Implementing Automated Software Testing How to Save Time and Lower Costs While Raising Quality

"This book fills a huge gap in our knowledge of software testing. It does an excellent job describing how test automation differs from other test activities, and clearly lays out what kind of skills and knowledge are needed to automate tests. The book is essential reading for students of testing and a bible for practitioners." -Jeff Offutt, Professor of Software Engineering, George Mason University "This new book naturally expands upon its predecessor,Automated Software Testing,and is the perfect reference for software practitioners applying automated software testing to their development efforts. Mandatory reading for software testing professionals!" -Jeff Rashka, PMP, Coauthor ofAutomated Software Testing and Quality Web Systems Testing accounts for an increasingly large percentage of the time and cost of new software development. Using automated software testing (AST), developers and software testers can optimize the software testing lifecycle and thus reduce cost. As technologies and development grow increasingly complex, AST becomes even more indispensable. This book builds on some of the proven practices and the automated testing lifecycle methodology (ATLM) described inAutomated Software Testingand provides a renewed practical, start-to-finish guide to implementing AST successfully. InImplementing Automated Software Testing,three leading experts explain AST in detail, systematically reviewing its components, capabilities, and limitations. Drawing on their experience deploying AST in both defense and commercial industry, they walk you through the entire implementation process-identifying best practices, crucial success factors, and key pitfalls along with solutions for avoiding them. You will learn how to: Make a realistic business case for AST, and use it to drive your initiative Clarify your testing requirements and develop an automation strategy that reflects them Build efficient test environments and choose the right automation tools and techniques for your environment Use proven metrics to continuously track your progress and adjust accordingly Whether yours"re a test professional, QA specialist, project manager, or developer, this book can help you bring unprecedented efficiency to testing-and then use AST to improve your entire development lifecycle.

Elfriede Dustin, Thom Garrett, and Bernie Gauf work together at Innovative Defense Technologies (www.idtus.com), which specializes in the design, development, and implementation of automated software testing solutions.

Elfriede Dustin has authored multiple software testing books and articles based on her many years of actual hands-on automated software testing experience. Elfriede leads IDT’s efforts in automated software testing research programs.

Thom Garrett has experience in planning, testing, and deployment of complex systems for DoD and commercial applications for companies such as Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Digital System Resources (DSR), Inc., and America Online (AOL). Thom received a master’s degree from the University of San Francisco.

Bernie Gauf is the president of IDT. Bernie has been invited to participate in numerous DoD panels associated with the use of new technology, testing conferences, and as a guest speaker to share his insights on automated software testing.

Preface PrefaceIs your test automation strategy a losing proposition? Are you soured on the notion of automated software testing based on less than adequate past results? Are your test automation silver bullets missing their mark? Are you disappointed in your test automators? We at IDT 1 have identified a boilerplate solution, strategies, and ideas, all provided in this book, that can help increase the chances of your automated testing success.Given the arsenal of system and application software testing strategies, techniques, and solutions, automated software testing is one of the most effective practices that if implemented correctly can help increase testing efficiencies and ultimately reduce the testing cost while contributing to increased systems and software quality in terms of faster, broader, and more efficient defect detection.This book is a guide that can help organizations implement successful automated software testing programs and efforts. The book does not provide gimmicks or magical solutions, as none exist, but it provides experience-based discussions and recommendations. It includes a thorough dissection of automation issues, such as in Part I of the book, where we describe what automated software testing is and is not; why a business case is required for successful automation, including step-by-step instructions for developing one; why to automate and when. Then we summarize why automation often fails and the pitfalls and blunders that can be prevented; we describe the tools that are available to help implement successful automation efforts, with a focus on open-source testing tools. In Part II of the book we present six keys to successfully implementing automated software testing. These are Key 1: Know Your Requirements Key 2: Develop the Automated Test Strategy Key 3: Test the Automated Software Test Framework (ASTF) Key 4: Continuously Track Progressand Adjust Accordingly Key 5: Implement AST Processes Key 6: Put the Right People on the ProjectKnow the Skill Sets RequiredIDT conducted two separate surveys related to automated software testing with approximately 700 total responses from test professionals all over the world, across organizations that were diverse in size and in what they do. The survey showed two very consistent themes: About 70% of survey respondents said they believe automation is high-payoff, but they are generally not sure why to automate and how automation applies to their project. Half of the survey respondents also said they felt they lacked the experience, time, or budgets to implement automation.Most seem to agree: Automated software testing is useful, and an increasing need for it exists. However, the lack of experience seems to be the reason why automation is not implemented more often with a higher success rate. Finding people with the skills for the project is therefore important; a summary of skills required is provided in Chapter 10. For more details on the outcome of this survey, see Chapter 4. Material Coverage and Book Organization Part I: What Is Automated Software Testing and Why Should We Automate?Chapter 1, What Is Effective Automated Software Testing (AST)?, describes what automated software testing is. The definition of automated software testing we use throughout this book is