Understanding Test Automation in Continuous Testing and DevOps

When we discuss continuous testing, continuous delivery, and DevOps, the term "automation" is often overused; fundamentally, automation means using technology to perform a task, but from a continuous testing perspective, subtle differences must be considered.

Two Types of Automation Testing

In the world of general testing, especially continuous testing, there are two types of automation:

Automated testing

Test automation

Although they seem to express the same concept in different ways, these terms actually have distinct meanings.

Automated testing refers to performing specific tests (e.g., a set of regression tests) automatically rather than manually, whereas test automation refers to the process of automating the tracking and management of different tests.

Both are important for continuous testing, but the latter is more critical.

Why Test Automation Is Essential for Continuous Testing

To fully understand why test automation is vital for continuous testing, we must clarify what continuous testing requires and why.

Continuous testing is a relatively new software testing approach that aims to ensure quality at all times.

In traditional settings, testing occurs at the end of the development cycle. However, as more companies adopt DevOps and continuous delivery models, software is constantly being developed and must always be ready for testing until it is no longer usable. This is where continuous testing ensures quality at every development stage.

Thus, instead of large-scale testing at the end of a cycle, continuous testing performs small, incremental tests whenever needed.

While always ensuring quality is crucial, speed of development and testing is also important; any blockage in the pipeline can delay releases. Test automation helps manage the extensive testing demands, keeping the pipeline flowing efficiently.

Test automation reduces the burden by automatically tracking and managing all testing requirements, allowing testers to focus on creating effective test cases rather than handling administrative details.

Making Test Automation a Reality

In theory, test automation fits well in continuous testing environments, but practical challenges arise.

Typical steps for testers include communicating with product owners to gather requirements, breaking down requirements into user stories, writing various test cases, and tracking progress across stages such as developer branch integration, regression, and functional verification.

Ideally, a solution would allow testers to flag work items needing test cases, integrate with ALM to create corresponding tasks in test automation tools, and organize work items by logical containers (features, components, sprints) to ensure proper coverage.

Embracing Continuous Testing

As DevOps and continuous delivery become the norm, continuous testing will follow suit, and test automation will become a key weapon in the tester’s arsenal, tracking all required tests throughout the pipeline.

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