Automation Testing Archives - Page 3 of 3

5 Major Types of Test Automation Frameworks

Posted on July 17, 2017 by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

Test automation frameworks uses a software to execute tests and then determine whether the resulted outcomes and the predicted outcomes are the same or not. Every organization needs software testing adequately, as quickly and thoroughly as possible. To accomplish this, organizations are turning to use automated testing methods.
As test automation frameworks are application independent, it has the ability to expand with the needs of each application. It promotes automation technologies to improve test coverage and gain better quality products. These frameworks help testers to save thousands of manual test execution hours and reduce costs significantly.
Let’s briefly look into the 5 main test automation categories and its functions:

#1) Linear Automation Framework:
This is the most simple framework of all types. Here, individual scripts are used for each test case and they are executed individually. This process enables the conversion of small or medium sized manual scripts to corresponding automation scripts.
Key Features:

Very little planning is required to work with this framework
Testing doesn’t take much time
A tester does not need detailed knowledge of the framework as it uses record and playback to create linear scripts
Created scripts are independent of each other

#2) Module-based Testing Framework:
This framework is based on object oriented programming method and uses the concept of abstraction. While testing, the application is divided into different modules, where each module consists of individual test scripts. The separation of modules is done using an abstraction layer, so that if any changes occur, it wouldn’t affect the other modules.
Key Features:

This framework includes a high level of modularization, which reduces cost and makes maintenance much easier
It’s pretty much scalable
If defects are detected, only that part of the test script needs to be changed. The rest remains untouched
Create new driver scripts for performing tests easily

#3) Data-Driven Testing Framework:
In this type of testing, the necessary inputs and expected output results are stored in separate data files. Here, a single driver test can execute all the necessary test cases with different sets of data. A driver script consists of functions like reading the data files, navigating through the entire program etc.
Key Features:

It reduces the number of overall test scripts to implement all the available test cases
Test data used can be created before test implementation gets ready or even before the testing system or environment is set up
When it comes to maintenance and fixing of bugs, this framework ensures greater flexibility
To generate test cases, less amount of codes are used

#4) Keyword-Driven Testing Framework:
This is an application independent framework that utilizes data tables and self-descriptive keywords, which explain the functions to be performed on the testing application.
The external input data file showcases the functions through ‘directives’, which are seen within the test scripts. These directives are called keywords. Therefore, this keyword based testing is considered to be an extension of the data-driven framework.
Key Features:

Keywords can be re-used in multiple test cases
An automation expertise is not required to create new or maintain the existing test cases
Reduce the number of overall test scripts
Use a minimal amount of codes to generate test cases
For each test, the functionalities are documented in a table as step by step instructions

#5) Selenium Automation Framework (SAF):
SAF is the most widely used, customized, open-source framework today for automated web application testing. As it reduces the initial coding efforts, SAF increases the efficiency of automation than any other framework.
SAF helps enterprises to speed up the testing mechanism by using accelerators at the test design layer and provides a comprehensive reporting strategy for managing tests.
Key Features:

Intuitive and user-friendly interface for creating and executing test suites
Flexible, robust and extensible framework to carry out test automation on diverse sets
Enables users to perform multiple testing processes for web apps
Detailed reports on test execution results with consolidated summary and snapshot of errors
SAF is built on open source tools, libraries or frameworks that reduce cost for users
Avoid redundancy on test case execution
Increased test coverage to enhance quality and reliability of the end product
Has high interaction with Selenium community, therefore, enables quick updates and shorter learning curve
Increases flexibility of used resource and time

In order to move with the pace of software testing process, development and delivery, it is essential to implement the most effective, reliable and reusable test automation frameworks. It’s not advisable to still hang on to the traditional methods as tools alone can never provide a long-term automation success, when compared to the other latest test automation frameworks.

8 Formidable Challenges While Testing an Online Banking Application

Posted on June 13, 2017 by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

Being the most complex and advanced enterprise solution, banking applications needs to be carefully considered in both functional as well as security aspects to ensure that customers and assets are protected from malware.

Internet-based electronic banking or online banking applications have become a necessity for customers. As a countless number of banking transactions happens every day, these apps need to have high level performance, with features that meets the needs of a customer.
Few things that should be noted to constitute a consistent, bug-free, banking application:

The app needs a solid reporting system to keep track on daily transactions
Strong auditing is required to troubleshoot issues
It should have the capacity to adhere complex and advanced work flows
Banking apps should have the feature of integration with other apps such as Trading accounts and Bill-pay utility accounts
It should possess multi-tier functionality to support multiple user sessions

In this blog, we go through the key challenges faced while testing a Banking Application:
1) Strict Security Regulation: It is necessary for banking applications to protect customer data and private information as well as the assets. Therefore, during mobile software testing, these things should be considered by providing a secure testing environment.
A banking app should be compatible with all operating systems, versions, devices etc. Along with iOS and Android, other versions including Blackberry and WP8 also need to be tested. Mobile testing tools that support both native and web properties should be used for wide usage.
To ensure that the software doesn’t have any flaws, the QA team needs to check both negative as well as positive sides of the system and report it before any unauthorized access happens. The bank should also use other security measures like an access validation code or one-time password for better safety. For security regulation testing, automation tools like HPWebInspect and IBM AppScan should be used and for manual testing- Paros proxy, Proxy Sniffer, HTTP watch etc. should be put to use.
2) Complex Data: This is one of the major challenges that can occur while testing a bank application. No apps can en sure that the back-end databases of bank system will not be affected by malware or all the data within is protected. So, it is necessary that the mobile testers need to have a pool of accounts that can be used for the testing solutions.
A bank definitely needs to have an automation tool to constantly check database connectivity and logical functions. It should be done over the virtual private network (VPN) to assure safety on its private data.
3) Active Support of Devices: About 80% of people spend their time on using mobile applications. Mobile manufacturers introduce new features on a daily basis to provide customers a better and friendly user experience. Similarly, banking apps also need to bring in revisions to offer a better experience on latest devices.
4) Privacy is Essential: Privacy plays a very important role in mobile banking. This feature defines how much secure a mobile banking app is for its users. Therefore, automated testing must be done for every single update to ensure protection for all private information. It is essential for a bank to have an automated tool system that run tests periodically without the need for a software tester to manually test each function within the app.

5) Real-time Activity: Apps should have the capacity to provide real-time updates and this is more challenging when it deals with network connectivity issues.
6) Proper Testing and Development: Bugs can affect any application and this is the reason your banking app should follow proper app testing procedure. Making a banking application with user-friendly functioning and proper security checks require extensive revision and software testing.
7) Updated Market Trends: Consumer requirements and market trends keep changing invariably. Therefore, application features, usability etc. have to be revised and kept updated.
8) Performance Failures: Performance levels involve connectivity, infrastructure, and back-end integration. The transaction happening through the apps should be monitored at regular intervals. Also, Load and Stress tests must be performed regularly to ensure multiple support transactions on anytime.
Best Practices
A few best practices that will help you manage certain challenges in testing banking applications are:

A clearly defined methodology of software performance testing
Testing that encompasses the complete work flow
Testing for functionality, performance and security
Testing of the app for UX, UI, data integrity and support multiple users

Testing banking applications can be a complicated deal, but if the key methods and principles are placed right, then it can be beneficial with long-lasting advantages. The right blend of testers and processes are key factors of a successful mobile banking app.