Quality teams need a software testing tech stack that enables them to meet the demands of a fast-paced development environment. Considering the amount of effort needed to buy and implement a new tool, quality leaders need to consider their options carefully.
Regression testing is a way to identify side effects from recent code changes that negatively impact existing features. As an application grows and becomes more complex, the risk of regressions and technical debt increases. Implementing a comprehensive software testing strategy using an automated regression testing tool can accelerate release cycles while preventing regressions.
Read on to learn about the automated software testing tools that will help your team build and scale an effective regression testing strategy.
When building a comprehensive testing strategy, quality teams will need to decide what tests to automate. Although it’s tempting to automate every manual test case, a combination of the two is often the best approach. Some tests, like exploratory testing are better suited to manual testing, while repetitive testing tasks are better suited for automation.
Automated regression testing is more efficient than manual testing because regression tests will be re-run with each new build. It’s not practical to keep repeating the same tests manually, especially as an application grows in size and complexity. Instead, quality teams can write automated regression tests once, reducing testing time and accelerating release cycles.
The "right" test automation tool is highly dependent on the needs of your development organization, QA team, and product. As you evaluate different testing tools, consider what test types are the most time-consuming and your long-term quality goals.
Many automated testing tools are introducing AI and machine learning capabilities for test creation, maintenance, predictive analysis, and more. For example, AI can identify UI changes and automatically update test scripts, reducing manual maintenance requirements and improving test reliability.
AI can also identify outdated or redundant test cases to optimize the test suite as the application evolves. In the coming years, AI/ML will likely increase test reliability, accelerate test runs, and otherwise improve software testing.
You can start evaluating automated regression testing tools once you have determined which tests to automate and how to harness AI. It’s important to consider whether a new tool can meet your regression testing requirements.
Here are some key features to look for:
Our guide will help you pick a testing solution that supports your quality goals and works with your tech stack.
Inefficient software testing can slow development cycles and frustrate development teams. If repetitive tasks like end-to-end testing or regression testing are slowing testers, those tests are prime automation opportunities.
Tests focused on popular user journeys are ideal for test automation since they're less likely to change with each release. Assuming that the basic application architecture is consistent, those tests are likely to remain relatively stable, minimizing possible maintenance. Buying a test automation tool that can reduce the burden of these test types can help QA teams quickly show ROI.
Test coverage is a tried-and-true measure of success for any software testing strategy. Establishing test coverage goals for regression testing is particularly useful for software development teams focused on improving their customer experience.
Consider how test coverage needs will change as your product and your customer experience evolve. Will your testing strategy need to include automated API testing? Will your team adopt non-functional quality standards? Understanding how an automated testing tool can mature with your automated regression testing strategy will help your team avoid tool sprawl.
Regression testing should include functional testing and non-functional testing to better reflect the user experience. Expanding automated tests to cover performance and accessibility issues, for example, will help prevent poor customer experiences without burdening your team.
Start automating regression testing by building a comprehensive testing strategy and choosing the right automated testing tool. Then your organization can integrate the tool into your existing development pipeline and begin creating an automated regression test suite.
Mabl is an intelligent, low-code test automation solution that makes it easy to adopt automated regression testing. Using a unified platform for holistic software testing, software teams can execute reliable browser, API, and mobile tests. This accelerates the delivery of high-quality, business critical applications.
Mabl effortlessly integrates into your CI/CD pipeline, allowing software teams to run tests at any stage — including deployment and production. It integrates with popular DevOps tools to make it as easy as possible to start running automated tests.
In addition, mabl’s intuitive user interface makes it easy for anyone to create, run, and manage complex regression test cases. Save time by quickly importing existing Selenium regression test suites instead of recreating test cases. By empowering anyone on your team to contribute to automated regression testing, mabl brings efficiency to the testing process.
Using machine learning to detect UI changes, mabl can auto-heal tests and help testing teams plan new test cases. Mabl also uses AI to automatically tailor test timing to match the pace of an application, further improving test reliability. These intelligent features reduce the manual effort required for test creation and maintenance, saving time and money over the long term.
After a test run, mabl provides rich diagnostic data to help software teams identify the source of issues. In-depth reports also help organizations identify regression trends across test runs and software builds. These additional insights help quality teams build an accurate understanding of application quality, unleashing continuous improvement across the software development lifecycle.
Ready to implement automated regression testing? Start a free trial to see if mabl is the right automated testing tool for your organization.