Reasons for the failure of web side automation test

1、 Unrealistic expectations – 100％ automation

The initial test automation failure was achieved from unrealistic expectations . In my career , I have observed it many times , Once you get automated quality assurance or staff , Management expects them to automate testing of everything . Although it sounds very pleasant , But it's impossible . You can't do 100％ Automated testing , Because in a few areas it's necessary to do manual checks . One of these areas may be related to your Web The accessibility of the application is related to .

for example , If you are performing automatic cross browser testing , For Selenium The test automation script will display the web page on different browsers or operating systems . however , To determine if the site is rendered as designed , Is the layout right , Whether the words are suitable , It's best to evaluate... Manually

2、 What is automation and how much ？

Many organizations do realize that they want to do 100％ Problem statement for automated testing , But usually we have the following problems . What automation can we achieve , If not 100％, Then we can do for Web How much automation does the product actually achieve ？

There is no perfect percentage or approximation of automated test coverage for each enterprise . It all depends on what you provide Web Applications , And because different companies are meeting different needs . spontaneously , People will have unique expectations about the percentage of automated tests that can actually be achieved around automated tests ？ The scope of automated testing will be from e-commerce Web Application to static , Dynamic or animated Web Applications are different . therefore , If you want to know why automated testing fails for your organization ？ then , I suggest that you follow the Web The type of application to evaluate the amount of automated testing required .

3、 Poor management leads to lack of visibility in test automation

Before I started as an automated Tester IT In my career , I've been a victim of mismanagement . I was in a family based on Service The company of , They assigned me my first project . The project has been running for two years , When I joined , I was given a series of test automation scripts . The top of the project is leaving the organization , Management is too busy with the coming sprint , It is impossible to consider a comprehensive knowledge transfer course for the advanced automation testers who will leave . What happened after they left was not good ？ My manager said at the end of the hearing , We were taken aback by the power failure , And I just started , Minimal knowledge of how various outbound and inbound processes are affected by many automated scripts . However , I've seen teams with a few members in charge of Automation , The other members knew nothing about what was going on .

Do you think that when half the team lacks visibility , Is it unrealistic to get magic effects from automated tests ？ Because automation has to be a collaborative work , So it's important to educate each team member about tools and processes , Especially for beginners . You can discuss automation related tools by holding team meetings and conferences , Trends and practices , To achieve this goal .

4、 Don't know about manual or exploratory testing

This may surprise you a little , Another reason for the failure of test automation may be the lack of manual test skills or exploratory test skills . Automating test scripts doesn't mean that team members can reduce some slack . up to now , We already know , The automation method doesn't cover everything , And that's the challenge . Because now you have to go deeper into Web Applications , And find the key test plan that teammates haven't found .

Automation is a way to save testing work . Software companies should use it to minimize duplication , And try to automate those elements that are not easy to change . Once that is done , Companies should allocate their resources to perform extensive manual or exploratory testing , To find unique test cases .

5、 Don't think about it and write scripts

Automation seems to be a goal of reducing workload . But before developing test automation scripts , You have to be thoughtful . Besides , This can take a lot of automated test execution time . The flexibility of frameworks and test automation tools plays a critical role in the time required to develop script scenarios .

Because every situation is different , So you have to script . Even if you think about , If you don't script , It's all a waste . Ensure that the test engineer's coding skills are consistent with the complexity of the test . Complex tests take a lot of time to automate . therefore , With the development of new functions , They usually don't have a chance to find mistakes in regression . Before writing down the test plan , Please make sure to keep these precautions in mind .

6、 Lack of understanding of when to use automation and when not to ！

“ Why test automation fails for your company ？” The most common reasons behind ？” People don't know when to automate , When I don't know . for example , Can automate different web functions . But evaluate the fill through test automation , Rendering problems such as images are not a good idea . If you use coordinates to determine the location of elements , When running at different screen resolutions and sizes , May lead to differences .

When testing projects that are easy to make a lot of changes , It's not feasible to use automation . If you want to test a stable entity , So automation is the only way . Basically , Common tasks that need to repeat certain operations are best suited for automated testing . therefore , Test automation can simplify your regression testing process .

7、 Improper selection of personnel and resource plan

I can see IT There is a general misconception in the industry . People think that any developer or tester can perform test automation . Design of test automation , Configuration and implementation require specific skills . Testers who perform automation should know how to , Articulate ideas between developers and customers . He / She should also have a clear understanding of development trends , And you should know where the development team is going .

Automated test engineers are some of the most difficult but important people . In order to start all kinds of automation projects , Hiring testers with extensive technical knowledge is essential . The whole team should know what happened , Instead of automated testing by one or more people . Even when it comes to hiring highly skilled people , But the rewards are worth it .

8、 Not paying enough attention to the test report

Because automated testing is a relatively new phenomenon , So the chances of failure are high . There are too many new experiments by the test team , So it's important to analyze the results accurately . After the test , The tester must make a detailed test report . however , That's why test automation fails for you ！ Your team did not pay enough attention to the analysis of the test report . In case of improper execution , Analysis can lead to unattended failures , And waste time , Resources and energy .

In automatic test , Some tests are successful , Some failures . therefore , The test report must be checked for faults and the cause of some test failures must be analyzed . It's best to do the analysis manually , To find the real fault . It's important to expose hidden problems and make sure they're not covered up by other problems and ignored .

9、 A bottom-up approach to defining your automation goals

Set too high to be the real goal of Automation , It seems perfect on paper . however , When performing steps , There is a serious lack of clarity among team members . The biggest problem is that the goal is not clear . They lack the accuracy and accuracy to get real value from Automation . What most companies do is , They started automating very complex things , And finally reconstruct the whole framework . result , Teams end up wasting a lot of time , Money and energy .

You can eliminate uncertainty by starting small and gradually increasing complexity . Choose stable features , And start with automation . after , Gather feedback to determine what went wrong . Once your tests are consistent , You can continue to use other functions . For different project environments , Requirements may vary , So use custom methods for Test Automation .

10、 Choose the right tools for efficient testing

With a lot of automation tools , Sometimes choosing the best tool becomes challenging . The ultimate goal is to improve the overall test procedure and meet the actual requirements . But most teams can't start over , Nor did they pick out the most appropriate tool for their testing needs . without doubt , Automated testing is highly dependent on the tools you decide to continue using . Each tool has a specific function . however , The team lacks the level of expertise needed to make the most of these features .

Besides , The company is caught up in hype about specific tools . But after choosing it , They realized that it didn't provide everything they wanted . in addition , Every team has a budget , Sometimes the cost of the tool exceeds the budget . Before continuing to select the operation tool , Please list the requirements carefully . after , Determine your expectations for the tool . Be very specific when setting goals , And check the corresponding relationship with product user acceptance standard . You can also consult experts who have experience using these tools .

11、 Ignore false negative and false positive

This is often observed in almost every organization . Once the automated test suite is ready and working , Management starts to relax . They began to relax the in-depth analysis of test execution , Because they think only through / Failure checking is enough . however , This is why test automation led to their failure ！

Sometimes , Basically, the system can work normally . however , Automated scripts don't reflect the same thing . They stated in other ways and led to a false positive program . therefore , This has created a chaotic situation , Wasted time , Energy and resources . I've seen how frustrating the test team is trying to find something that doesn't exist ！

The other case is , When the automatic script sends a green signal , There is a problem . The system doesn't work , But the script says otherwise . Network problems can cause differences in test environment settings . This is due to the lack of accuracy at the beginning of the database . In the long run , Leaving the system in a damaged state may lead to disastrous consequences .

12、 Has undefined ID Of Web Elements

Every Web All elements must have one ID To perform effective tests . But sometimes , Developers can't ID Assign to all Web Elements , That's why test automation failed . under these circumstances , Automatic scripts must look for these Web Elements , It will take a lot of time . Besides , If the script cannot find these elements within the specified time , Then the test will fail . therefore , To make sure the script is synchronized correctly , The team must be responsible for all Web Element assignment is unique ID.

13、 Do not use parallel execution

therefore , Finally, everything that wants to be automated is automated . You end up with a huge test suite , Until now, , You just started hitting the wall . These complex test suites take longer than you expected . This begins with your own IDE The test queue quality in the test automation framework conflicts . result , Due to queue timeout problem , Test case stops abruptly , This is all because you want to execute them in order . The sequential execution of test cases is Web Another reason for the failure of application test automation .

Unlike running tests in sequence , Parallel execution allows you to execute multiple tests simultaneously in different environments . But automated testing can lead to unexpected code interactions . The reason why debugging fails is very difficult , So you need a thorough reporting mechanism , Provides detailed insight into test execution .

14、 Through test automation to ROI A false estimate of

No matter what business you do online ,ROI Will be the agenda of every board meeting . Shareholders demand higher returns . and , No matter how much time and effort you spend preparing the test automation suite , If they produce ROI All failed to meet expectations , Then they will be much less important than you expected .

When calculating the ROI of test automation , Many indicators may need to be considered , For example, test maintenance , The cost of purchasing the necessary test automation tools , Onboard resources, etc . The plan is impractical ROI It can be problematic for many organizations , And maybe it's the failure of test automation .

15、 Can't evaluate ripple effect

Many organizations give the impression that automated testing is easy . All you need to do is write a few lines of code to automate your Web The test workflow of the application . this is it ！ You don't have to worry at all about planning and typing test automation scripts . But it's not ！

You need to evaluate the ripple effect . Your Web The application will contain many test automation scripts designed to test different modules and processes . If a test script doesn't execute correctly , Other scripts may also trigger test automation failures . More Than This , Chain reactions should also be calculated when planning resources .

Suppose you have an advanced resource , He used to write scripts , Now I have left the company . You may not have thought that resigning might have a chain reaction in the future schedule of automation projects . That's why you need to document every detail about every automated test script in your system . This document should serve as a standard for budding automated testers and experienced automated testers .

16、 The test suite is not the same thing – It should develop with the development of the platform / change / Unsuitable test suite

Another reason test automation fails for your organization might be inappropriate test suites . Many automated testers create static test suites , These suites are not so flexible when you expand your business . Every time the platform develops , They all end up rewriting the entire automated test script . It's a bad habit , Because you're wasting time , Resources and money . in addition , This is also a wrong process . Make sure you write test suites that evolve and adapt as the platform expands .

17、 Automate one process and jump to another without going back

Another way to avoid test automation failures is to improvise test suites . Now? , It sounds obvious , But there is no practice in many organizations . as a result of , Once they've designed the test suite , And found that it works , And started to work on new areas of Automation . I'm not criticizing the effort to indulge or explore new areas to automate . however , Manage a time window and let you and your team review existing code snippets , There is no harm in finding a way to further optimize it . Always try to use your test suite , To make things better .

18、 Can't cooperate

With agile software , Kanban software and other modern SDLC（ Software development lifecycle ） The global adoption of methods , Collaboration has become a way to Web Faster application deployment to key components of the market .

This is a multi-dimensional software development process , All teams are developing at the same time Web Applications . You have a team of developers designing the front end , The other is responsible for the back end , There is also a team responsible for middleware activities . As a tester , You need to know which team is responsible for which module . You have to be aware of product enhancements made by different teams in a timely manner , And change the automation script , To ensure that test automation does not fail .

19、 Before executing each test automation suite , Set up the test environment manually

The main purpose of automated testing is to minimize the stress involved in repeated manual testing , To save time . From an abstract point of view , That sounds good , But for those who do test automation , Be aware of the difficulty of configuring the right infrastructure for internal test automation . I often see testers refresh the entire test automation suite before executing new scripts , To avoid any ambiguity with the script . But it doesn't fail the whole process of automated testing , isn't it? ？

for example , If you are using the interior Selenium Grid Perform automatic cross browser testing , To test for Google Chrome and Safari Browser's macOS and Windows Operating system website . Now? , You may have to run... Every time Selenium Script has to face the trouble of setting up a new operating system before .

20 Run multiple test suites repeatedly in a static test environment , Without cleaning up

This is a very common reason for the failure of organizational automated testing . Especially near the deadline . Your test department will continue to run a large number of test suites on the same test environment , Instead of clearing the cache of previously executed test automation scripts . This can lead to incorrect test evaluation , When you encounter more false negatives and false positives , Your test report may be affected .

for example , Suppose you need to test your Web Applications . When performing geolocation in a static test environment . Your script may encounter Google Test of , Ask you to prove that you are not a robot . This will cause the test automation script to fail .

That's why new virtual machines need to use the cleared cache , So you can get accurate results of automated cross browser test scripts .

21、 The test environment itself is cumbersome

To enable automation to work in different test environments , A lot of planning is needed . You need to test on the staging environment , To ensure that when moving code into the production pipeline , They work perfectly . however , It happens all the time ： When testing in a stage environment , Test automation scripts for code changes can run seamlessly , But when moving to production , It will collapse . There may be many reasons behind such problems , For example, lack of continuous monitoring , Staging environments cannot grow production environments in pairs , Lack of real-time traffic and so on .

22、 The test code itself has errors

But not least . If so far we have covered all the points , And your test automation still fails , So the only thing you need to reflect on is your own test automation script . Make sure you don't commit any compile time and run-time errors for any test scripts involved in the entire project .

23、 To sum up

If your organization needs to increase productivity , So automated testing is the only way . This is one of the most effective processes needed to improve product quality . Test automation also improves the robustness of software . But be careful to implement and delay . You can't rush without obstacles , Because no company can afford to lose a lot of money . On the other hand , Too much fear will prevent you from gaining the significant advantages offered by automated testing .

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