North East Quality Council (NEQC) | Flavors of Software Test Automation

Automation tools for testing GUI software applications first appeared in the early 90s. The tools allow a tester to record and playback keystrokes and to verify fields on the screen. These tools have been marketed as a quick and easy way to automate tests and create automated regression test suites. In practice users found that it took several times as long to create an automated test as to execute a test manually. If the tests could be used for future versions of an application the initial cost could be recovered but users often became frustrated with the effort required for maintaining a large suite of automated tests and abandoned use of the tools. Eventually the most skilled test automation engineers developed their own add-ons to the tools to create an efficient test automation environment.

Test automation using tools such as WinRunner, SilkTest, and Robot can be developed using different methodologies with each methodology requiring a different level of expertise and having its own plusses and minuses. The choice needs to be made based upon the skills available, the timeframe for automation development, and the timeframe for use of the automation suite.

Four “flavors” of test automation will be described:
• Record and Playback
• Data-Driven
• Table-Driven at the Design Level
• Table-Driven at the Requirements Level

The advantages, disadvantages, and requirements for each will be discussed.

Note: Table driven test automation is also referred to as keyword driven, action word driven or fully data driven.

Presenter:

John Pustaver is a software quality consultant with over 40 years of experience in the software field. He is the developer of the SWQuality Software Test Automation Methology that is being used successfully at Boston area companies.

He is the ASQ Software Division Region I councilor, an Associate Editor of the ASQ journal Software Quality Professional, founder/director of the Software Quality Group of New England, and was the conference chair for the 9th International Conference on Software Quality. He was the first Boston Section instructor for the CSQE Review course. He has taught software test automation at Northeastern University.

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