Testing is an important part of the software development process. It lets you check if the software you’ve developed matches the defined requirements, works as expected, and is free of errors or bugs. But manual testing is not only time-consuming but also prone to human errors.

With automated testing software, you can run the same manual steps unattended, saving both time and effort. You can reuse the test cases, so you won’t have to create every test from scratch. You can also perform multiple tests simultaneously. Your developers can focus on more value-adding tasks such as ensuring a high-quality user experience and improving software functionality.

However, these benefits hinge on selecting an automation testing tool that addresses your business needs. The right tool can bring down costs by eliminating manual testing and help you churn high-quality software solutions. On the other hand, a tool that doesn’t meet your needs can leave you wishing for more or better features and even add to your expenses.

In this buyers guide, we discuss essential details about test automation software as well as explain things to keep in mind when buying software for your business.

Here's what we'll cover:

What is automated testing software?
Common features of automated testing software
What type of buyer are you?
Benefits of automated testing software
Key considerations

What is automated testing software?

Automated testing software is a tool commonly used by software quality assurance (QC) teams to check if a developed solution is performing as expected. It helps automate repetitive tasks such as collecting test data, planning requirements, and creating the test automation framework.

The software streamlines the test creation and test execution processes and helps identify any gaps, errors, or programming defects in the source code of a software solution. It can be used to test functional aspects such as software features and specifications, as well as nonfunctional aspects such as effectiveness and user experience

Creating test cases in Agile Requirements Designer

Creating test cases in Agile Requirements Designer (Source).

Common features of automated testing software

Different vendors offer different features in their test automation platforms. Selecting software with the right features is easier when you know what the most common features are and what they do. Let’s look at some common features of an automated testing tool.

Move and copy	Reuse test cases across projects, so you don’t have to define objectives, execute conditions, and test automation procedures for each project.
Parameterized testing	Run the same test case multiple times with different values. This helps developers save the effort involved in creating multiple test cases to test various input values.
Requirements testing	Check if the final product meets the defined requirements. This also includes testing nonfunctional aspects such as software effectiveness and performance.
Parallel execution	Run multiple tests simultaneously in different development environments.
Test script review	Create, edit, review, and approve the instructions to be executed on a software solution to check if it’s performing as expected.
Security testing	Evaluate the security of a developed tool by detecting any vulnerabilities that might expose its data to intruders.
Requirements management	Define and manage the requirements for new software tools. You can also link requirements to other sub-requirements or parent requirements.

What type of buyer are you?

These are the two common buyer categories for automated testing tools:

Buyers looking for specialized testing tools: These buyers need a tool to test a specific type of software or software functionality. They should opt for a test automation tool that specializes in their area they need help with. Some examples of such tools are graphic user interface (GUI) testing software, exploratory testing software, functional testing software, and application programming interface (API) testing software.
Buyers looking for all-in-one solutions: These buyers are on the lookout for an all-in-one testing platform or a test suite. They should select a tool that supports multiple testing types, such as regression testing, unit testing, API testing, and UI testing. They should also consider tools that can test both web and mobile applications.

Benefits of automated testing software

There are many benefits to choosing an automated software testing tool, including:

Greater insights: Automated software testing provides insights into the causes of test failure. A manual tester will have to spend significant time and effort to trace down the exact cause of a failure, but test automation software can help identify the same in a few minutes by offering complete access to memory contents, file contents, and data tables.
Increased productivity: Automated testing software can conduct multiple tests simultaneously. This helps reduce the workload of your QC team. QC staff can invest the extra time in further optimizing the software testing process and improving the software framework.

Key considerations

Listed below are some key factors to consider when selecting an automation testing tool:

Conduct a needs analysis: Software selection can be tricky if you don’t know what you’re looking for in a tool. Therefore, conduct a needs analysis to understand what your requirements are and which software features can meet them. Check with your testing team which format they want the test results in, if they prefer a cloud-based or an on-premise tool, what level of automation they need, etc.
Evaluate the vendor’s track record: Before shortlisting any vendors, conduct some research. Check how long they’ve been in the software industry, the kind of clients they’ve worked with, the quality of support they provide, and what users say about their business practices. To find this information, check out vendors’ websites or read user reviews on third-party platforms such as ours.

Note: The application selected in this article is an example to show a feature in context and is not intended as an endorsement or recommendation. It has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable at the time of publication.

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