This post was initially posted on LogiGear’s blog, and I decided to make a copy for my record.
With the ever-increasing rate of software releases, Regression Testing becomes necessary by giving critical feedback, among other things, to the product owner on releases. Through this article, you will better understand Regression Test Suites and whether or not they would be a good fit for your software testing team.
What is Regression Testing?
Regression Testing is re-running functional and non-functional tests to ensure that previously developed, and tested software still performs after a change. Changes that may require regression testing include but aren’t limited to: bug fixes, software enhancements, new features added, and configuration changes.
Why Regression Testing?
Agile is being used more than ever to bring application features to end users as fast as possible. According to Cprime.com, Agile software development is “a group of software development methodologies based on iterative development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing cross-functional teams.”
In other words, the software is being released more rapidly. This rapid pace makes Regression Testing a key player in successful software releases. It can give the product owner critical feedback on bug fixes and/or enhancements break developed and tested software. The fast-paced software releases make it necessary to build automation suites for regression testing to ensure that teams keep up with Agile.
In overview, as Regression Test Suites exponentially increase with each found defect, Automated Regression Testing becomes more frequently involved.
Regression Test Suites
If a team wants to be successful in Agile, having a well-defined regression suite is paramount. The ideal Regression Test Suite contains the right mix of test cases on the current program to check its integrity. In practice, we may have multiple Regression Test Suites, which are a part of the test suite-all tests.
Sometimes a change impact analysis is performed to determine an appropriate subset of tests to form a real Regression Test Suite. These are a few considerations when it comes to creating an automated regression suite that is scalable for Agile:
Prioritize Regression Test Cases
First, you need to prioritize your test cases. You can’t run a test on everything — it is too expensive and doesn’t provide immediate feedback. By prioritizing your test cases in Regression Test Suites, you increase a test suite’s fault detection rate. Regression Test Cases with higher priority are normally executed before the test cases with lower priority. This ensures that critical defects are found sooner.
Regression Testing Tools
Tool choice is important when it comes to automating your regression testing. Automated Regression Testing is the smart choice in case your software frequently changes, which is almost obvious nowadays. You need a tool to handle these changes, from business flow to UI. You’ll want something that covers the spectrum. Therefore you may need to be careful when applying test case design methodology. It should separate between business workflow and UI, Manual and Automation friendly i.e. your manual tests are automated tests themselves. One option on the market is TestArchitect.
Fun fact: TestArchitect utilizes Action Based Testing (ABT).
ABT is a modular design and action-driven test method that provides a systematic approach to increasing the success of automated testing. The modular design addresses test planning and case management challenges through efficient test organization. Action-driven test development eliminates most programming work required to automate and maintain long-term tests.
It not only leverages better collaboration between manual and automation testers but also unlocks the ability to create readable automated tests by non-technical testers. Action Based Testing is a good starting point for teams looking to build an automated regression suite.
Final Thoughts
Regression Testing is facing high pressure due to rapid software release cycles. Using an appropriate test design methodology and automation testing tool will increase the success of your automated testing and keep pace with your software release cycle.
