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More and more Companies are now focusing on how to automate their test cases and which tool should be used. There are various methods and techniques by which we can implement successful automation using either open source tools or licensed tools. In Tool selection you can do a Proof of Concept (POC) in POC we create a few sample scripts that validate a few important business workflows in one or two of your most important application and check whether the scripts are generated correctly.
Kindly Note test automation cannot completely replace manual testing but it actually compliments manual testing. After tool selection you have to do requirement analysis, project estimate, Framework design and calculation of ROI.
If you use a open source tool the return of investment(ROI) is quick in a given period of time , mainly SME’s focus on open source tool but some open source tool are more heavy on programming and the resources have to be trained to program in a particular language. Some licensed automation tools rely less on programming and are fairly comfortable with the end test engineer or test analyst.
Sample illustration of calculating ROI.
The below number in the given table might vary depending on organizations productivity and the per resource cost for manual testing and automation.
|
Application Name |
ABC |
|
Number of Test Cases |
2000(Sample Number) |
|
Manual Effort (Hours to execute) |
168(Considering 5 min is required for one test case execution) |
|
Automation effort(Hours to execute) |
66(Considering 2 min for one test script) |
|
Number of Iterations planned for a year |
10(10 iteration are planned in a year each iteration require execution of 2000 test cases) |
|
Total projected Hours Saved |
(168 *10)-(66*10)=1680-660=1020 |
|
Total projected Savings Annually |
1020 * 60 = 61,200( considering 60$ per hour) |
|
Saving % |
(1020/1680) * 100 = 61 % |
As you mature more in the application life cycle you have more saving on effort and overall quality of the project, The existing automation code can be reused for similar project wherein you have more ROI since your automation get matured and productivity get increased.
How Much Can you automate?
This is a very basic question of the management the answer to the question depends on the type and complexity of the application, if it is a simple web based application not having much iteration with other system then you can achieve 100% automation. If it is a complex web application, wherein it is interacting with other system and application then you can target to automate at least 40% to 60% of application.For ERP Application complex business scenarios should be done manually and regression tests if any should be automated.
The author (Suresh Menon) is a subject Matter expert on ERP and has worked in various capacities as Project Manager, ERP Consultant, Implementation Manager and Project Manager and can be contacted on sureshmenonr1009@gmail.com for various queries and comments.
