In today’s digital age, businesses rely on computers and software. Cloud computing and connectivity allows businesses both large and small to compete side by side on the global market. There is however increasing pressure on businesses to deliver high quality products with fewer resources, in reduced time.
When manually testing software, developers and testers are required to go through a multitude of individual scenarios, testing a variety of usage and input combinations. This is done to assess all aspects of an application to check for bugs and coding errors against desired results and usability.
These manual tests are often repeated multiple times during the development process to incorporate code changes and different operating environments. Manual testing is labour intensive and can still result in products that have errors.
Automated software testing is a more effective and efficient way to test software.
Save Resources
Every time code is altered, it needs to be tested. If you were to do this manually, it will cost money and time. If you run automated tests, the can be repeated at no additional cost.
Speed
This is a major benefit when competing against other businesses. Automated tests are also a lot faster than manual tests and can be set to run over night, or immediately after a deployment.
Reduce Error
As you may have gathered, manual testing can be a lengthy and monotonous process and like many things, is subject to human error. Automated tests can be programed to perform any number of checks, and will produce detailed reports containing any anomalies and findings.
Increase Quality
Automated software testing can perform specific and lengthy tests without error, unattended, and on multiple computers. It has the capability to execute complex tests that are impossible with manual tests.
Focus on Development
As testers are not spending time analysing potential faults, they can spend their time working on developing software. Tests can be run whenever source code changes, the development team can then be notified of any problems or failures.
Automation can reduce the time it takes from the initial development of software, to getting your product on the market. The time saved can translate directly into cost savings. These saving can also be made due to the reduction of software failures that are made by human error. You are able to deliver reliable software.