convert Manual Test Cases into Automated Test Cases?</a></li></ul></div>
<h2 id="importance-of-converting-manual-test-cases-into-automated-test-scripts">Importance of Converting Manual Test Cases into Automated Test scripts</h2>



It’s important to convert manual test cases into automated test cases as it comes with several advantages: 



<ul class="list_style_disc"><li>Increases efficiency</li><li>Wider test coverage of application features</li><li>Lowers cost</li><li>Delivers the required and bug-free product on time</li><li>Play a vital role in achieving the desired ROI</li><li>Ensure consistency</li><li>Human intervention is not required while execution</li><li>More cycle of execution can be achieved through automation</li><li>Reusable test scripts</li></ul> 



<figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1407" height="374" data-id="5352" src="https://testsigma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Testsigma_Banner.png" alt="Testsigma_Banner" class="wp-image-5352"/></figure>
</figure>



<h2 id="how-to-convert-manual-test-cases-into-automated-test-cases">How to Convert Manual Test Cases into Automated Test Cases?</h2>



Suppose there is a requirement for ‘Signing into the google’. The first step is to prepare the test design.&nbsp;



The test design should be in the below format i.e. test cases documented and split into different stages. Below is a table that shows the same:



 



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table style="border:1px solid"><tbody><tr><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">S.No.</td><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">Pre-Condition</td><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">Test Steps</td><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">Test Data</td><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">Expected Result</td></tr><tr><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">1</td><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">Launch Browser {Chrome / Firefox / Safari} and Enter URL</td><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">1. Launch the selected browser2. Enter the URL in the browser address bar and open</td><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">URL: https://google.com</td><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">Google home page opens</td></tr><tr><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">2</td><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">Gmail link&nbsp;</td><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">Click on the Gmail link</td><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">NA</td><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">Clicking on it redirects to Gmail page</td></tr><tr><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">3.&nbsp;</td><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">UserName&nbsp;</td><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">Enter the userName in the “Email or Phone” SignIn textbox and then click next</td><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">userName: &lt;TEST&gt;</td><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">licking on Next after entering the correct username will show the password textbox</td></tr><tr><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">4</td><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">Password</td><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">Enter the Password in the “Enter your password” textbox</td><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">Password: &lt;TestPass&gt;</td><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">Entering the correct password should not show any error</td></tr><tr><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">5</td><td>Submit</td><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">Click on the SignIn button</td><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">NA</td><td style="border:1px solid;padding:10px">Clicking on the SignIn button should redirect to the mailbox</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



 Now, you can use one of the automation tools for translating manual test cases to automated test cases. Following are the components we need to take care of during the translation: 



a) State of the Application: The state&nbsp;of the application is important and needs to be the same every time a particular test is performed. When beginning a test, you need a browser in a ready state for performing all the operations. And configuring the browser is an extra step.



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>For instance, if you are using <a href="https://www.seleniumhq.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Selenium</a> to automate tests, we need the below boilerplate code every time to set up and initialize the browser.

</code></pre>



For Chrome:



WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();



System.SetProperty(“webriver.chrome.driver”,&lt;Path&gt;);



driver.manage().timeouts().implicitlyWait(TimeOut, TimeUnit.SECONDS); 



For Firefox:



WebDriver driver = new FirefoxDriver();



System.SetProperty(“webdriver.gecko.driver”,&lt;Path&gt;);



driver.manage().timeouts().implicitlyWait(TimeOut, TimeUnit.SECONDS); 



Along with this, we need to set up the local environment with necessary testing libraries and also driver executables. 



 



Using <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Using Testsigma there are none of these additional setup steps. Everything is preconfigured in the cloud and we just need to provide the URL of the application to get started.
 (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com" target="_blank">Testsigma</a> there are none of these additional setup steps. Everything is preconfigured in the cloud and we just need to provide the URL of the application to get started! 



 







And for verifying the application state&nbsp;in Selenium, we need to use the functions like the ones given below:



<ol><li>elementToBeClickable()</li><li>alertIsPresent()</li><li>presenceOfElementLocated()</li><li>&nbsp;titleContains()</li><li>visibilityOfAllElementsLocatedBy()</li></ol> 



All of these required state verifications can be done using simple NLP grammar in Testsigma like wait until the element is clickable, wait until an alert is present &amp; more. 



<figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1404" height="378" data-id="5480" src="https://testsigma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/NLP-Grammar_Testsigma.png" alt="NLP Grammar_Testsigma" class="wp-image-5480"/></figure>
</figure>



 <li>Test Steps: Test steps should be easily readable for everyone who is familiar with the application.



In Selenium, we can have logical names for variables and methods so that the tester can easily understand what’s happening in the system. Also, we need to make sure to add comments, debugging statements, and output statements so that the output can be written to a console. 



In Testsigma, the test steps are in simple English and they are self-explanatory. 



<li>Verification &amp; Validation: Verification and validation is the core part of the testing process and without it, it is pure automation without the checks. You should have several checkpoints, loop statements, and conditional statements in order to test the application effectively.</li> 



Testsigma provides a huge set of verification grammar for verifying almost every input and value in the application. 



<li>Test Data: Test data is a crucial part of testing. You should have answers to the following questions as your test data requirements:</li>



<ul class="list_style_disc"><li>Where to place the data?</li><li>You should hard code the data or not?</li><li>Concerns related to security</li><li>Concerns related to reusability</li></ul>



You can use the excel sheet for storing your data and then fetch it to use in your test case. It is important to notice that having test data, username and password is one of the prerequisites to begin the test. 



In-built Test Data management feature provided by Testsigma helps to manage the Test Data with ease. 



<li>Results: In the case of manual tests, you can put the result of each step in the “actual result” column but, in automation, the result is stored when executed. Automation test results have robust reporting features but it is still a good practice to have an excel sheet or a notepad associated with each test to put in comments while executing the test. Your automation tool should have some good reporting add-on to get good quality reports.</li> 



Testsigma has a robust test result interface that provides easy to understand reports in pictorial format. The results can also be exported to a file in a single click. 



<li>Post Operation: After the completion of the test step, there is no need to close the program in manual testing. But as an automation tester, it is important to close the browser in case of automation. In the case of an automation test case, you need to make sure that you clean up the activities, kill all the connections you created, close all the apps and release the memory.</li></ol> 



Testsigma handles all the tasks for ending the session safely and without resource wastage. You don’t need to add additional steps to end the session. 



Importance of Choosing the Right Test Cases for Automation Testing



Software testing and retesting is a continuous process in the software development lifecycle to find out errors as early as possible. But, without clear and practical objectives, a test automation project will fail drastically. Identifying which test cases should be automated and which should remain manual is one of the key factors in setting automation testing objectives.&nbsp;



This filtering becomes especially important for Regression Testing. Regression testing is used to ensure the validity of the updated software. It is a costly process and it consumes a significant amount of resources. Here are some of the main points to keep in mind while choosing the right cases for regression testing:



<ul><li>Include test cases frequently having defects</li><li>Include critical test cases which verify core features of the product</li><li>Include all the integration test cases</li><li>Include all the complex test cases</li><li>Prioritize the test cases for regression testing</li><li>Change the regression test cases whenever required</li></ul>



For Regression Testing, Testsigma has an <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="For Regression Testing, Testsigma has an inbuilt mechanism to filter the Test Cases on the basis of multiple criteria and this helps in the filtration for Regression Test Suite. (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com/regression-testing/automated-regression-testing-tool" target="_blank">inbuilt mechanism</a> to filter the Test Cases on the basis of multiple criteria and this helps in the filtration for Regression Test Suite. 



<figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="1407" height="374" data-id="5352" src="https://testsigma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Testsigma_Banner.png" alt="Testsigma_Banner" class="wp-image-5352"/></figure>
</figure>



Running a test suite at night and getting the test reports in the morning? Pretty cool, right? 



There are many automated testing tools available in the market and<a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="There are tons of automation testing tools available in the market and tool selection is one of the biggest challenges you need to tackle before going for automation testing. (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com/blog/select-right-automation-testing-tool/" target="_blank"> tool selection</a> is one of the biggest challenges you need to tackle before going for automation testing. You need to identify the requirements, explore the capabilities of the tool among others. 



<a href="https://testsigma.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Testsigma, a cloud-based test automation ecosystem, is a complete package for those who are looking for quality and speed. You can easily integrate with your favourite CI/CD tools to run automated regression tests for each new build continuously. With simple English based tests, complex automated test cases are now as simple as manual tests and helps you save time, cost and effort thereby increasing the ROI.
 (opens in a new tab)">Testsigma</a>, a cloud-based test automation ecosystem, is a complete package for those who are looking for quality and speed. You can easily integrate with your favourite CI/CD tools to run automated regression tests for each new build continuously. With simple English based tests, complex automated test cases are now as simple as manual tests and helps you save time, cost and effort thereby increasing the ROI.

How To Convert Manual Test Cases Into Automated Test Cases And The Advantages