Advantages and disadvantages of automated testing

Although we cannot always use automated testing as a one-size-fits-all solution, it is rather important for long-term, complex projects. In this article, we will find out what kind of testing is called ‘automated’ and what its major advantages and disadvantages are.

What is automated testing?

Automated testing is a software testing method performed by using special software tools that execute a set of test cases. Some types of testing — load and stress — involve automation by default. For example, automation makes it possible to simulate a high load that is close to the real situation, which is quite difficult or even impossible to do manually.

Benefits of automated testing

Importance and advantages of automated testing

Below we have chosen the top 8 benefits that automated testing has to offer. The list may be completed by more specific advantages taking into account particular domains, companies and the software they develop.

Automated regression testing. Regression testing ensures that code changes do not negatively impact the previously developed functionality of the solution. Regression testing also guarantees that the app works well with fixed bugs, new features, and improvements. As it is time-consuming and repetitive by nature, it can be more effective to turn to automation while performing it. Regression testing automation frees up QA engineers allowing them to focus on writing test cases for new functionality and/or other vital tasks.

Test execution speed. Software quality assurance engineers are often forced to shorten testing time to ensure a product is released on schedule. Test automation does not require human intervention. It can be performed at any time when the environment is available for testing and this is usually the time when it is not used by QA specialists. There are various ways to make automated testing faster, such as parallel test execution, test segregation, and headless test execution. Faster speed of automated testing is also relevant for Data Driven Tests (DDT) when the same checks are run many times with different datasets.

Flexible test settings. Automation allows setting any schedule and notifications as well as creating quick reports.

Scale. Automation imitates the actions of a large number of users.

Cost savings. Automated tests significantly reduce testing costs if implemented wisely. They are cheaper than manual tests in the long run. Although the initial implementation of automation testing may be costly, it will pay off in the end.

Disadvantages of automated testing

The list of disadvantages of automation testing

Despite a bundle of benefits of automated testing, it has its disadvantages.

• The need to keep autotests up to date. If some changes are made to the application, they must be displayed in autotests, which leads to extra expenses.
• Some tasks cannot be automated, for instance, installation testing, usability, and layout testing.
• Some bugs that are not provided by the autotest cannot be detected. During manual testing, QA engineers also check additional scenarios prompted by their intuition and experience but not described in test cases. As a result, manual testing involves more cases being tested.
• More expenses on the professionals and toolkit. The QA automation engineer is a programmer (or at least has some programmer skills), which means that this specialist costs more. And the price of testing tools is also worth considering.

Conclusion

Automated and manual testing are not mutually exclusive. Quite the opposite, they successfully complement each other helping achieve the high quality of software. It is the team leader who needs to find the optimal balance between manual and automated testing in each individual case, taking into account the technical features of the project and team capabilities.

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