The Real Price Of Test Automation: Do YOU Need To Invest?
It was the Fall of 2016 the last time I checked my calendar thus I deduce there is no vivid point in advocating the importance of quality assurance. We already know that end-users of our products are picky, spoiled brats who:
- Do not wait longer than 3-4 seconds for a website to load (87%);
- Uninstall every app that dares to crash twice in a row (94%).
It’s just how things work today – the web is filled with other interesting places to visit while app stores are literally cluttered with solutions.
Three’s an app for everything today – you can finally calculate how much a Tooth Fairy is to pay for a tooth on your iPhone. How can you expect people to stick with software products of poor quality with such diversity of solutions around? To put it simple – would you use a broken app?
Yeah, ok, I still narrated about the importance of QA. Sorry! It’s just how minds of people from http://www.deviqa.com work. We are all about achieving unlimited quality. So, regarding the subject matter…
What’s test automation and which sauce fits this dish best?
If put simply Test Automation is a pre-set array of scripts that are designed to ensure every element of the system functions as it is designed to. Thousands of test cases are being executed every second. This is the speed no mortal can ever achieve.
What are the primary benefits?
- Test coverage skyrockets. 99.9% of the application can be covered with automates tests and scripts. There are even solutions for UI and UX although these aspects are better left to people, not machines.
- Scripts are easily upgradable and re-usable. If some changes or updates were added into the code the odds are previous scripts can easily check the system once more.
- Margin error rates are reduced to their minimum as code is tested with the sophistication of a machine.
- Automation can simulate peak loads as well as operations under stress to ensure your app or site functions perfectly despite everything the world might throw at it.
Wow, all of that sounds peachy – why isn’t everyone automating tests?
Primary disadvantages of QA automation
- It takes a long time to set up the environment;
- Testers with skillets of programmers are required;
- Automated testing is really expensive. It will cost you a small fortune.
So do I need it?
The real answer is – it depends. Most of up-to-date websites and apps have no need in automated QA. Simpler websites and blogs as well as mobile games are easily tested by people. If you, however, are developing a complex solution with a vivid back-end, countless iterations with servers and are investing in an Enterprise level solution – there’s no way you can afford skipping this stage.
