The Need For Automation of Tests:
In the field of software development speed and quality are two things that go hand-in-hand and we should not ignore any of them. If you don't launch your software/updates soon enough, there could be a rival in the next corner that is waiting to exceed the expectations of customers with more superior products.
Although this will require faster development times, however, this also means that you have to be able to run your tests quicker. However, with the manual effort, it may not always be achievable so the necessity of automating tests comes into play. Automation of tests can be especially beneficial for regression testing since it doesn't require any or minimal human intervention and can run the test suites faster.
Automation testing offers a number many advantages over manually testing. However, test automation might not be the ideal solution for every scenario, so it is not necessary in order to completely automate your testing.
To be aware of when to utilize test automation and how you should use automated testing
When you are transitioning from manual testing to test automation or adding test automation to your manual testing processes A common issue for the business is convincing the benefits of testing automation. Does investing in test automation yield tangible advantages? What is the time frame before you will be able to break even by investing in test automation?
A common error that companies make when implementing testing automation is that they do not analyze the benefits or ROI of testing automation to meet the specific requirements of their business. No matter if you're new or an expert in testing automation, using it just for the sake of it won't help you maximize its potential. Read this article for the importance of roi in testing.
The benefits of ROI calculation:
As we've previously mentioned that calculating the test automation's ROI is essential to run a successful business, since it will provide many advantages, the most notable of which are:
The chance to get an accurate and complete picture of the situation
Easy business decision making;
Risk Identification and Risk Reduction
Measurement of profit and success;
Identification of your test automation's strengths and weaknesses.
When we consider all the advantages mentioned above in ROI calculations, we can affirm that it's more than an effective business strategy but is a crucial element for a successful running of a business.
Aspects that impact the return on investment of automated testing
ROI Factors:
Testing automation can be quite complicated and it's difficult to determine its exact ROI since many aspects must be taken into consideration. Yet, some of the most important aspects to consider when making the calculation of ROI are:
The payment of fees for the license of automated test tools;
The percentage of tests that are covered by automated testing;
The time and cost required to design a test automation framework from scratch
The cost of time and other expenses incurred in team training or the hiring of new employees;
Hourly rate of automation engineer;
Release frequency per year;
Software, hardware, and other operating expenses;
Quality and stability of the product;
Costs and time associated with automated test maintenance
The total time for testing and the time to market, etc.
How can you determine the return on automated testing:
As mentioned earlier the calculation of automated testing ROI can be quite difficult. Therefore, there is no one exact method to calculate this. Each company has its own method for calculating ROI by using the variables that best suit the needs of its business and environment to the best method.
We'd like to share an easy method of calculating the ROI of test automation that could be useful to you.
As you've already guessed the term ROI refers to a ratio between the gains derived when switching to test automation and the expense of investing in test automation.
ROI = ( investment + gain) (investment*100%)
If you look at the formula you may find out what is behind the investment and gain some. We'll look at the whole thing in greater detail.
Because ROI is a non-unitary value that is measured using percentages, we can simplify the calculation by using the minutes of all inputs as the unit is used often. If you need to include monetary values in the formula, it is possible to convert them into minutes. In order to achieve this, you must divide the amount of money by the hourly rate that an automated engineer earns afterward, convert hours received into minutes.
Gain
The profit from our formula can be defined as a gap between the costs of manual testing as well as automated test execution. tests multiple times in a specific time.
Gain = (time required to run a test manually versus time to run a test automatically) an average number of tests
The more quickly and frequently automated tests are conducted and the more frequently the breaking point and positive ROI are reached.
Investment
The investment is the sum of all costs for testing automation. In addition, we must add in the time needed to build a test automation framework and adjustments, and the time spent on test programming and maintenance. Thus, we can calculate the total amount of investment by following the steps:
Cost of investment = time to construct an automation framework for testing + (time of one test's coding * the number of tests that are automated) + maintenance costs for the test
Maintenance costs for tests require more explanation in this situation.
Costs for maintenance of tests are costs associated with the investigation and repair of any unsuccessful tests. Tests that are not working or have software issues contribute to the maintenance of tests, as it is essential to examine and find out if the test or feature is failing. The more frequently failures in tests occur, the longer it takes to reach a breakpoint. Test maintenance costs by using the following formula
Cost of maintenance for tests equals time spent on one test maintenance percentage of failed tests per test amount of tests* number tests
If there are costs that are related to the automation tool's purchase or licensing fee, they must be included in the formula following conversion into minutes from currency as described earlier.
The ROI calculation model is quite simple to offer an optimum number of inputs and overall usability. Thus, some factors which impact the ROI of test automation, such as unit tests and test coverage, as well as additional operating costs such as additional operating expenses, etc. These aren't considered.
However, you are able to modify the calculation by adding costs that are relevant to your business to improve accuracy. Read more this type of post like, test automation best practices, Salesforce Testing Automation and more at bqurious.
