The Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Automation in Software Testing
Automation is all about us. From self-driving vehicles to automated assembly lines, worldwide automation has developed at an unprecedented rate in the last two decades of the twenty-first century, with no signs of slowing down. The ripple effect, like all other historical revolutions, has had both positive and negative consequences: more leisure time for humans, but major work losses in many industries.
Automation has carved out its niche in the field of software testing, with its own set of benefits and drawbacks. A decision between automated and manual testing tools, like any other tech-related decision, can be difficult. With that in mind, let’s start.
So, what is Automation?
Automation is becoming more common every day. The total percentage of test case automation has risen from 28 to 45 percent year-over-year, according to the World Quality Report back in 2015.
Automated testing, like most automated systems, is both fast and stupid. Fast because it outperforms any human operator in terms of performance, precision, and speed. Since automated systems can only run within a collection of predetermined conditions, any task that deviates from those parameters will fail.
Automated testers are artificial intelligence constructs that are programmed to analyze complex processes. Tools, scripts, and applications are used to carry out AI programs.
Many companies are now providing automation testing services.
Typical Applications
Since automatic testers are inept, they’re ideal for projects that don’t necessitate the use of a human brain. Auto testers lack the intellectual flexibility of a human brain and are unable to make course changes in the middle of a drill. Of course, this is useful in situations where versatility isn’t needed.
Auto testers are constrained by their lack of these critical reasoning skills, but they are suitable for a variety of training. Building assurance testing as part of the DevOps cycle is particularly important, given DevOps’ emphasis on higher speeds and smaller, more regular launches. Here are few more examples:
- Performance evaluations
- Checking under load
- Extensive stress testing
- Testing on a large scale
- Testing for regression
- Virtualization of networks
- Testing involving images and voices
The Advantages
Auto testers, as previously said, are the Mad max of the testing environment. In the time it would take a human tester to go to the toilet, an auto tester will run millions of tests. And speed breeds stamina, or the ability to multitask at superhuman levels.
While an auto tester is not as intellectual as a human tester, the robot outperforms humans in terms of error-free testing. COVID-19 is unimportant to an auto tester, just as politics and the press are unimportant to it. They are dependable in programming and script-based environments as a result of all of this.
Without making an error, an auto tester will compare millions of lines of conversion results. An auto tester detects more glitches than a human tester because of this incredible amount of accuracy.
When calculations are repeated over a prolonged period of time, auto testers are very useful. Your team will use an auto tester to run the same test over and over again, using new datasets each time. An auto tester, for example, will do nearly infinite regression testing or installation sessions. Automated training could be suitable for programs that do not require human reasoning or mid-course corrections.
The Negatives
The advantages of automatic training can also be disadvantages. A Ferrari on a straight track is an auto tester, whereas a human tester is an all-terrain utility vehicle on a dangerous mountain path.
An auto tester can only drive on one track at a time and must be continually qualified to make accurate comparisons. As a result, auto testers need testing experts who are also programmers. In other words, an automatic tester can only yield valuable results if given relevant variables and instructions: “Garbage in, garbage out.”
Automated testing systems are unable to conduct random testing as a result of these drawbacks, and are more prone to failures as scalability problems worsen.
You may be surprised to learn that automated testers are not human. If a person isn’t involved in the research process, it loses the human experience. An auto tester won’t be able to elicit user-friendliness or a pleasant customer experience.
Debugging and servicing are also hampered by these inhuman limits. A new update version necessitates the time-consuming reconstruction of script chunks.
Conclusion
The best way forward is to have a mixture of manual and automation testing. Hire a company that provides both manual and automation testing services.
