Aditi Mulay, an SDET at Karsun Solutions, recently presented at SeleniumConf Chicago. She joined other Selenium WebDriver experts to share her best automation testing strategies. Aditi specializes in building automation frameworks using open source tools that can be utilized by QAs with technical and non-technical backgrounds.
At Karsun, experts like Aditi have the autonomy to try new approaches to development, then integrate that practice into their teams’ daily work. In her talk, UI Automation It’s Not Free, Aditi outlines strategies identified by teams at Karsun to improve testing efficiency and scalability. Among her key tips are diversify testing, prioritize the web services layer, leverage smarter UI testing, and engage in exploratory testing.
Diversify Testing
Aditi’s talk focuses on UI automation costs, among these, the trade-offs between automation and long test execution times. Diversifying testing is one of the key strategies for reducing execution times. This means selecting appropriate cases for both automation and manual tests. (Karsun’s GoLean methodology is designed in part to help teams analyze test cases.) Building on past experiences, Aditi walks listeners through the testing pyramid to identify proper testing candidates.
Prioritize Web Services
As part of her exploration into different types of testing, Aditi takes special care to review API tests. She notes not only can these be a speedier alternative they are also an excellent opportunity to test business language and logic. She adds writing these cases is an excellent opportunity hone development skills.
Smarter UI Testing
As testers select UI testing opportunities Aditi suggests they narrow their focus. Rather than hitting every scenario, she suggests teams build their tests around workflows. Here teams focus on customer outcomes and functionality, a core component of Karsun Solutions Modern Software Development practice. For those scenarios that are UI intensive Aditi provides tips for more in-depth testing without sacrificing time.
Exploratory Testing
At the conclusion of her talk, Aditi strongly encourages teams to add exploratory testing to their practice. Exploratory testing is another way Karsun introduces innovation into regular development practice. Emphasizing transparency, these exercises encourage teams to work together, reviewing bugs and pre-empting less desirable delivery to the customer. Aditi describes her experiences with several of these techniques in her talk.
For a complete look at overcoming UI automation costs, head over to YouTube to view Aditi’s UI Automation It’s Not Free SeleniumConf talk.
