Ways to Learn Automation Testing


Software testing is all about ensuring the integrity of the product and making sure that it strictly abides by the specifications provided by the client. To thoroughly test an application, the testing team incorporates a number of different test methodologies, learn automation testing and abide by QA process to effectively test the software and provide their findings to the project owner.


At the end, when all the test cases are executed, all issues are noted in a bug tracking tool and priorities keeping in mind the business requirement. Based on this priority, developers target each issue and try to fix them. All different types of testing can be performed manually using one of the other tools, but eventually, every team tries to shift their focus from manual testing to automation. But why is this so? In this post, we would talk about the need for automation in a project and what are the best ways a tester can learn automation.

Why is there a need to Learn Automation Testing

Before discussing the best ways to learn automation testing lets list down the primary reasons why learn automation testing should be made part of the project:
  • Reducing manual efforts – Automation scripts are used to automate manual test cases. Using test automation manual dependency can be removed for repetitive data driven tests. Once an automation script is in place, it can be used over and over again without the need of any manual involvement.
  • Continuous Integration and test scheduling – Once automation scripts are integration with a Continuous Integration tool like Jenkins and Hudson, the tests can be scheduled. It will allow the testing team to get test report of automation tests which would run on a daily basis based on the scheduling configuration. This would improve the confidence of the build and also help in providing early feedback.
  • Cost effective – Automation scripting does have high initial cost as compared to manual testing, but down the line as more and more tests are added, automation tests tend to lower the cost of testing. It increases the overall efficiency of the testing team by helping testers shed their manual efforts.

Different ways to learn Automation Testing

In order to learn automation testing, a tester must know the basics of programming and possess some experience with a programming language. There are different automation frameworks available in the market which uses one or the other programming language along with an Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Once a tester has some basic knowledge of one of these frameworks exploring new automation tools can be relatively simple. So, some of the best ways to learn automation testing are:

Joining Institutes

There are a number of testing institutes in major cities that provide quality testing courses on learn automation testing. Freshers or testers with work experience can enroll themselves for these courses. Once enrolled, these institutes share a course material and perform classroom sessions where the study material is referred and the required theory is taught and practical sessions are conducted
Perks
  • Personal attention is provided – Thanks to the classroom sessions, each and every enrollee gets individual attention from the tutor. In the case of any grievances, the tutor can be personally approached and expectations can be met to learn automation testing.
  • You can get your doubts cleared on the spot – Doubts are generally cleared by the faculty members, then and there and you can ask queries about any particular course item at any point in time. This provides you confidence and ensures a sturdy progress.
Disadvantages
  • Learning pace depends on the other group members – If there are many enrollees in the batch, it is highly likely that the tutor has to wait until everyone in the group has learned and is convinced with the teachings. If you have some basic knowledge or are a fast learner, it can slow you down.
  • Esteemed institutes are not available everywhere – All testing institutes don’t have branches in every city. And even f they do, the expertise and knowledge of the faculties might vary.

Blogs and Online Tutorials  

There are a number of online testing tutorials and blogs that talk and provide quality information about different courses to learn automation testing. Most of these sites don’t require registration and the course material can be used as your, please.
Perks
  • Can be accessed any time while enjoying the comforts of your home – To access these sites, all you need is a computer and decent internet connectivity. That’s all.
  • Is free and covers most basic concepts – These sites are best to gear up for the advanced courses. They cover the testing basics and are quite easy to understand.
Disadvantages
  • No support in case of any queries – In case you face any hurdle or have some query of your own, you have to do some searching on your own. These sites don’t provide any assistance. You can leave a comment requesting for an answer to your query, but can’t be assured of a response. You have to search the for the answers to your problem on your own.
  • Advanced training is not often provided – Advanced testing implementations are generally not covered in depth by these sites. You need to scavenge for advanced testing tutorials for different sites and blog posts if you want to gain complete knowledge.
Opting of E-Courses
E-courses are the new kid on the block. By enrolling for an online e-course to learn automation testing, you can learn the different testing methodologies at your own pace. All you need to do is enroll for the course and keep going through the study materials. These study materials are created by software testing professionals who have ample QA exposure, and make sure that all practical processes and methodologies are explained in it.
Perks
  • Can be accessed any time while enjoying the comforts of your home – Once you enroll for the course, you can access and refer it at any point of time. So even after years, you can refer the material to get over doubts and resolve queries.
  • Is covers basic as well as advanced concepts – These courses start off with the very basic testing, gradually detailing the advanced concepts. Each e-tutorial is grouped into different sections so that the enrollee can learn at quick successions.
  • Problems and queries can be discussed with the e-course organizer/ author – During any stage, if you come across any query, you can get it resolved by the e-course author. All you need to do is a comment or send a personal message, which would be resolved and explained within a short duration.
  • Cheaper than courses provided by institutions – Classroom courses are expensive, as they have to bear faculty and infrastructure cost. While most e-courses are hosted on one of the other web-based tutorial platforms or are created by the author themselves. For this reason, the quality e-tutorial can be availed at a cheaper price.
Disadvantages
  • They are paid courses – Unlike free online tutorials, e-courses come at a price. You have to buy these e-courses before you can use them. But often every course provides a free preview so that you can make out what to expect out of it.

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