Automation is ubiquitous. From self-driving vehicles to automated production lines, global automation has expanded tremendously over the last two decades of the 21st century, with no sign of declining. As with every historical upheaval, the ripple effect has produced both positive and negative outcomes: greater leisure time for humans but significant employment loss across numerous industries. In software testing, automation has developed to represent a distinct niche with advantages and disadvantages.
As with any technology issue, choosing between automated and manual testing solutions can be difficult. Keep treading; listed below are five advantages and disadvantages of automation testing in software testing.
Pros
- Increased precision
One of the primary advantages of automated testing is its ability to improve accuracy. Automated testing is less susceptible to human error. When tests are automated, they are executed more frequently and consistently than when they are conducted manually. Such test automation services can be advantageous when working with a huge codebase or adding new features. Additionally, automation testing ensures that any problems or faults in the code are recognized and rectified as soon as possible.
- Enhanced execution
Automated testing can also result in faster test execution. It is true because the tests will run simultaneously rather than sequentially. Concurrent testing allows more tests to be executed in less time. You can create a suite of tests covering every application aspect. A computerized tester can run millions of tests when it takes a human tester to use the restroom. And speed leads to flexibility, the capacity to perform superhuman levels of multitasking.
- Reduced expenses
Automated testing can also result in cost savings. When testing is automated, manual testers are no longer required. In addition, the time required to run tests decreases, resulting in both time and monetary savings. In addition, automated tests can help lower the cost of software development by identifying and repairing faults earlier in the process. Automated tests can also minimize the cost of sustaining your application, as they require less effort to identify and fix errors.
- More reliable results
A further advantage of automated testing is that it might produce more reliable results. It is a reality because tests are executed automatically and more often. Automated software testing enables you to immediately uncover any defects or regressions in your program, making it simpler for you and your team to handle these issues as soon as they happen.
- Enhanced effectiveness
Automated testing can boost developer efficiency by automating operations that would otherwise be performed manually. You can configure your continuous integration (CI) system to automatically execute and monitor the results of your automated tests whenever a new application feature or update is introduced. Such will ensure that any difficulties with the latest improvements are swiftly discovered and resolved.
Cons
- Sophistication
Developing automated tests can take longer than manual tests, mainly if they are poorly conceived. They can also be more challenging to incorporate into a development workflow. If your tests are complicated to manage, the quality of your test suite may suffer. It can affect the ability to test continuously throughout the application lifecycle.
- High starting costs
Implementing automated testing requires a substantial investment of time and money, which is one of its primary disadvantages. However, this investment is frequently swiftly recouped through increased developer productivity and more reliable results.
- It must be rewritten for each fresh setting
When you modify one environment, you must update your automated tests for the results to pass. Unfortunately, this necessitates you rewrite your automated test scripts in many places within your local development environment, CI system, and production environments to guarantee they function as planned. This is why you should go for ones that can identify web page elements based on their labels in addition to their XPath or CSS. Using such an automation tool, you can modify your code as you see fit; if the user flow has not changed, your test scripts will not need to be modified.
- Produces false positives and false-negatives
Automated tests may occasionally fail when there is no real problem present. This can occur, for instance, if the test contains a mistake or is insufficient to cover all of the intended use cases. Similarly, your tests may provide false negatives if intended to validate that something exists and not that it functions as expected.
- It is challenging to create tests that are both dependable and maintainable.
Creating a thorough suite of automated tests is a difficult undertaking. They must be trustworthy enough to be run repeatedly and consistently without producing false-positive or false-negative results. On the other hand, your test scripts must be sufficiently maintainable to accommodate application changes. This takes a high level of developer experience and meticulous planning and execution.
Last thoughts
Automated testing allows you to verify that your web application or website is entirely operational and user-friendly. The primary benefit of automated testing is the ability to continuously test your application and verify that it is functioning as planned. The primary downsides of automated testing are that it typically costs more in software, is challenging to implement initially, and requires extensive upkeep.