Automated regression testing represented by drawing of robot

When Automated Regression Testing Works Best

Nobody likes doing the same task over and over again. Unfortunately, every time your software updates its code, it’s necessary to perform automated regression testing. Since most software is written to contain multiple interlocking parts, changing one section means that other parts are affected as well. Regression testing is necessary to confirm that the new, added code is not negatively affecting any of the elements that previously worked.

What is Regression Testing?

Regression testing is when, after a change to your software’s code or environment, you must re-test vital elements of the software to make sure that this new change hasn’t affected any other part of the software’s functioning. Regression testing isn’t specific to software testing automation— regression test all updated software, even if it’s manual.

However, the benefit of automating your regression testing is that a script can check that certain functions of the code are still working much faster than your human testers can. If you’re performing the same regression test 500 times, writing an automated script that will conduct that regression for you can save you time and money.

When to Perform Regression Tests

Any time your software changes, you should perform a regression test. If you’ve added new code, regression test. If you’ve gone in and fixed a bug, regression test to make sure that “fix” didn’t break something somewhere else. Regression testing is especially important in an agile environment because of constantly updating software. Each of these changes represents a new opportunity for the interlocking code to cause a once-working section to malfunction.

Why Use Automated Regression Testing?

The benefit of automated regression testing is the same as automated software testing. It completes repetitive tasks quickly and frees up software devs and testers for more critical work. It can be especially helpful when performing regression testing, which often requires testing that the same bit of code is functioning the same way in multiple scenarios. For example, if you have an e-commerce website, you must make sure that the shopping cart link and icon appear on every page.

Instead of performing the same test for every page on a site, you can write an automated script to perform the regression test for you. However, it’s important to remember that, like all automated testing, an automated regression test cannot think for itself. For example, if code malfunctions causing the shopping cart link and icon to move to an incorrect position, the test will still return a positive result. That’s why intelligent thinking is so important when designing automated regression testing.

Regression Test Integrated Software

Sometimes you have to regression test even when your software hasn’t changed. For example, if your software integrates with someone else’s code, a change in their code will change how it interacts with your software. While most companies that offer integration make sure their software remains backward compatible, if you know integrated software has updated, it’s a good idea to check your own software, too.

Automated regression testing can be a powerful tool in your quality assurance toolkit. However, you must make sure you’re not trying to use regression testing when it’s not the right tool for the job. If you keep that in mind and save the automated regression testing for cases where the code is fairly steady and uncomplicated, you’ll find yourself with the perfect tool to save your developers time and assure your software is running smoothly.

Contact iBeta to learn how we can help with your automated regression testing needs.