Automating Regression Testing: A Comprehensive Guide – Part 1

When developing a software product, automating regression testing ensures it works properly for all users. This is one of the diverse testing procedures carried out before release. Performing the same can provide new functionality to the software regularly to help it meet user expectations and market needs.

Professional software quality assurance services carry out regression testing to confirm that the upgraded software product continues to work as planned. Manual regression testing procedures allow you to analyze the app's performance following a significant code change. However, more enterprises are turning to regression test automation as a more complete, dependable, and cost-effective alternative to manual testing.

Almost all companies nowadays choose to automate their regression testing operations. In this post, we'll cover all you need to know about automated regression tests, including what they are, how they influence software, and why you should use regression testing to prevent them. We will also explain which projects gain the most from regression testing and how to create automated regression tests efficiently.

What Is Regression Testing?

Regression testing ensures that recent changes in the application's code have not affected any parts of the system and that the app continues to work as before the update. Some teams use regression testing only after substantial code upgrades, like new feature introductions. However, to maintain the app's performance, regression testing should be performed every time there is a code change, such as after fixing a problem.

Why Is Regression Testing Important?

In custom software development, regression means causing the product to lose functionality or quality due to recent code modifications. When you're working to create and release new features or improve your software product, regression is the last thing you want.

Regression testing saves more than half of the time spent correcting software issues and nearly half the money required for this process. Continuous regression testing helps avoid unexpected declines in product quality and, as a result, losing your consumers' confidence.

Different Types Of Regression Testing

3. Selective Regression Testing
Assesses the impact of new code on the entire application, using previously existing test cases. Extensive testing can be conducted using this approach while saving time in creating new test cases.

4. Retest-All Regression Tests
Thoroughly tests every part of the application, reusing all existing test cases. It is resource-intensive, so it's not ideal for minor code changes.

5. Corrective Regression Testing
This test does not require changes to the original product before testing, reusing existing test cases to save time.

What Is Automated Regression Testing?

Automated regression testing is a technique that enables QA engineers to properly evaluate a software product following any modifications. This type of testing speeds up and improves the process by using test scripts, strategies, and workflows. Automated regression testing offers a broader scope of testing than manual regression testing and can evaluate the basic logic, workflow, and other components of a software product.

When Should Your Product Undergo Automated Regression Testing?

Automating regression testing is an increasing trend in the software industry, but it is not required for all tests. Here are three signals that automated regression testing is a suitable fit for your product:

• Frequent Product Updates: If you often release new features, manually repeating tests can be time-consuming. QA automation assists with this.
• Significant Legacy Code: If your software product's core code remains constant across updates, test automation ensures smooth performance without extensive manual testing.
• Strong ROI Expectation: In the long term, automating regression testing improves ROI, especially with offshore regression testing outsourcing, saving time and money.

Why Is It Important to Automate Regression Testing?

Nonstop Testing
Manual testers have a set work schedule, and even if they spend 8 or 10 hours per day conducting regression testing, they can only cover so much within that time. One significant advantage of automating regression testing is that once the tests are prepared, they may be performed 24/7. The team may use their time more efficiently.

Repeatability and Scalability
Building a fully automated regression testing suite is undoubtedly one of the most labor-intensive tasks in automating the testing process, but the result is well worth it. Once you've created a collection of test scripts, you may not only modify them as your project's requirements change but also use them to test other software products for potential regressions. Furthermore, you may test the same application several times with the same test suite, regardless of how many iterations it goes through.

Easier Maintenance
The test suite will continue to increase as each new feature added to the product necessitates extensive regression testing. As long as the product is in active development, it will eventually reach a point where the team cannot sustain it without losing concentration. Regression test automation solutions enable developers to keep track of the product's changing requirements and change the test suite without undergoing a significant rewrite. Maintaining an established test suite becomes easier when dealing with automated regression testing.

Faster Product Delivery
A well-developed automated regression test suite may assist you in swiftly and efficiently testing the product following the deployment of each new feature, reducing the time between feature addition and product release. Automating regression testing also provides you with instant feedback, allowing you to learn about possible issues with your product, take necessary action, and fix them more quickly than if you solely used human regression testing.

Benefits of Automated Regression Testing in Business

As previously said, implementing QA automation can be pricey at first, but the benefits it provides to organizations must transcend the initial expenditures. Here are just a few of the primary benefits of automating regression testing for your business:

Cost Efficiency
The primary advantage of automated test cases is that they can be run frequently without incurring additional expenditures, as opposed to manual testing, which requires human resources for each test cycle.

Time Savings
Automation also helps to dramatically reduce the time to market for new features and upgrades. Instead of spending days or even weeks manually performing regression testing, automated tests provide considerably faster feedback on the quality of software upgrades, allowing you to make decisions about future development paths.

Early Defect Detection
Companies that automate test cases can uncover flaws or regressions caused by code changes early in the development process, allowing them to remedy them before they spread and affect users. Finally, this not only helps to minimize development costs but also improves customer satisfaction by providing more stable and bug-free software.

Resource Optimization
Automated regression testing helps to optimize testing resources. By automating tests, firms may guarantee that their specialists are focused on more complicated and exploratory testing activities rather than repeated, tedious operations, resulting in increased productivity and higher team satisfaction.

Again, not every project requires QA automation of regression testing. After all, automating the testing process costs between a few hundred and several thousand dollars each year. On the other hand, if you're working on a complicated solution that will grow, or if you have a constant stream of projects, investing in regression testing tools might be a wise decision that will help you outperform your competitors.

The Round-Off
Adding automated regression testing to your software development life cycle may need some work to set up, but it will save you a lot of time and human resources in the long run. Additionally, it will help you to identify flaws that might otherwise go undetected during manual testing. All you need to achieve is a dependable and knowledgeable software quality assurance service provider that can match your testing requirements to provide a high-quality software product.