Highly performing testing teams produce reliable automated tests, which run accurately on each change of code. If there are any test failures, it is more likely that there are defects in the code. Developers create tests and can easily fix the issues in their environment. They are vigilant in creating automated tests and maintaining them. With the introduction of automation in testing, the need for manual testers was questioned. Afterall, testers are the experts who create and evolve automated tests. They perform different testing processes like usability, performance, exploratory and acceptance testing. These testing activities are designed to help organizations deliver value to their customers and sustain them.
If you have hired an automation testing company for automation already, it is time to engage your entire team. But the real question is how to begin? Well, for starters let’s devise a three-phase approach for achieving the desired results:
1. Divide Manual Test Scripts – You need to divide the manual regression test scripts amongst everyone on the team- developers, designers, product owners, system administrators, testers, etc. and share the work.
2. Setting Attainable Goals – It is important to set short-term and attainable goals together to achieve them successfully.
3. Measure Progress – As a team manager, you need to look for ways to measure the progress so that teams can adjust their strategy when and if required.
Keeping Automation Efforts Top of the Line
To keep your teams motivated, you should create visible charts showing goals. These charts should be updated as the project makes progress. As soon as the tests start running in the Continuous Integration (CI), they should be made visible on the monitors. If the tests are done in distributed teams, online dashboards can be used too.
Mitigating Automation Testing Resistance
When getting teams to work on shared manual regression testing, there can be some sort of resistance from the teams. It is important to mitigate any resistance that comes your way during automation testing. The importance of automation is communicated to all the teams and help them work through the shared work-load. Team members should also be heard-out, and if they are facing any difficulties, they should be helped. This will build their confidence and also allow managers to get the most of the automation efforts.
Building the Toolbox
Even when shifting from manual to automated tests, the need for software testing tools cannot be ignored. There are dozens of automation tools in the market, so the right ones need to be added to conduct the automated tests successfully.
Conclusion
Although automation testing sounds fun and simple, it does not eliminate the need for manual testers. Testers are like captains to a sailing ship, that steer it in the right direction. So, it is for them to first learn the benefits of automation testing and then communicate it to the rest of the team. However, to achieve the best results from automated tests, the manual test scripts need to be shared by the teams.