Benefits of Test Automation

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New computing technologies, the use of agile methodologies, and the adoption of development philosophies such as DevOps have significantly reduced software development times. This reduction in the development cycle has highlighted the need for automated testing in order to ensure better efficiency and quality of the software obtained.

Such tests need to be automated to speed up time, lower costs, increase software quality, and free up work equipment so that they can focus on other value-generating tasks.
Repetitive manual testing is time consuming, and is also subject to human error.

Manual testing is primarily user-oriented, while automated testing is focused on service-oriented architectures (see more).

Automated testing has some characteristics or must meet a set of defined criteria such as:

- They must be repeatable. An automated test must be possible many times.

- They must be objective. Test automation should be done according to objective criteria, as it is not a matter of opinion. Subjective criteria include other tools or tests, such as user tests where they provide feedback.

- They must be decisive. Test automation should deliver a decisive result, and if the test is repeated, the result will be the same (or very approximate).

Two types of general tests can be differentiated when developing software. Manual testing where human participation is required, and automated testing where human intervention is eliminated.

Both tests are complementary and necessary in the software development process. Those tests that deal with repetitive and tedious tasks are ideal to be automated, as they could be done so much faster and more efficiently. In addition, being repeatable, they can be performed whenever necessary, such as when there is a code change.

Manual testing, on the other hand, is great for a deeper analysis and a more realistic perspective. They are commonly used to evaluate usability and user experience.

Not all tests during the software development cycle can be automated, but those that are automated bring a number of benefits. For example, they provide greater accuracy. Automated testing eliminates typical developer errors when performing manual testing.

Each time an automated test is run it is done accurately, always performing the same operations, which provides a more accurate and reliable result. During the development cycle, tests must be run each time the software is modified, and can be run automatically each time changes are made. Running tests automatically whenever a change is made ensures quality in software development.

Also, automated testing has a shorter run time, but its initial implementation cost is high. However, the time savings are offset by this initial investment, making them much more economically viable. A company will use automated testing to significantly reduce the time required to perform them, and reduce the associated costs.

Another advantage is that automated testing can be repeated over and over again to test how the software reacts. When performing the tests several times, errors or non-optimized processes will be detected, which can be corrected.

Thanks to being able to automate the tests and repeat them constantly without additional development costs and faster, updates or new versions can be delivered in much less time (even several per week, when previously it was done in months).