Last week, I had a chance to review ( again..) some of the most popular automation testing tools in the market today.

Based on the my own research and reviews, I am no longer surprised that the free open source tools are still leading the popularity over the more expensive proprietary software from big named vendors.

I picked a couple of tools which were favorites mentioned in a a couple of QA forums. Then I came up with my own list, namely – JMeter, Selenium, Watir, C# and Java.

In this post, we will concentrate on one tool called Selenium.

Learning Selenium was a real breeze.

• First of all, there are so many sites dedicated on teaching the ins, outs and whys of Selenium.
• Second,  it is simple to use with an easy to navigate interface that comes as an Add On to the Firefox browser

Even if you are new to QA but if you have some technical knowledge, then within a day you would be creating your first few Selenium test cases.

My verdict : Selenium is really a good tool for testing web applications. It is free, and there is an excellent community of technical and non technical users who are willing to share their knowledge and expertise.

Instead of making this post too long, I would suggest you get started so you can try it for yourself.

From your Google Browser, just type the following words :

• First, “Selenium Tutorial”
• Or “Selenium Installation” to be more specific
• Then “Selenium Sample Test Cases”
• Or you can go to YouTube to watch videos like the one below

We’ll appreciate if you can also share your experiences in using Selenium!

Thanks.

Learning any new stuff always fascinates me. I never believe that anyone knows too much to quit learning.

Yesterday, I downloaded the demo version of the proprietary testing tool from ThoughtWorks called TWIST.  Within hours, I was already writing my own test projects and creating scenarios. What is amazing with TWIST is its capability to combine both manual test scenarios and the underlying automated script in one place. The BAs can write the use cases or use stories, then QAs and Developers can write the corresponding code to the same use cases minus the tedious and error prone linking steps. Gone would be the days when multiple, separate documents but referring to the same features are maintained by BA, QA and Developers.

When creating my first project, I tried using the Selenium driver since my background is testing web applications. Selenium’s unique  feature of record-and-replay can save the QAs large amount of time typing the code. Thou not all the steps can be automated, it still  speeds up code creation by the Selenium recorder.

Within the TWIST applications are also some very good testing tips on how to best create scenarios.  Its user friendly interface using simple plain text,  English-like constructs make the learning curve less steep.

Anyways, I am not here to sell TWIST, but I strongly suggest you give it a try is you are seriously thinking of automating your software projects.

What I really would like to share today are the higher level testing concepts I learned from TWIST.  Here they go :

• Separate the intent of the test from the mechanics of the test.
• Focus on what the test is suppose to do rather than how does the test work.
• Test scenarios should be independent of the user interface of the application.
• Test scenarios should strive to be at the highest level of abstraction possible, without sacrificing readabilty.
• Don’t repeat the tests: Repeating a series of steps at any level – at a scenario, or in the implementation can increase the maintenance overhead.

Based on my personal experience as QA, all of the above are true.  These are very simple yet neglected concepts in the testing world.  If you are a new tester, try to develop these correct thinking habits that would serve as your solid anchor in your long career.

I would trust that the above concepts are rather simple, but if you have questions feel free to leave a comment ot send me an email.

Key benefits that effective automated testing can bring to you business:

• Reduce the time spent on testing.
• Reduce the money spent on testing.
• Increase the overall productivity of your IT operation.
• Improve the software application quality.
• Increase the user and client confidence in your application.
• Fast, consistent and accurate test results.
• Supplements the human ability to find bugs.
• Multiplatform support (Cross browser/OS/Database).
• Repeatability.
• Increased test coverage.
• Environment setup.

Once the solution has been implemented we find the that the proportion of time companies save in their testing processes is routinely excess of 40%, frequently in excess of 60%, and sometimes in excess of 80%, and you can see where you can achieve impressive time and cost saving. With this saving you could:

• Extend the scope of your testing
• Re-assign and effectively utilize the resources
• Implement more solution with the saved time.

So next question which could rattle our minds is how do we deliver this?

When implemented correctly test automaton can deliver huge benefits:

• Faster data preparation.
• Reusable test process.
• Retraceable library of test results.
• Test runs reduced form days to hours.
• The ability to build several scripts in to single ‘superscript’.
• The addition of variable data set.

This all enables your team to do more testing, and produce higher quality software application.

Testing is regarded by many as boring when it is repetitive and a chore. But through effective automation you can:

• Bring life to testing.
• Make it easier and more accessible.
• Dispel the boring and repetitive image.
• Make testing fun!!!

Why is this important?

Because it means that the quantity- as well as the quality – of testing will increase as the motivational barriers are removed and the depth of your testing and overall quality of your system increases, you actually begin to have more confidence in your system and you have the ability to test things quickly, repeatedly and easily that you were not able to do earlier.

This confidence spreads beyond the IT department; it can be felt by the entire business and, beyond this, by your customers. Their confidence in you is crucial for your business, and one of the means to do this is automated testing.

Any thing I missed?

Sachin Srivastava

Quality Analyst

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