Automated testing frameworks focus on optimizing automated processes. Cycle speed can be accelerated by reusing tests and decoupling test data from logic to speed up test creation and maintenance. There are many types of automated testing frameworks, so it’s important to choose the one that’s right for you. However, using properly configured tools improves your team’s efficiency by increasing test accuracy, maximizing test coverage, and reducing cost and maintenance. Ultimately, the work’s return on investment (ROI) is high.

What is an Automated Testing Framework?

A test framework is a group of guidelines or constraints for developing and creating test cases. This reduces test maintenance costs by providing a standardized test language and reporting structure to the application under test. Frameworks connect testing to other parts of the software development lifecycle (SDLC), such as requirements and defects, allowing teams to find and fix bugs faster.

However, not all testing frameworks are automated. Keep this in mind when developing it. A test framework includes all the tools and practices used to develop an application, from the requirements described in the application, the testing activities (manual and automated) to the environment in which the tests are executed.

Steps for Building a Successful UI Automated Testing Framework From Scratch

1. Structure, organize, and configure source code control

We start by setting up and organizing the folder structure of our test assets. You need to isolate the different assets from each other (tests, naming standards, scripts, etc.) and create a file for each asset you need. For example, the Scripts folder should create a file for each type of script (event script, action, utility, and validation). It also creates a file for the data.

Creating assets in this way allows team members to quickly browse assets and ensure that tests are stable as updates are made. When assets are organized in this way, you can again access items at any time without sorting through a lot of information.

2. Resources and organizational tools

Decide who will manage the testing framework and coding  These can improve the writing test scripts, but they also require a general understanding. Make sure your team has the resources, knowledge, and commitment to get the job done. Otherwise, trying to add work to an existing resource can reduce the priority of creating automated tests, especially if you have other important work to do.

Most of the Independent software testing company supposed to develop different automated test suites. For example, smoke tests cover critical features and regression suites can include integration tests if needed. Any type of test requires an execution plan. The final planning phase describes the tools the team uses to write the test automation framework or script. 

3. Create a utility for screen actions.

Once you have become familiar with the application, collected data, and configured your environment, you should create shared utilities for standard user interface (UI) tasks such as menu navigation and text input fields. These are the basic building blocks of a test, and you can combine them to form test logic.

Depending on the tool you use, this can be as simple as dragging and dropping snippets into your keyword tests. This allows the framework to drive test flow and validation, minimizing maintenance of individual tests. A trick here is to use JavaScript classes in the framework, especially navigation. This way, if you update the way you record your actions or expected test results, you only have to do it in one place, which will keep your records consistent.

4. Configure and manage authentication.

The next step is to configure validation. Apply the same logic as data structures. In other words, data structures must be sharable. Test the functionality of your app and assume your text field requirements have changed. You’ll need to update your tests to ensure your text field only accepts numbers, not text.

In this case, you don’t want to prevent all tests from updating, especially if you run them manually. Ideally, I would update the validation part of the text field in one place, so running 50 tests and testing different scenarios would work. Validation of the UI you embed in the action should be optional. So if the field successfully accepts the input and passes the test, you don’t need to check the action every time.

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5. Establish logging and reporting mechanisms.

The final part of the UI Automation framework is the logging and reporting mechanism. You should document and document all mining operations, data preparation, environment, and validation builds throughout the build process.

Take note of the message before checking what you are checking and the expected result. These messages should be in a human-readable format so non-technical users can view the logs and identify where and why the failure occurred. Errors shouldn’t be weird and nobody should guess why they happen. automation

Author BIO

Kamal Singh is a Digital Marketing Manager at Devstringx Technologies, a top automation testing company in India. Kamal has a keen interest in marketing, technology, and new innovations. He likes traveling and sharing his knowledge through his content. He also loves blogging and he posts regularly about technologies, marketing, and new innovations from the past 2 years.