As practitioners of software development, we are all too familiar with the importance of automation. The benefits that automation brings are significant, but its adoption and the realization of its potential can be an ongoing journey, not a destination. It’s not a new concept, yet it continues to evolve and redefine the landscape of software testing.
As the world rapidly embraces digital transformation, software development, and its corresponding testing methodologies evolve to meet the increasingly high expectations of consumers. Automation, while not a new concept, continues to be a vital factor in this evolution, providing a plethora of benefits that cannot be understated. Indeed, the world of automation is mature, with countless companies leveraging it to enhance their software development lifecycle.
Quality assurance is a crucial differentiator in today's software marketplace. Gartner reports, "48% of software engineering leaders say customer or user satisfaction are among the top three objectives they are measured on." (Source: 2022 Gartner Software Engineering Leaders Role Survey). In essence, software quality directly influences customer satisfaction. A cornerstone in ensuring such quality is regression testing.
Comprehensive test suites are hard to build out, especially when it comes to UI testing. QA teams have to strike a balance between running enough tests to cover essential cases, and giving each test the attention necessary to ensure quality results. With increasing demand for more releases, testers have a lot on their plate, and so automation becomes essential for keeping up. The challenge? End-to-end tests are notoriously difficult to automate without the right tools. The solution?
Manual testing involves the hands-on evaluation of software or applications, without relying on automated testing tools or pre-written test scripts. Testers simulate user interactions to uncover bugs, defects, and elements that hinder the user experience. By immersing themselves in the software, testers can identify and report issues that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. On the other hand, automated testing allows for the automatic execution of tests using software frameworks.
For the day-to-day developer, deployment and hosting, plus the subsequent management of solutions in production, is a considerable challenge, especially if it’s outside their immediate skill set. Hosting applications can be complex. Besides the obvious challenges of scalability, security, and reliability (up-time), you must consider where your application will be hosted, how you plan to deploy it, how to monitor it, and more.
Oracle Cloud’s quarterly updates require day-one testing on staging environments to keep up with the update’s general availability, which is critical to your business’ success. Tricentis Tosca provides fast, resilient, and risk-based testing to ensure your critical end-to-end business processes will continue to work as expected after Oracle Cloud updates go live.
What can process automation do for your organization and how does it differ from other types of automation? This primer will get you up to speed on process automation essentials and explain the basics of this important tech trend to help you get started.
In the realm of software development, testing plays a pivotal role in ensuring the quality and reliability of desktop applications. As desktop applications become more sophisticated and complex, manual testing alone is no longer sufficient to meet the demands of efficiency and accuracy. This is where desktop automation tools for testing come into play.
