Test Automation
Why Automate Your Software Testing?
- You would like to be able to run a large number of functional regression tests anytime and quickly.
- You want to insure thoroughness and accuracy when tests are run repeatedly over time.
- You would like to free your testers from repetitive, low-productivity testing so they can concentrate on more creative or strategic quality initiatives.
- You need to simulate large user or data loads (or both) to ensure application performance.
These are some of the many reasons for considering test automation. ProtoTest helps you evaluate the appropriateness of automation, select the best tools for your situation, devise an ideal automation architecture for your environment, then implement the tools and architecture to create a highly effective suite of automated tests. We have extensive experience using the tools of the leading vendors Mercury Interactive, IBM/Rational and Compuware. And we're a leader in automation with open source tools.
Test automation can produce dramatic return-on-investment, but it is not a silver bullet. A strategy must be set and followed to enable the testing team to select the best set of tests for initial implementation, and to refine tests and develop skills until the learning curve (individual and organizational) is surmounted.
Knowledge transfer is a key element of our service delivery process. ProtoTest consultants will work with your staff at every step to be sure they understand and can assume responsibility for maintaining and extending the work performed.
Test automation is divided into two categories, functional testing and performance testing (sometimes called load & stress testing).
Automated Functional Testing
Release cycles for software are growing shorter and shorter; while at the same time the number of tests in your regression test suite is growing larger and larger. This combination is making it increasingly impractical to complete regression testing with each release. The risk associated with incomplete regression testing is that defects may go undiscovered prior to release. Such defects may be introduced into your code base, often in unexpected places, during the process of fixing previously identified bugs or creating new features. By automating regression testing, you can reduce the time required to run the full suite from days or even weeks to a matter of hours. This leaves more time to focus manual testing on new code and areas of highest risk.
Automated Performance Testing
Applications under development today, especially Web-based applications, may be called upon to support hundreds or even thousands of simultaneous users. Sometimes it's not possible to assess probable performance and identify potential bottlenecks without simulating the production environment under load. ProtoTest designs and executes performance tests to enable you to answer critical questions: How many users will this application support concurrently with optimal performance throughput? How will performance degrade as the number of users increases? What are the bottlenecks to performance?