From Manual to Automation: 5 Essential Steps

Being a manual tester is a mentally-taxing career. It is basically part of the job to be stressed out by the number of tests and stretched thin by tight deadlines. In the middle of this chaos, have you ever wondered ”Shouldn’t this huge amount of tests be automated?”

Here's a guide on how to do that.

Manual testing vs. automation testing

How to switch from manual to automation testing?

Manual testers should weigh on the benefits of test automation over manual testing and start the transition now.

Step 1: Find suitable test cases to automate

Test automation exerts its utmost importance in repetitive tests. You can find the list of the most suitable test types to be automated in this table below.

These types of test cases are ideal for automation testing:

1. Tests vulnerable to failure from human error
2. Repetitive and tedious tests
3. Comprehensive tests using diverse data sets
4. Tests impractical for manual execution
5. Labor-intensive tests consuming considerable time
6. Tests posing significant risk
7. Tests necessitating execution across various hardware and software platforms

Step 2: Find the compatible tools or frameworks

Open-source frameworks/libraries have decreased sharply in popularity since teams are adopting commercial tools. The tool selection process requires you to be mindful of your resources and testing goals. Use the list of questions below to help you make the decision.

• Does it have the required features and support native integration with your pipelines?
• Is it adaptable for both manual/automated QAs and Devs?
• Will there be technical support and training when needed?
• Is it easy to maintain scripts and reuse test assets?
• Is it compatible with your budget?

Essential tool list: Top 10 Open-source Testing Tools 

Here's a quick comparison table to help you decide between whether you should go with a tool or a framework:

In summary:

• To best utilize a framework, extensive coding knowledge is necessary, with significant effort required for maintaining test scripts. However, it allows for extensive customization to meet specific testing needs.
• A testing tool, on the other hand, does not require coding skills initially, enabling quicker test creation. Maintenance is typically managed by the tool provider, reducing workload. However, customization is limited to the tool's features, so selecting one that aligns with specific requirements is crucial.

Step 3: Manage the tool development process

This step is critical for those who develop their testing tool from an open-source framework/library. A test automation development strategy should include:

• A vision that keeps you committed to the tool objectives
• The business values of your automation tool
• The design, features, and list of automation items of the framework/tool
• The timeline and process of test scripting and execution

Step 4: generate-execute-report-maintain

For example, let's automate a simple test where we navigate to a website, search for a specific term, and verify that the results page contains the search term. If you are doing manual testing, you'll perform the following test steps:

1. Initialize WebDriver: Set up the WebDriver to control the browser (Chrome in this example).
2. Navigate to website: Open the target website (ebay.com).
3. Perform search: Find the search bar, enter the search term, and submit the search form.
4. Verify results: Wait for the results page to load and check if the search term appears in the page source.
5. Close browser: Close the browser after the test is complete.

Let's transform it into automation testing with Selenium, a popular open-source framework for automating web browsers. We'll write this test using Python. To set up Selenium, first install it with the following command:

pip install selenium

After that, it's time to code:

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
from selenium.webdriver.common.keys import Keys
import time

# Set up the WebDriver (Chrome in this example)
driver = webdriver.Chrome(executable_path='path/to/chromedriver')

try:
    # Navigate to the website
    driver.get("https://ebay.com")

    # Find the search input element by its name attribute
    search_box = driver.find_element(By.NAME, "q")

    # Enter the search term and submit
    search_term = "test automation"
    search_box.send_keys(search_term + Keys.RETURN)

    # Wait for the results page to load
    time.sleep(3)

    # Verify that the results page contains the search term
    assert search_term in driver.page_source

    print("Test passed: Search term found in results page")

except AssertionError:
    print("Test failed: Search term not found in results page")

finally:
    # Close the browser
    driver.quit()

You can also go with an automation testing tool to do just that. Let's see how that's done in Katalon, a widely-used automation testing platform that supports testing for web, mobile, API, and desktop applications.

Katalon offers 3 modes of test creation for the highest level of flexibility:

1. No-code: With the Record-and-Playback feature, testers can capture their manual on-screen actions and convert them into automated test scripts that can be re-executed as many times as needed.
2. Low-code: Katalon offers a library of Built-in Keywords, which are pre-written code snippets with customizable parameters for specific actions. For example, a keyword like “Click” manages the internal logic to locate an element (e.g., a button) and perform the click action. Testers simply specify the element without needing to handle the underlying code.
3. Full-code: Testers can switch to Scripting mode to write test scripts manually. They can also toggle between no-code and low-code modes at any time. This combination offers the convenience of creating tests with point-and-click mechanisms and the flexibility of full scripting, allowing testers to focus on what to test rather than how to write tests, thereby improving productivity.

Step 5: Monitor the automation tool's effectiveness

To ensure that your tool is beneficial and capable of fulfilling your testing goals, you need some metrics to help you evaluate. See our suggestions below:

• Has execution time been reduced?
• How much time did you spend updating/rewriting tests when changes occurred?
• Has execution time for a specific test lengthened over time?
• Have you been able to cut down the development time for the testing tools? (for self-built tool only)

Conclusion

With test automation, testers have more time for edge cases, product managers have their deadlines met, and clients have their shiny final product. For manual-going-automation testers, the benefits of test automation are even greater with a suitable tool. Katalon Studio is a low-code, free and scalable automation solution for manual QAs to kick-start the first automation project immediately.