Regression Testing Best Practices

Manual regression testing provides a platform through which the app’s performance can be evaluated after significant changes have been made in the code. But, with the advent of complex and large- scale software development projects, there is a plethora of testing work that needs to be done.

Hence, businesses are embracing the platform of automated regression testing, as they provide budget-friendly, reliable and thorough testing measures. As per a report, approximately 78% (number may vary) of businesses have adopted the automated regression testing platform.

The workflow, core logic and other aspects of a software product or application are thoroughly tested by the automated regression test platform. To speed up the testing process and make it more effective, workflow, plans and test scripts are utilized.

The ROI is also scaled up through the apt use of automated regression testing. In this article, you will get to know about the best practices of automated regression testing and how it proves to be of benefit to businesses.

Automation test scripts are created and executed by the development team to verify whether any new changes have impacted the existing functionalities of the software product or application.

Test scripts are used that simulate user actions, while the app is being worked on. The team may also focus on specific workflows and crucial functionalities central to the user experience.

Following are a few key points that are taken into consideration by automated regression testing:

l Test cases need not be executed one by one manually

l Key resources and time are saved during the software development life cycle process

l The chances of human errors that may lead to incoherent test results are reduced

l The integration of the testing process is streamlined in your development pipeline.

1. The regression pack should be organized and updated: There is a requirement for a comprehensive regression pack, but, it shouldn’t have any cases that are not required. The regression test pack should be regularly reviewed, so that those tests that are no longer required can be sidelined. If the tests are categorized, the regression pack can be managed more effectively.

2. The test cases need to be repeated: There should be a constant expansion of the regression test suite so that new cases and scenarios can be included. That does not mean the existing ones must be discarded when new cases appear.

When glitches or bugs have been successfully identified by one or more tests in the past, then these specific tests need to be included in your updated test suite. This means the old bugs will not cause any issues in the new build.

3. The tests need to be run on every platform: The complexity and variety of the testing scenario are considered to be a key aspect of the regression testing process. The team should ensure that the bugs would not appear again on a platform that has been skipped, while the tests are being run. To get a proper idea about how the new features affect the existing functionalities, every available device and platform needs to be used for testing.

4. Tests need to be categorized: The task management can benefit by categorizing tests. When the category to which a test belongs is known, then identifying the source of any failures is identified.

5. Successful test cases need to be rerun: As software updates are done frequently, the app’s functioning is verified by carrying out a re-run on all successful test cases. The software’s functionality can be altered by updates and thus potential issues can be identified by re-running tests.

6. Regression test cases need to be updated: The team should regularly update regression test cases, to make sure that the test plan is aligned with the latest application version.

Conclusion: Automated regression testing can prove to be extremely rewarding for testing an application, provided the testing team knows how to leverage the best practices of automated regression testing.

About the author: I am a technical content writer focused on writing technology specific articles. Software testing is one of the areas in which I’m interested. In this article, I have tried to provide some meaningful information on automated regression testing best practices.