I think you took part in creating a list of requirements for a future member of your team. The request for “a good professional with at least 3 years of experience” sounds simple but not for HR. The devil is in the little things. In practice, it’s difficult to choose a few candidates from the many “good specialists” for the first interview. So it is better to deep down into details in the request and get more relevant responses. Functional testing software is, in a sense, also a member of your team. It has to do meaningful and complex work! We share tips on what to look for when choosing software.
Why do we need functional testing?
Functional testing ensures the application being developed meets the initial requirements. You check the ability of your software product to solve tasks that users need under certain conditions. The scope of functional testing contains regression testing, security, system, mobile application, installation, configuration, integration, smoke, documentation, and usability testing.
Functional testing benefits include:
- Full imitation of system use in real conditions.
- Timely software system error identification.
- Resources savings by fixing bugs earlier in the software development life cycle.
Choosing suitable software
The main thing that you start from when choosing functional testing software is the needs of your product and the experience of your team. A good option is a multifunctional test automation management platform that seamlessly integrates into your QA environment. Such a tool ensures high-quality reporting, classifies the detected failures, and saves resources. We share with you 8 tips to consider when choosing a suitable tool.
Tip #1. Consider the platforms you are developing for
The tool has all the necessary functionality but for instance may not support Linux or Android. However, these platforms could be important to you. So when choosing a tool, don’t forget to pay attention to the platforms it’s compatible with.
Tip #2. Take into account your environment
Good functional testing software has all the necessary integrations to easily embed into your QA environment. It’s crucially in case you have CI in place. Moreover, check if the tool supports the programming language your team uses in product development and scripting. If the programming language is different, your programmers will not be able to support it in case of “error” reports.
Tip #3. Assess your team’s capabilities
What competencies do your QA team members have? Do they write their code for automated scripts? Software with a minimum of code is convenient to use, but you will not be able to work with some test nuances. The tool that requires programming knowledge is more complicated. Nevertheless, it provides greater test coverage and allows you to control almost any aspect.
Tip #4. Pay attention to the presence of built-in AI/ML technology
An advanced testing tool automatically categorizes failures. This is possible through the built-in AI/ML technology. You see at a glance how serious each error is and assign a priority to each bug. Moreover, you can train AI/ML technology and get the highest possible categorization accuracy.
Tip #5. Choose a tool with an automatic reporting feature
It saves a lot of time when software collects and processes data from all testing tools you use. You get test results reporting that is understandable for QA team members, top management, and stakeholders.
Tip #6. Make sure the UI provides all the required functionality
Ideally, the interface is intuitive and easy to use. If the tool has a complex interface, you should be convinced that the time it takes to learn and use it will pay off in the value the software will bring.
However, the features that an interface supports are even more important than its usability. Check if the capabilities of the functional testing tool meet your requirements. So, if you need test recordings, check if the tool has a recorder.
Tip #7. Tagging-enabled tools simplify the testing
Testing will be more convenient if the tool supports tagging. Tagging is a way to mark up tests for later execution. Thus, if you have marked some tests with the “installation” tag, then you can run them all at the same time. This greatly simplifies and speeds up testing.
Tip #8. Calculate how much the benefits of using the tool outweigh the costs of using it
Consider the software you’ll be working with in terms of the resources it will save you. Commercial tools have a wide range of functionality and a support team that helps you configure the program so that it works with maximum efficiency.
