What are the criteria for selecting an Automation Testing Tool?

Different systems, applications, size of the teams, industry, different projects. There are many factors determining the choice of the right automation testing tool. That is why there is no one correct strategy for automation testing implementation.

However, selection of the right automation tool is an important part of the automation testing journey. Also due to the costs. Purchasing an automation testing tool requires substantial investment and also drives all the operational costs of the enterprise.

So how to choose an automation testing tool that will do the expected work and not bring losses to your organization in the long turn? Let’s find out.

Before delving into what kind of an automation testing tool you need, it is best to consider if test automation is right up your business (or industry) street. There are certain situations when introducing test automation makes no sense. For example, the software implementation is not about to begin yet or simply the Return on Investment (ROI) from test automation for a particular project does not look good.

So let’s take a look at when it does make sense to implement and make use of automation tools.

• When there are a lot of repetitive test cases – automation testing scripts are reusable
• When it is not possible to rely on manual test execution only – particularly for critical system functionality
• When you have a lot of regression testing iterations – automation tools make it possible to reuse the test cases ad infinitum
• When you need to run simulations of large number of users – it is much more convenient and less time consuming to automate performance (load) testing
• When you will be using large sets of test cases – automation tools and their testing scripts run much faster than those executed manually

Now, onto choosing the right automation testing tool. You know you need automation for your business. But this is not enough. The success of the automation testing projects depends largely on the selection of the appropriate automation testing tool. Obviously, this takes a lot of time to evaluate and compare them. However, it is just a drop of investment when you think what might happen if the tool is just not fit for your system and requirements.

When selecting the right automation testing tool, you might need to consider the below parameters first:

• Consider if you have the relevant skillset available in your organization (for low-code tools you might need to hire testers with programming language knowledge and experience)
• What is the budget of the organization for automation tools?
• Is the automation testing tool in question suitable for the project environment and technology that you are using?
• What programming language does the tool support? Do you have enough resources for these languages?
• Is the tool version stable?
• What testing coverage does the tool in question offer?
• What testing types does the automation testing tool support? Here, think about which testing your application requires.
• Is the tool easy to navigate and does it enable easy test script maintenance? You might check the record and playback capabilities.
• Does the automation testing tool offer reporting mechanism and functionality that you need?
• Does it integrate seamlessly with other testing or test management tools? You need one that integrates with minimal interfaces or working methods.
• What data formats does the automation testing tool use?
• Does the tool support the operating system/ browser or device that your organization uses?
• Does the tool support third-party controls and technologies used by your application/ software?
• What type of installation model are you after (on-prem vs cloud, licensing, security, etc.)?

STEPS IN SELECTING THE RIGHT TEST AUTOMATION TOOL

Step 1. Understand your project requirements.

A deep understanding of the project (its type, scope, code language, team skillset) is crucial for successful completion. Automated testing will only improve the quality of the project and increase the depth of tests if you have an in-depth knowledge of the business requirements and have analyzed them thoroughly. Why is it important in the case of test automation tool selection? Because it needs to integrate seamlessly with the test management and project planning tools.

Step 2. Use your existing test automation tool as a benchmark (if it exists)

The best way to go about selecting the appropriate test automation tool is to use a benchmark to evaluate it. By doing so, you will be able to determine the best automation tool for your project. You should consider all the functionalities such as coding language, integration and compatibility, customer support service, tool (test script) maintenance), balancing manual and automated testing, reporting, etc.

Step 3. Identify the main criteria for your project

Before you decide on the test automation tool that is the best fit you’re your business and the project, consider carefully the below criteria for tool evaluation:

• Ease of test script maintenance: development and maintenance of the test automation scripts should be as easy as possible to reduce the time spent on testing to minimum
• Ease of test execution: test suite execution should be manageable for any project member, also without technical knowledge. They should to able to run tests easily whenever it is required. Test execution should not be problematic for manual testers, too.
• Technical support: for handling critical problems or bugs, automation engineers will definitely need a helping hand. It is worth considering if the automation testing tool offers technical support and assistance.
• Test reporting: test reports need to be intuitive and transparent for the management team.
• Support for other platforms: it is much easier and less costly to choose a test automation tool that supports web, desktop and mobile application. Still, if you do not need support for all three, it is better to narrow down the choice to cheaper tools that offer limited support in this respect.
• Cross-browser testing: if there are multiple end-users and no restrictions in terms of browser, it is best to go for a test automation tool that support cross-browser testing, too.
• Support to data driven and keyword testing: when the project gets extended and more complicated, the test framework needs to follow. It is worth checking if the chosen automated testing tool supports both keyword and data driven testing frameworks.
• Coding language support: sometimes, there is a need to customize the testing scripts. In order to do so, you might need a tool that supports the required language of the application (C#, Java, Python. etc.)
• DevOps integration with builds: double check if the tool that is being evaluated integrates with tools for automated builds and deployments.
• Pricing: and finally, depending on the project budget and estimates, evaluate the cost difference among the shortlisted automation tools.

Step 4. Leverage Pugh Matrix: if you need to choose from a number of pre-selected tools, it might be worth using a tool dedicated to this purpose. A Pugh Matrix is such a tool. You can customize the matrix to capture specific selection criteria and put score for a number of tools to show both their pros and cons. Pugh Matrix helps make more effective decisions by weighing a set of selection criteria in order of importance for a company.

Automation tools that are available on the market can be roughly divided into three separate groups:

• Open-source tools

Those are free platform offering the users access to their source code, with the possibility to use it. User can adopt the code unchanged or modify it so that it suits their individual testing needs.

The main benefit of open-source automation tools is that they’re free of charge. Also, they are developed by the community. They are mainly chosen by automation testers with a programming background who can easily and with no restraints customize even advanced test cases.

• Commercial test automation tools

These automation tools are designed to serve commercial purposes. They usually come along with a licensing plan where users have to buy a license to use specific software. Proprietary tools, compared with open-source ones, offer more premium and out-of-the-box functionalities. They also offer support testing services for companies, e.g. after the tool implementation.

• Custom frameworks

There are scenarios where neither open source nor commercial test automation tools do not fulfill the requirements. Due to differences in testing processes and testing environments, sometimes testing team need to develop customized software. This is where custom test automation framework comes in handy. However, it is far more complex than open-source tools or commercial testing products so it requires technical experts to be deployed.