Every software development group tests its products, yet delivered software always has defects. Test engineers strive to catch them before the product is released but they always creep in and they often reappear, even with the best manual testing processes. Test Automation software is the best way to increase the effectiveness, efficiency and coverage of your software testing.
Manual software testing is performed by a human sitting in front of a computer carefully going through application screens, trying various usage and input combinations, comparing the results to the expected behavior and recording their observations. Manual tests are repeated often during development cycles for source code changes and other situations like multiple operating environments and hardware configurations.
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Contact UsAn automated testing tool is able to playback pre-recorded and predefined actions, compare the results to the expected behavior and report the success or failure of these manual tests to a test engineer. Once automated tests are created they can easily be repeated and they can be extended to perform tasks impossible with manual testing. Because of this, savvy managers have found that automated software testing is an essential component of successful development projects.
Automated software testing has long been considered critical for big software development organizations but is often thought to be too expensive or difficult for smaller companies to implement. SmartBear’s Tools are affordable enough for single developer shops and yet powerful enough that our customer list includes some of the largest and most respected companies in the world.
Software tests have to be repeated often during development cycles to ensure quality. Every time source code is modified software tests should be repeated. For each release of the software it may be tested on all supported operating systems and hardware configurations. Manually repeating these tests is costly and time consuming. Once created, automated tests can be run over and over again at no additional cost and they are much faster than manual tests. Automated software testing can reduce the time to run repetitive tests from days to hours. A time savings that translates directly into cost savings.
Automated software testing can increase the depth and scope of tests to help improve software quality. Lengthy tests that are often avoided during manual testing can be run unattended. They can even be run on multiple computers with different configurations. Automated software testing can look inside an application and see memory contents, data tables, file contents, and internal program states to determine if the product is behaving as expected. Test automation can easily execute thousands of different complex test cases during every test run providing coverage that is impossible with manual tests.
Even the most conscientious tester will make mistakes during monotonous manual testing. Automated tests perform the same steps precisely every time they are executed and never forget to record detailed results. Testers freed from repetitive manual tests have more time to create new automated software tests and deal with complex features.
Even the largest software and QA departments cannot perform a controlled web application test with thousands of users. Automated testing can simulate tens, hundreds or thousands of virtual users interacting with a network, software and web applications.
Shared automated tests can be used by developers to catch problems quickly before sending to QA. Tests can run automatically whenever source code changes are checked in and notify the team or the developer if they fail. Features like these save developers time and increase their confidence.
This is hard to measure but we’ve experienced it first hand. Executing repetitive tasks with automated software testing gives your team time to spend on more challenging and rewarding projects. Team members improve their skill sets and confidence and, in turn, pass those gains on to their organization.
SmartBear provides automation tools and frameworks for developers and testers to help validate and verify UIs, APIs, and databases.
Each of our test automation tools comes with out of the box plugins with popular CI servers like Jenkins and a CLI for others.
See instant ROI and savings with easy-to-use tools that you can trial and implement before buying.
Run tests at scale with real-world data on virtualized infrastructure, real browsers, or with generated load.
Don't spend time learning proprietary languages - our tools work out of the box with your favorite languages like Python, JavaScript, and more.
Run automated tests in a continuous pipeline giving your team faster feedback, reducing debugging time and time to resolution.
While automated testing has been considered essential for organizations, both large and small, to implement in order to deliver outstanding software and stay competitive in the industry, it can be tough to get started. Outlining an effective roadmap, building robust frameworks, choosing the right tools, and measuring the potential monetary impact that automation could have on your delivery lifecycle are all critical components of any successful automated testing strategy, but each step presents its own challenges and costs.
Check out some of the resources below or head over to our automated testing starter kit for more tips, resources, and tools for you to use to make your transformation seamless. You’ll find more information on what you should automate first, how to succeed when moving beyond manual testing, a downloadable guide to help you pick the right tool that fits your needs and an ROI calculator you can leverage to help your boss, or your team understand why automated testing is imperative.
In simplest terms, automated testing involves tools or programs used to automate testing scripts. There are many different types of software testing that can be automated.
Learn What Functional Testing IsAutomating your manual software testing scripts can save immense time and cost during the QA phase. Get advice on choosing the right tool for your needs.
Choosing Testing ToolsSo your QA or Development team is looking to automate their tests? Learn all you need to know to start testing software, websites and mobile applications.
Automation Best PracticesWhen evaluating internal controls, there is a hierarchy of control types that most auditors keep in mind. Preventive controls are more effective than detective controls, and automated controls are more reliable than manual controls. Let’s start by understanding the difference between manual and automated controls and the testing approaches.
Today, nearly every company has some degree of control automation configured to perform either a preventive or detective function. Automated controls are commonly found in critical areas like a backup of application files, network security, and change management.
The use of automated controls testing is highly recommended in these processes to ensure consistency and reliability of operations. Furthermore, with the rapid integration of ERP systems in modern companies, the use of automation in activities such as procurement 3-way matches, workflow approval routing, and data field validations has become widespread.
It is important to understand the difference between automated controls vs manual controls. Automated controls are ideal in situations with high volume, uniform transactions. In this case, there is little need for manual intervention or judgment. Automated controls include the risk of relying on inaccurate systems and data or putting trust in an inappropriate automation algorithm.
Manual controls are preferred when there is a need for human judgment. The need for manual controls often arises when there is a low volume of transactions that require discretion in deciding the outcome of the internal control process. Manual controls run the risk of human error and intentional override.
A third control category also exists called semi-automated controls, sometimes referred to as IT-dependent controls. With this type of automated control, human intervention is still required, but the person’s action is dependent on the output for a system.
To illustrate the different types of control, we can use a system access control as an example. As a manual control, user access is tested by comparing all (or a sample of) users to the current employee listing and then testing for appropriate levels of access. In semi-automated controls, a system may perform the first comparison to the active employee listing and then flag users with potential issues for review. In automated controls testing, the system would validate the users in real-time against the active employee listing, access can validate against the individual’s job code and provisioning profile, and any discrepancies would be adjusted automatically.
Control automation starts with strong documentation. Start with process and control flowcharts or narratives to define the process. Next, choose a less complex process to automate. In the control testing example for earlier, it could be the comparison of system users to the active directory. After you have proven the concept, look for control candidates that meet the criteria for automation, namely those with high volume transactions and uniformity. Finally build the automation and test the output to ensure the data coming out is what you expected.
The types of automated controls (semi-automated controls and fully automated controls) will ultimately dictate your testing strategy. There is a rhythm on how to test automated controls. You start with validating the data in the system is accurate and complete, then perform a test of one automated control. With semi-automated controls, the testing will depend on the level of automation. For the portion of the process that is automated, the test of one automated control idea still holds, but it will be supplemented with manual testing for the portion that requires human intervention.
SOX compliance efforts benefit immensely from the existence of automated controls in a company’s internal control environment. Both from a time and cost perspective, automated controls dramatically improve the efficiency of SOX compliance and testing, especially in companies that have deployed powerful ERPs, such as SAP and Oracle. However, many companies have not optimized their internal control environment to take advantage of the configurations available within their ERP platforms. A company’s internal auditors do not have the technical expertise to advise process owners on the best ways to utilize the ERP’s automation features.
Companies that have successfully optimized their control environment through automated controls have realized tangible benefits in their SOX compliance process. Some of these benefits include:
An increase in automated controls has a direct impact on the degree of external auditor reliance. The PCAOB, through AS5, clearly points to the advantage of having automated controls in an audit of internal controls by saying “an automated control would generally be expected to be a lower risk if relevant information technology general controls are effective.” In order to rely on automated controls, it is essential that there is a host of underlying IT general controls that are working effectively.
The existence of automated controls in an internal control environment ensures employees are spending more time on strategic initiatives rather than working long hours on manual, repetitive tasks. Automated controls also drastically reduce the odds of human error and fraudulent manipulation. Additionally, they greatly simplify the knowledge transfer process required during a transition of roles among employees. Once an internal control process is automated, there is also a significant difference when testing manual or automated controls. For example, automated controls testing only needs a test of one transaction. The idea is that the system always works the same, so if it works one it’s safe to assume it always works.
Studies have shown that reducing manual controls and increasing automated controls testing has a significant impact on the SOX Compliance spend of a company. Manual processes that constantly require the involvement of employees, consultants, or auditors are not sustainable. In the long run, having automated controls testing is more stable, largely because this enables a repeatable, reliable, and predictable framework while significantly lowering the cost of compliance.
In the end, most companies have a mix of automated controls vs manual controls. Some control processes work better with automated controls, and some require personal discretion. Typically, the focus for the control environment should lean toward automation and prevention over manual and detection. As you evaluate your internal controls, keep in mind the benefits you hope to achieve.