Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Test Automation Management Tool

Test automation is the biggest thing to have happened to software testing in the recent years and has revolutionized the way organizations approach testing. The widespread popularity of the agile methodology, which focuses on continuous testing, has made test automation a necessity to meet the testing goals of an organization.

There are quite a few test automation management tools available in the market today, such as QARA Test, Watir, Appium, Tricentis Tosca, and more. These tools offer various features dedicated towards making the software QA process easier, faster and more efficient. If you’re looking for an automation tool, here are some key questions to ask in order to figure out which one will meet your requirements.

1] What are your requirements in software QA?

Every automation management tool is different and so before you choose one, you must have a clear idea of your QA requirements. Does your project primarily call for web/desktop testing alone? If it’s only a specific type of application your project requires, then you can opt for a software that caters to that type of application alone. For example, Watir is a platform for QA of web applications.

2] Are there any skilled resources in your organization?

Switching to automation not only calls for investment but also there’s the need to impart training to your staff, unless you already have skilled resources in your organization. If it’s the former scenario, you should choose a tool with a very short learning curve. QARA Test is one such tool that makes you learn automation in just 3 days.

3] What are the different integrations you want your tool to support?

Different test automation management tools support different integrations and what you choose depends on the type of integrations you need for your project. To begin with, closely study the different integrations and their purpose. The most common integrations are JIRA, BrowserStack, BrowseEmAll, SauceLabs, and Jenkins, among others. For example, JIRA integration is for complete test management while BrowserStack and SauceLabs are for grid execution.

4] What programming language is your QA team most comfortable working with?

Having skilled resources is great but what’s more important is the programming language your team prefers to work with. Different tools are built using different programming languages, which makes it very important to choose one wisely. However, a test automation management tool built using the Selenium framework, such as QARA Test, is a clever way to go about it. Even though Selenium is built using Java, it offers support for a host of programming languages, including Perl, PHP, Python, and Ruby, among others.

5] Which platform(s) or browser(s) do you work or intend to work with?

Some QA projects just work with a single browser or platform, such as native mobile apps built for either Android or iOS. However, other projects require you to execute testing simultaneously across multiple browsers and platforms. If your project demands the latter, you should look for test automation tools that offer cross-browser/cross-platform testing.

6] What is your budget?

Your budget is often the deciding factor that you simply cannot ignore. Make a list of all the tools that fulfill the requirements and then go for the one that is most cost-effective. If the tool of your choice does not fall within the budget you set out with, you might have to cut down on a few bells & whistles and get them sometime later.

The Final Word

Discussing with your QA team and the decision makers of your company to figure out the answers to these questions will make it easy for you to choose a test automation management tool that will help you increase test coverage, reduce the testing time and offer other benefits. If you want to share your experience of choosing a test automation tool, drop us a message in the comments section below.