Why You Need Test Automation for Software Testing in Agile

The many benefits of agile methodology have made it the most sought after and widely used software development methodology today. In fact, according to the VersionOne’s State of Agile Report 2017, close to 94% of organizations have switched to the agile methodology with success. This makes one wonder about the features of the agile methodology that makes it distinctly stand out from the other software development approaches. The answer lies in the very core principle of agile which is the ‘ability to adapt to change’. So, agile is all about continuous improvement and the ability to respond to change quickly and effectively.

The Need for Test Automation in Agile

There are several benefits of test automation that perfectly complement the key objectives of the agile methodology.

1] Testing Process Made Faster

Agile is an approach that focuses on continuous testing throughout the development lifecycle and the word that lies at its core is speed. It is all about identifying and resolving bugs and issues earlier in the software development lifecycle to reduce the costs incurred. Test automation in agile environment is the way to go as it increases the speed and makes it possible for testing to keep up with the speed of software development. This prevents any unnecessary delays.

2] Higher Accuracy as Compared to Manual Testing

Test automation in agile increases the accuracy of test case execution, thus ensuring defects and bugs are never missed out. This way, quality standards are adhered to and the risk associated with software development is reduced – both primary goals of agile. A manual approach simply cannot keep up with the demands of an agile environment that calls for quick testing with zero scope for errors.

3] Significant Reduction in Efforts

Agile emphasizes on continuous testing. This calls for the QA team to adopt methods that help them accomplish the testing goals in the shortest time and still adhere to the highest quality standards. An end-to-end test automation solution can be used to automate the repetitive set of test cases, which significantly reduces the efforts required.

4] Complex Testing Made Easy

With an array of platforms and devices to test on, application testing can be more than just time consuming – it can be complex to say the least. Also, agile requires testing after every new code is introduced. So many parameters for successful execution of test cases, make test automation in agile the ideal solution for enterprises.

5] Integrated Testing

One of the key principles of agile philosophy, integrated testing involves testing the different units of a product or application as a single group. Its purpose is to test the interaction of the different units with each other and identify faults if any. This is only possible with modern test automation software that offer an integrated and agile platform.

The new-age test automation tools with integrated platforms, such as Cucumber, QARA Test, Appium and Watir, are the solutions that enterprises need in order to achieve the multi-faceted benefits of agile. These platforms offer end-to-end test management for collaboration, which is also an essential component of agile.