Topics of this article: QA automation, testing, software services, automation testing.
Whether we’re talking about the travel industry, healthcare software development, IoT, data management solutions, productivity and making processes easier is a number one priority. How does automation help with this? Read below.
About the author: Radu Pop is QA Automation Tester at AROBS, in our Travel&Hospitality division.
Businesses struggle to grow their efficiency and increase productivity. In such a scenario, automating repetitive tasks via software can go a long way toward saving time and improving overall productivity.
Automation does not replace humans
If you are working in this niche you’ve had these questions at least once. Most of the time people associate automation with robots or the replacing of human capabilities, but it is not always the case, so how does automation look like?
Automation is the technology by which a process or procedure is performed with minimal or no human assistance. It can take a lot of forms sometimes, just as simple as a set of tools to complete a repetitive, easily replicated task.
Basically, automation can be implemented in every domain, which means that automation done the right way can improve your workflow, can mitigate risk, and become a desirable addition to any organization.
Automation testing = Checking
When we talk about testing, we talk about identifying bugs. To be more specific, we talk about flows for finding bugs, and we use any process or technology to help us find them, but this is not really the case with automation.
In reality, automation is not testing, it’s checking, therefore it will not always capture bugs. The bug capturing will be done by testers most of the time, not automated scripts.
Automation in testing is used to validate if a system is working as expected. It is Regression style testing, also called as Checking, and it is used to see if the system has regressed from the expected behavior. It can find bugs of regression type and rarely does it find new ones.
Automation in testing is used to determine if we broke something that was working before.
You do not get fit in one week, but also you do not get fat in one week. Success or failure is a process that takes time. It is often said that perseverance is the key to success. It applies also in automation testing. Everything stands in not giving up; every time you take another step, test another scenario, your test automation coverage extends up to the desired level, so do not let the test automation framework rot. Repeat these steps until the test automation coverage reaches the desired levels once again.
Embracing automation
Every business faces fierce competition so the keyword here should be efficiency. This is where automation comes in. To remain competitive you need to automate some parts of your processes. First criteria would be to use automated tests when there is no human value-added.
Why? Because automation helps you avoid human error while saving time in execution. Also, it is recommended due to lowering the cost per unit of output. In other words, we can produce more with less.
In terms of testing by allowing a machine to do automation tasks, the human tester has more time for exploratory testing which permits to identify the most intriguing bugs.
Better control of your business is another result of automation because it allows to collect parts of workflow into one dashboard and monitor all your processes.
Build a culture that embraces automation. We all know that humans tend to run away from changes, employees do not often embrace automation because they fear that they will be automated out of their jobs — replaced by a script. Not to mention that IT employees work in a field where the only constant is the change itself. A huge role in preparing people and businesses for what lies ahead belongs to HR fellows.
HR professionals are ideally placed to prepare people and businesses for upcoming changes, contributing to skills that shape one’s behavior in accordance with the newly adopted vision. Last but not least, HR professionals have the best knowledge of the core values of your business, but also an overall picture of the business needs and its struggles. They are more likely to answer questions like “how will automation affect my career”, and last, but not least, “is my integration into the company complete, relative to its automation strategy and business values?”.
By explaining why automation can develop your skills and move forward in your career, HR Specialists can have a real impact by promoting a healthy and visionary mindset and help organizations adapt and adjust accordingly to the employees’ needs. Mostly because a company’s relevance is built with the contribution of its employees.
