6 Steps to Improve Test Automation Coverage

Maximizing Test Automation Effectiveness - Strategies for Enhanced Coverage and Quality Assurance

 

February 14, 2024 | Read time: 5 min

Introduction

Test automation is a key factor in ensuring the quality and reliability of applications in the dynamic field of software development. However, more than simply automating tests you need to assess and improve your test automation coverage.

Test automation coverage is the extent to which your automated tests encompass different aspects of your application. It’s not just about the number of test cases but also about ensuring that these tests sufficiently cover various functionalities, features, and scenarios. In conclusion, it’s all about how much of your application is being tested through automated tests?

 

Discover 6 steps to enhance your test automation coverage effectively.

1. Identify Which Tests to Automate

Your QA team should develop specific guidelines for deciding what to test with automated testing tools and what to test manually. Determining the scope of automation is sometimes called an Automation Feasibility Analysis.

You can categorize tests according to their purpose. Business-facing tests with a high impact on the business are almost always good candidates for automation. Here are some additional criteria to consider for individual tests:

  • How often the test needs to be repeated?
  • Is a functional or non-functional test?
  • What is the scale and scope of the test?
  • What are the overall testing goals and resource allocation?
  • What are the overall project goals?​​​​

2. Comprehensive Test Case Design

Covering a wide range of functionalities with your test cases is the first step in your design. Comprehensive test case design requires creating tests that encompass a wide array of functionalities and scenarios, focusing on both critical paths and edge cases to guarantee a thorough evaluation of the system.

3. Prioritize High-Risk Areas

Prioritizing high-risk areas involves assessing the varying risk levels across different parts of an application. Further dedicating more test automation resources to those areas with higher risk will mitigate these issues.

4. Regular Test Maintenance

Regular test maintenance is vital for keeping test cases up-to-date and effective, as it involves routinely updating them to align with the evolving application. It ensures that automated tests continue to be relevant and efficient.

5. Continuous Integration and Testing

Continuous Integration and Testing involves implementing a CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment) pipeline that automatically executes tests with each code change, on-demand or at regular predefined timestamps. It aims to identify and resolve issues early in the development cycle.

6. Parallel Test Execution

Parallel test execution accelerates the testing process by running multiple tests simultaneously. This allows for more extensive testing coverage without extending the overall execution time.

Automation Test Coverage FAQ - Why is comprehensive test coverage important?

Let’s look at some areas where good automation test coverage has a high return on investment:

  • Traceability: Automation tools increase traceability. In heavily regulated industries such as healthcare, traceability provides a means to document your company’s compliance.
  • Scalability: Taking a modular approach to testing ensures your test coverage is flexible and easy to scale.
  • Early issue detection: Configuring your test coverage so that it covers critical areas of your application helps identify issues early in production.
  • Efficiency: Optimization means removing redundant tests and identifying coverage gaps. This will direct you to the best places to allocate resources for future test scenarios.
  • Risk mitigation: Thorough test coverage ensures your testing is less likely to miss regression failures and other defects that can contribute to poor user experience.
  • Team confidence: Visualizing the relationships between requirements and test cases using a tool like Tricentis qTest will make you feel more confident about your tests.​​​​

How to Improve Automation Test Coverage with Tricentis Test Automation?

Tricentis Test Automation is a potent tool that enables you to increase your test automation coverage significantly. Here’s how to use Tricentis Test Automation to enhance coverage:

  • Efficient Test Design and Maintenance: Tricentis Test Automation provides an intuitive interface for designing test cases, and lets you develop test cases with a model-based approach, with no need to learn to code. Develop thorough test cases that encompass different features.
  • Cross-Browser Testing: Test on multiple browsers and devices simultaneously to expand your coverage.
  • Parallel Execution: Execute tests in parallel, saving time and allowing you to run more tests with the same resources.​​​​​

Regain Confidence In Your Software's Quality

Qualysoft offers a wide range of result-oriented and cost / time-effective testing services.

We ensure software availability, smooth, and uninterrupted functioning, cybersecurity, scalability, and stability.

Get in touch with us regarding your testing and QA needs and we will promptly get back to you.