Automated Testing Interview Questions

Automation as the name suggests, deals with the replacement of manual human activity with automated systems and equipment which can help to enhance overall efficiency. It is the technique that makes use of different software tools or scripts in order to perform a wide range of testing objectives. These tasks include the entering of data, comparing results and to execute the test steps in an efficient manner.

There are many types of automation testing that can be executed which includes - unit tests, GUI tests and also functional tests.

• Unit tests are done when the software is still in the development phase in order to remove the number of bugs.
• GUI tests are executed at the testing level in places where the tests are scripted to check the user interface. It helps to understand the way an application behaves the whole time.
• Functional tests are done during the testing levels as well so that they can stimulate the functional scenarios. It helps to test input and output results.

Lot of people get confused regarding what an automated test script is. This is basically a short program which gets written on any programming language in order to perform a certain set of instructions. The automated test scripts help to verify if an application runs as per the preferred requirements or not. When you run the script, it will give you a pass or fail result based on how the script has performed.

There are a few good practices which you can follow when you are writing a test case. Following these practices help to ease the overall process and allows the system to function efficiently. Some of these good practices essentially are as follows -

• To use comments appropriately
• Maintain files for reusable functions
• Follow good coding conventions
• Run different scripts regularly

Before you start an automation testing, there are a few pre-requisites that you need. Without them it will be difficult to execute the process. Here are the pre-requisites required for QA automation you will need -

• Good framework build which needs to be stable at all times
• You have to use reusable functions and procedures during the process
• Carefully store all different reusable functions in separate files
• You have to filter and separate the test cases that needs to be automated
• Ensure that the modules don't change very frequently during the process
• Skilled and premium resources

Not every automated testing process can be successful. There are always exceptions. Take a look at these factors which will help you to determine the success of automation -

• Time saved
• Total number of defects found
• Test coverage
• Maintenance Time
• Cost of installment
• Test re-usability
• Quality of software under the test

You have to keep in mind that it is never possible to achieve 100% automation. This is because there are many test cases which can't be automated so easily. In those cases, it takes more time to write the automated test than it is going to actually save. Investing double the time and effort in order to make things automated, is not worth it. Manual testing is the best in such cases where you cannot use automated testing because of such reasons.

There are some different conditions in which you cannot consider automated testing. These are the conditions required for QA automation.

• Exhaustive documentation
• Single use test cases
• Ad-hoc testing
• Exploratory testing
• User interface testing
• Ever changing resources

Automated testing was never the replacement for manual testing. It was introduced to help and to be an alternative for manual testing. No matter how much easier and efficient it is, this kind of testing also has its own limitations. That is why you will always need the help of manual testing in software development. Both automated and manual testing have their own pros & cons which needs to be kept in mind. Automated testing can never help you get an in-depth analysis of many aspects. On the other hand, manual testing can never be so efficient.

Yes. Documentation is essentially required for QA automation. All the different methods and procedures that are going to be employed must be documented really well in order to repeat them the next time once again. Crucial things that need to be documented are designs, code changes, test specifications, configurations, bug reports and various other aspects. When you document them, you can keep track of the results and repeat them for the next process.