Automated tests are integral to any modern software project. Are you building a website, a mobile app, or an entire enterprise application? Automated tests are the best way to ensure that your code works as expected.

They also provide valuable insights into how people interact with your product. They can even help identify bugs that aren’t found through manual testing alone.

Yet, many teams struggle with how to create high-quality automated tests. They write tests that don’t work, or they write tests that do work but are too slow to run.

So, how do you ensure that your automated tests are high quality? How can you know if they’re good enough for your project, and what makes a test “good” in the first place?

This article explores what makes a good test. It explains how to ensure that your automated tests follow best practices and are effective.

Features of a Good Automated Test

These are the features of a good automated test:

Decide Which Tests to Automate

You can’t create a good QA automated testing approach unless you identify the most valuable features of your application. Then write tests that ensure those features work correctly.

And suppose parts of your application aren’t essential or aren’t used often. Then it might not be worthwhile to test them with automated tests.

Divide Tasks Based on Skill

Different people have unique skills, and this is especially true in testing. Some people are good at designing tests; others are better at writing code that implements those tests. And others can write code that makes the application work correctly.

Use automation where it makes sense, but don’t force every task into a rigid framework or workflow if it doesn’t fit.

Collective Ownership of Tests

Testing is a shared responsibility. You want to encourage people to feel ownership over their tasks. This is true for any aspect of software development.

This means that you should be able to explain testing in terms of its business value. Then ensure that testers know and can decide how best to accomplish those goals.

Remove Uncertainty

You might not “totally” remove uncertainty from software development. But you can reduce it. People must have a solid understanding of their work process and their role within it. This helps them make excellent decisions about how best to accomplish their tasks.

Testing is no different. To succeed at testing, your team should understand the tests’ importance. They should know how they fit into that picture.

Pick the Right Testing Framework or Tool

A testing framework or tool is a guideline and process that helps you organize your tests. It provides a structure for planning, executing, reporting, and managing your tests.

A good framework helps reduce the time to complete each phase in the testing lifecycle. This includes planning, designing, and implementing tests. It ensures that all stakeholders involved in the project are on the same page.

Test on Real Devices

Testing on real devices is the only way to get an accurate picture of how your app will perform in the wild. Testing on emulators can give you insights into how your app runs on a specific OS version. But it won’t show how it performs under real-world conditions. This includes different network speeds and signal strengths.

You want to ensure that your app works well for every user, no matter where they are or what device they use. So, ensure you test on real devices with real people using them.

Keep Records for Better Debugging

Tests can fail. You might have tested your app extensively, and it works perfectly. But there’s always a chance that something will go wrong in the wild. Keep records of every test run to help you track down these issues and fix them quickly.

Record the date, time, and location of each test. Note any problems encountered (and how you solved them). Ensure to include information about any devices used in testing.

Use Data-Driven Tests

You can use data-driven tests to create customized tests for your specific application. You can create a test script that runs against the app. Then populate the script with values from your database.

This is especially useful for testing applications requiring certain user information. It’s also true for apps with complex functionality, like submitting forms or logging in users.

Early and Frequent Testing

The best way to ensure your application is ready for release is to test it early and often. You should begin testing as soon as you have a working application prototype. Then continue testing throughout development until the application is ready for release.

This allows you to catch bugs early when they are less costly to fix. This way, you can prevent them from becoming significant issues later in development.

Conclusion

Automated software testing is a critical component of the development process. It allows you to ensure that your application works as intended. You can use it as part of your quality assurance strategy. This is to ensure that all bugs are identified and fixed before release.