The Hard Road: Switching from Manual to Automated Testing
Test automation is the new black in QA engineering. But growing into a QA automation engineer might feel like more trouble than it’s worth it. You might think “What the hell do I need to do this if manual testing is still there?” In fact, switching from manual to automated testing will not simply add a new skill you could be endorsed for on LinkedIn. It can be a real boost, a kick in the ass from the perspective of career growth and opportunities.
Why do companies need test automation?
Bugs happen. Even the most perfect software development teams deliver products that have bugs in them. The job of a QA engineer it to hunt those bugs and let the engineers know.
Manual software testing involves sitting in front of a computer and carefully going through all the screens of the application, trying different input combinations, comparing the outcomes with the expected behavior and recording the deviations.
Many times, the manual tester might repeat whatever they are doing during development cycles for source code changes or other situations.
Unlike manual testing, in automated testing, the QA engineer uses a testing tool that is able to playback pre-recorded actions, compare the outcomes with the expected behavior and report the results of these tests. Once created, the automated tests can easily be repeated and made more complex to the extent that they perform tasks manual testing is not able to perform.
Companies need test automation for a number of reasons:
First thing first, QA automation can work 24/7.
It’s like having a little slave of yours who is there to work for you all day, all night. This is by far, the greatest thing about testing automation since you can build a feature then run the automation and just go home :) Of course, you will have to check the performance of your test the next day.
Automation saves time
With testing automation, instead of repeating the same test over and over again, you let the testing tool do that for you. What you get here? Exactly, time!
It increases test coverage
With manual testing, you might want to skip lengthy tests, while with automation testing, it will be easier to run thousands of complex test cases all at the same time.
Given the obvious advantages of testing automation over manual testing, the role of a QA automation engineer becomes one of the key roles in a software development team.
Let’s now break it down and see what it takes to switch from manual to automated testing.
Start learning a programming language
“A deep sigh here…”
I know, learning programming might not be easy. But it’s a valuable skill for testers to have. And it’s never too late to start learning. In manual testing, you can still rock it without programming, but in test automation, coding knowledge is a must. I would suggest starting with Java programming if you are thinking of joining us at SFL some day.
Some resources for learning Java:
IDE
- IntelliJ IDEA
- https://www.jetbrains.com/idea/
Java
- https://www.tutorialspoint.com/java/
- https://www.w3schools.com/java/
- https://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/
Building tools
- https://maven.apache.org/what-is-maven.html
- https://docs.gradle.org/current/userguide/tutorial_java_projects.html
For Web Testing
HTML, CSS, XPATH, JS
For Mobile Testing
Genymotion, Android Sdk tools, Appium
Use the right tools and frameworks
You will make the process a little less painful if you know how to combine the right frameworks, open-source tools, and third-party tools for automation.
Tools and libraries we use at SFL
- Intellij IDEA
- Docker
- Selenium Drivers
- Selenium Server
- Zephir {Jira plugin for test management}
- TestNG
- JUnit
- Gson
- Log4G
- Spring
Don’t over-complicate your life
Don’t create a mess by starting with bulky test cases. Start small. The smaller the test cases, the more comfortable they will be to debug, maintain, and reuse.
Also, think about what you want to automate and what not. In the end, not everything can and should be automated. Some things are better off tested manually.
One more thing here, create a list of the browsers and devices that are going to be vital for your particular test automation plan. This will help keep organized and happy.
Keep learning
Automated testing might seem daunting at first. But all it really takes is patience and dedication. There are a lot of resources you can use to get to the next level in your career.
Below is a short list for you:
- https://www.toolsqa.com/selenium-ide-tutorial
- https://www.toolsqa.com/selenium-tutorial
- https://www.seleniumhq.org/
- https://www.toolsqa.com/selenium-cucumber-framework/page-object-manager/
- https://www.toolsqa.com/selenium-webdriver/page-object-pattern-model-page-factory/
- http://appium.io/
- https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/jdk8-downloads-2133151.html
The QA community is active and supportive. You can always expect help and guidance especially if you decide to get into #teamSFL where you will participate in the mentorship program and get the best out of your working experience.
Want to join SFL? Check out our openings here.
About the author: Hayk Harutyunyan is the QA Automation Chapter Lead at SFL. He is passionate about tech and innovation.
