We already know that automated testing improves workflow, boosts productivity, and speeds up the development cycle. However, it’s equally important to know which processes to automate and which should be done manually.
Automation is a powerful yet straightforward process that requires careful planning and understanding. Let’s explore what to automate and what not to automate.
Table Of Contents
What Types of Tests to Automate?
Automating test cases that are executed repetitively saves time in the long run. For example, if a test takes an hour to run manually and needs to be executed every two weeks, automating it in a day will start showing its value within a few months. The more essential tests you automate, the more time and effort you save. If you want to fully leverage its benefits, you should implement it with a test automation strategy.
If you are considering what to automate, then look at the testing types that benefit significantly from automation:
- Unit Testing
Unit tests are used to check individual components of an application and ensure that they function properly. It is perfect for automation because it is repetitive in nature, yet crucial in ensuring software quality.
Example: A function for applying discounts in an e-commerce app is updated. Automated unit testing immediately verifies that this new function returns the correct values for various inputs.
Integration testing ensures that different modules of an application interact correctly with each other. When these tests are automated, the feedback process becomes faster, and issues can be detected early in the development cycle.
Example: When a net banking application updates its payment gateway, automated integration testing makes sure that the transaction process happens properly between the app and the payment provider.
Functional tests exhaustively test the functionalities of an application under different scenarios, mimicking user behavior. Automating functional testing is highly recommended due to the extensive and repetitive nature of these tests.
Example: A travel booking website will have to test various search filters such as for buses, flights, cabs, and hotel booking. Automated testing can efficiently perform this without overlooking any edge cases.
Smoke tests check whether the main features of an application work properly after an update.
Example: After deploying an update in a social media app, automated smoke testing ensures that users can still log in, access the feed, and send messages.
Regression testing checks if recent changes have affected any existing functionalities of the application. These tests run frequently and therefore, automation is relevant for increasing efficiency.
Example: Automated regression tests check if previous bug fixes remain unaffected by the new updates.
What Tests Should Not Be Automated?
Now, let’s explore what not to automate. Take a look at the testing scenarios where manual testing is more effective than full automation:
- Human Validation
Some aspects of testing require testers to review documentation and code defects, inconsistencies, and improvements. These activities are more efficient when done manually than when automated.
Example: Error messages in applications must be manually reviewed to ensure they are clear and grammatically correct, and provide users with the correct guidance.
- Complicated Test Cases
If a product feature is too complicated or test scenarios are too complex or unpredictable, human decision-making and manual testing is necessary.
Example: A voice assistant app must recognize different accents, speech patterns, and background noises. Automation may not be able to fully imitate variations in human speech, and testers should manually check whether the app understands and responds well in real-world conditions.
- Installation & Setup Testing
Manual testing is needed for products involving hardware, such as checking installation processes.
Example: A security software should be manually tested with user prompts, permissions, and performance.
- UX Testing
To assess the usability, clarity, aesthetics, and user-friendliness of an application, manual testing is more effective than automation.
Example: Many applications have an onboarding process. This initial setup process should be manually tested to understand how easy it is for the user.
In order to check how software reacts to unexpected issues, the testing approach should be unscripted, and based on intuition and experience, which is not possible with automation.
Example: A manual tester uses an e-commerce app against predefined rules and encounters previously undetected errors in the app.
Unstructured, spontaneous testing helps find issues that may not be covered in formal test cases. It is best done manually for quick and intuitive checks.
Example: After a last-minute UI change, a tester randomly clicks buttons on a dashboard and finds that a crucial menu option is no longer accessible.
Example test cases – To automate or not to
It’s reasonable to be confused about which test cases to automate and which to do manually. Let’s go through some example test cases to determine whether they should be automated or tested manually.
| Test Case | Best for Automation | Needs Manual Testing |
| Common vs Rare Tests | Routine tests can be easily automated. | Tests that only need to be run once are ideal for manual testing. |
| Data Entry | Large-scale data entry is ideal for automation. | Small data inputs are manageable manually. |
| Pass/Fail Validation | Clear success/failure criteria suit automation. | Complex validation requiring cross-referencing is better done manually. |
| Visual Verification | Exact result comparisons can be automated. | Subjective checks like image verification need manual review. |
| UI Modifications | Minor interface changes can be handled by scripts. | Major layout shifts may break automation. However, AI-driven test automation features like auto-healing tests can tackle this challenge. |
| Standard vs Custom UI | Standard controls like buttons and forms work well with automation. | Custom-built UI elements require manual testing. |
| Exploratory Testing | Scripted tests efficiently check predefined cases. | Unpredictable issues need human intervention. |
Which Teams Should Consider Testsigma?
Testsigma could be the right automation tool for your team if you need:
- A no-code test automation that allows testers of all skill levels to use it.
- Faster testing to run tests up to ten times quicker.
- Better test coverage with parallel testing across multiple devices, browsers, and platforms on the cloud.
- AI-powered self-healing to reduce test maintenance effort.
- Support for data-driven testing.
- Built-in test reports to track testing progress easily.
Conclusion
By now, you should have a clear understanding of which test cases and types are best suited for automation and where manual testing should be focused. When evaluating the effort needed to train your team and selecting a common testing language that all your QA members know, a no-code automation testing platform can be highly beneficial.
