While it’s important that developers find the right balance between manual testing and automated testing, due to every project being unique and requiring various elements to be evaluated, there are numerous advantages of automated UI testing.
Let’s explore the top benefits.
What is automated UI testing?
The user interface is a crucial part of any web or mobile application because interacting with the UI is how users access an application’s core functions.
UI testing ensures every part of the user interface functions exactly how it should. That includes things like navigation, workflows, transitions, and validating buttons.
Automated UI testing refers to tests that aren’t carried out manually. Developers use specific tools and frameworks for automating UI test processes that validate things like the aforementioned.
By using automated UI testing tools, developers can simulate end-user interactions, test the logical functionality of each of the UI’s components, and generate test results for evaluation.
Furthermore, automated UI testing can be performed parallel to the development phase.
Automated UI testing saves time.
As you would expect from an automated test, automated UI testing tools enable developers to save a lot of time.
Not only is that accomplished via performing the tests parallel to the app development. Time is also saved because automated UI tests minimize the human effort needed to test the components of an application’s UI.
Instead of each element needing to be validated, test scripts are created that correspond to user scenarios. Those scripts can be used again later when code modifications or new features need to be added, thus helping developers to save time after the initial development.
Automated UI tests are especially time-saving for regression tests.
Manually testing UI flows can take a lot of time. On the other hand, when they’re automated, developers gain more time to spend on other important activities.
Automated UI tests are accurate.
When performing repetitive tasks, humans are more prone to making errors. When an automated testing process is used, the chance of error becomes dramatically reduced.
Achieving high accuracy is of course critical to all elements of app development and testing.
Bugs can be discovered quicker with automated UI testing.
One of the top priorities of app testing is to ensure there are no bugs.
Not only can bugs be identified more accurately with automated UI testing. Bugs can also be found much more quickly.
In turn, that means developers can take action before the bugs become too challenging to resolve easily.
Typically, automated UI tests for identifying and fixing bugs should be part of the continuous integration pipeline of the app development; running before, during, and after builds.
Feedback can be gained faster with automated UI testing.
Automated UI testing also enables testers and developers to gain feedback more quickly.
Test teams can execute tests on multiple devices and gain the feedback they require in just a matter of hours.
In turn, that means the app developers can make corrections or add updates much faster than is possible with manual UI testing.
Automated UI testing increases coverage.
As mentioned earlier, automated UI testing can be performed at the same time as the development phase.
But furthermore, different automated UI tests can be carried out simultaneously, such as performance tests, functional tests, unit tests, and stress tests, on numerous real devices and platforms.
With that increased coverage, tests can be carried out much faster than manual testing processes.
Summing up.
It should now be clear just how beneficial automated UI testing can be for app developers. Automated UI tests:
- Save time and are cost-effective.
- Can deliver highly accurate test results.
- Make bug-finding faster.
- Make feedback faster.
- Increase test coverage rates significantly.
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