Why You Should Consider Automated Regression Testing For Your Business (And How to Get Started)

Do you know how your organization performs its regression testing? With so many elements to IT, it can be overwhelming to think about every aspect of your IT department. But when it comes to regression testing, there is significant opportunity for improvement – and that can have a big impact on your bottom line.

Manually executing testing scripts is the common method for regression testing, and it is immensely prone to error, creates long cycle times and relies heavily on human resources. Manual testing can also make it difficult to capture the necessary data, application and network characteristics required to create a repeatable process.

What does this mean for you?

It means that manually executing testing scripts offers significant opportunity for lost time, resources and cost. It is costing your business money and results…and yet it is entirely preventable.

Automated regression testing leads to improved results.

Here’s a basic look at the automated regression testing process:
Automated Regression Testing Process

You might notice that our automated testing diagram focuses on a “capture” methodology to drive data insights. This is opposed to the manual testing used by some companies, where rather than an automated capture of data, a programmer would instead manually type test cases into a manual testing tool.

An automated testing life cycle offers less risk and reduced cost, while providing frequently improved results. Our automated testing approach here at 5Wyre has led to typical results in test automation percentages of 70 to 80%, or higher. Plus, it has resulted in:

  • Reduced labor and cost
  • Improved quality
  • Improved accuracy
  • Improved employee morale
  • Cycle time improvements and deployments

Perhaps the biggest benefit of automated regression testing is agility. With faster data, your QA team can focus more on analysis than on the actual testing and collection of data. They can do their jobs more effectively, so that you can be more agile and make changes quickly to keep your project or initiative on track.

With that increased speed and agility also comes an opportunity for performance tuning throughout the process. Using an automated testing process and the tools that help facilitate that process, you can get a better look at opportunities for performance enhancement within your software, and it can help you see a bit into the future to understand what could impact your performance down the road.

How to get started.

Making the switch to an automated regression testing environment, first and foremost, requires a commitment from the leadership in your organization. Understanding the benefits of automated testing means that you are ready to make the switch for better results, increased agility and reduced cost. Here are a few tips to help you get started:

  • Be sure you have the right tools. Making a commitment to change is the first step, but to implement automated regression testing you’ll need the right tools and technology. Work with an expert (we can help!) to assess your current tools and suggest which tools and technology you’ll need to implement automated testing.
  • Work with an expert. As we mentioned above, working with an expert can help ensure you have the right tools to get started. But most importantly, they can guide you through the process and make sure you are well equipped to not only get started, but to maximize automated regression testing within your organization.
  • Understand how you use the system. It is extremely important for your IT leaders to understand how you are using the testing system on a day-to-day basis. You will want to capture that workflow to understand what happens at certain times. Understanding the system itself and how you use it is key to maximizing your investment.
  • Get the right people in place to manage change. Any type of change requires effective change management. Make sure your team is on board with the switch, and have the right people on board to manage the change in process. Education is important here as well – ensuring everyone fully understands why the switch is being made, and how their role may evolve to take advantage of it. As I mentioned above, the primary benefit of this switch is agility – ineffective management and preparation of your people can get in the way of this agility, and have a negative impact on your results.

Automated regression testing can make a big impact on your organization. Here at 5Wyre, we work with organizations across the globe to help them leverage their technology investment. We can help make your transition to an automated testing environment easier – give us a call to find out more.

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