Applied Software Project Management

Test Automation

There are software packages available that allow a tester to automate test cases. Typically, this software uses either a record-and-playback system where mouse movements and keystrokes are recorded and played back into a user interface, a programming or scripting languages that accesses the user interface using a class model, or a combination of the two. Automation can be a powerful tool in reducing the amount of time that it takes to run the tests.

However, setting up and maintaining test automation adds an enormous amount of overhead. Now, instead of simply writing a test case, that test case must be programmed or recorded, tested, and debugged. A database or directory of test scripts must be maintained, and since there can be hundreds or thousands of test cases for even a small project, there will be hundreds or thousands of scripts to keep track of. What's more, since the scripts hook into the user interface of the software, there must be some plan in place to keep the scripts working in case the user interface changes.

There have been some advances recently (at the time of this writing) that help cut down on test automation maintenance tasks. These advances include canned functions to automate multiple tasks at once, generalization of scripts so that the tester refers to general business processes instead of specific user interface interactions, and the use of databases of test scripts that can be maintained automatically. But even with these advances, it is ...