Which type of application requires Automation Testing?

Automation or Manual? 

An indispensable decision to be taken to reinforce while testing an application. Software Testing is vast and is categorized into two – Manual and Automation.  Both are requisite and has diverse application in terms of testing.

 Not everything can be automated, but most automated testing can be manual. 

Both have a multitude of advantages and disadvantages but employing them well would benefit favorably. To know exactly when to use which one, understanding both is important.  Deciding which type of testing is required for the project is decided on various factors like project requirement, cost, quality, time etc. Even though automation is widely chosen to reduce turnaround time and bring in faster results, Manual also is fancied in many stages of testing. 

Now, how do distinguish what needs to be automated?

Manual Testing is preferred in Exploratory testing, Ad-hoc testing and Usability testing.  In such scenario’s manual is best suited. In these types of testing testers analytical skills, domain expertise, intuition etc. matters. In these types of testing, mostly the testing is done on a roughly written set of test scenarios, hence the tester needs to be fully an expert to thoroughly check the application to ensure it works well. 

Automation testing is widely chosen for regression testing and load testing.  These kinds of testing have a set of predefined scenarios and test cases dedicated to the application, which are reused in various instances. Hence choosing automation over manual testing requires few scenarios that act as the basic prerequisites for the choice. 

Here are some basic scenarios on which one can decide to choose automation or manual:

1.   Project Budget
2.   Project size
3.   Regression testing
4.   Parallel or sequential testing
5.   Ad-hoc Testing 
6.   Load or Performance testing
7.   GUI Testing
8.   Turnaround time

Automation testing is widely accepted in: 

1. Regression testing

When there is a huge demand for time, and the project has various builds to be tested and verified using the same set of data, automation is the preferred way to test the application. With each build modification, the testing process is repeated to ensure that the application runs smoothly even with the required changes made to the build. In such scenarios, the testing process is repeated innumerable times to ensure the functionality of the code modification has not impacted the complete application. To quicken this process, automation can be used, which will reduce the total turnaround time and assist you to perform a regression test to assess the defects and the performance of the application. 

2. Load /Performance testing 

         Performance testing is conducted to ensure that the application works equally well on different types of systems and under extreme load. To ensure that, an application must be verified under stringent conditions, this may take multiple testing of the same application on various conditions with multiple users. Web application testing requires an umpteen number of users accessing the application simultaneously and testing it requires huge data. To streamline these kinds of testing which deal with the load, stress and performance of an application, Automation can be a saviour. 

3. GUI Testing 

   In the case of application graphical user interface testing, also automation is a preferred one. As in the case of GUI testing, the interface remains the same, whereas the functionalities differ, testing the interface becomes a monotonous task in terms of Manual testing. In such scenarios, Automation comes handy. 

Automation is more vital in terms of effective use of technology to reduce cost and turnaround time. Invested rightly, automation plays an integral role in the effective testing of an application. Choosing the right tool will assist in overcoming the limitation of Manual Testing. 

Even though Automation is agile and brings in instantaneous test results, Manual Testing is inevitable too.