6 Reasons to Learn Automation Testing in 2024

From SQL queries to cybersecurity, automation is the bread and butter of new companies. If you are looking to join the tech industry without some background in automation testing, it’s going to be tough.

But don’t worry, you will find the much-needed encouragement to start learning automation here. So, without further ado, let’s discuss how automation is being utilized by companies for testing and why you need to learn it in 2024.

1. Time-saving and Cost-efficient

Experts advocate automation testing because it saves time and resources. The repeatability, usability, and functionality of automation testing make it appealing to its counterpart in terms of economical efficiency. To replace manual testing, automation testing has to bring a greater Return on Investment (ROI) for the business, which it does on the elements that matter.

On a typical platform or software, three levels of testing are executed - GUI, API, and Unit tests. 

GUI Testing:

GUI (Graphical User Interface) tests are meant to expose the bugs on a surface level - what the user sees. To ensure that your app or website is functioning properly, you need to perform several personalized tests on it.

While it’s still beneficial to employ automation testing on GUI-level algorithms, it brings the least ROI. Your application is unique and the code needs to be customized every time anything needs testing. GUI testing is only done when everything else is working as expected.
 

API Testing:

On a deeper level, there is API (Application Programming Interface) testing to test the logic and functionality of the backend. Automation testing shines in here. Your application may be unique, the logic mostly isn’t. When you implement login functions, the algorithm remains the same even if the GUI changes.

As API testings can be done in earlier phases of the development, you should be able to perform API testing as frequently as possible through automation. As API testings start to trend, learning automation testing has increased in relevance more than ever.
  

Unit Testing:

Unit testing is the building block of any development process. Developers employ unit tests to ensure the functionality of the smallest components of their application.

While API and GUI testing require hundreds of lines of code, unit testing is concise and mutable. When unit tests are automated, they bring the highest ROI for the company.

The best strategy for you to maximize time and resources would be to implement automation testing on API and unit testing together.

2. Increasing Test Coverage

Automation testing increases the test coverage because you can perform more tests when they are fully automated. Let me show you an example to visualize how automation improves test coverage.

Test cases are like brooms and the application is a house. You can clean your room every day, but that doesn’t mean you have cleaned the whole house. For the house, you might have to employ someone else to take care of it. 

Automation comes into play when you need someone to thoroughly clean your house. Although you would be able to test your program for every bug, you’ll lose the ability to invest your skills and resources in other important elements and other uncharted territories - like the hard-to-reach corners.

While automating tests improve coverage, you could also fail to prioritize the critical processes that need a thorough investigation for false alarms.

As you dig deeper with automation testing, increased test coverage gives you suggestions of what else could be tested.
 

3. Improved Testing Accuracy

Human errors are inevitable when working with humans. Fatigue, typographical errors, and skill gaps are common causes of human inefficiency. With the help of automation testing, it’s possible to improve a tester’s motivation, efficiency, and accuracy.

Following the documentation, automation testing takes a fraction of the time manual testing requires. In addition to being faster, automation testing is more accurate.

After automation testing has done its part, tricky situations can be strategically handled by you and your team of experts. As a corollary of reduced strain on developers, you will be more encouraged to work on priority tasks. 

4. Load Testing

Load testing refers to a collective examination of stress testing, load testing, soak testing, spike testing, endurance testing, and many others. It is usually performed to observe the impacts of traffic on the website or application. A failed load testing can result in lost conversion and revenue.

As the name suggests, load testing is time-consuming and resource-hungry. To load test your employer’s domain, apart from utilizing the best hardware, you’d also need human resources. Automation testing can diminish human input and emulate a load test in no time without being inaccurate about user behavior.

Load testing is also employed to identify bottlenecks in applications that can hamper the process if significant traffic is introduced. With automation and detailed reports, it’s possible to pinpoint that very efficiently.

Browser-based simulations are necessary to emulate real user behavior. Automation testing platforms with cross-browser capabilities can handle that very well. 

5. Faster Feedback Cycle

Faster and more detailed feedback loops inform your tech team about what needs to be improved. When you employ automation testing, a faster feedback loop is a bonus. It ensures continuous testing and continuous improvement.

Manual testing is more efficient in certain critical tasks. But feedback is more often than not, delayed and shallow. An automated structure returns the feedback in no time without being frail.

Not only on the final development cycle but faster feedback is also required at every step of the process. Without faster feedback in-app performance management, log management, and error tracking, it’s impossible to quicken the deployment.
 

6. Less Strain on Employees

Testing is a laborious job. When you utilize automation testing, you get to focus on priority tasks, resulting in a less strenuous office environment.
 

The Bottom Line

More than ever, you need to learn automation testing in 2024. To grow parallel with the needs of your employer, you, as a developer must expand your knowledge beyond development and to automation testing.

Although not every organization needs an automation tester in their office now, they will soon be requiring one with extensive knowledge to adapt to the growing number of internet users in 2024.