If You Are New to Automated Testing

Software testing is an integral part of the software development process. Before software can be released, testers must verify that it performs as expected, often on different types of computers or different operating systems. Consequently, software testing has become increasingly complex, requiring repetitive testing of features and functions on different computers. But as the complexity for testing software has increased, the time allocated to testing software has typically been reduced to meet release schedules. Automated testing allows you to test software for bugs and performance problems effectively and efficiently, making it an essential tool for production of quality software.

To test an application manually, you create a series of test cases that specify how the test application should react when you perform certain actions, such as pressing sequences of keys, choosing menu options, or using your mouse. A manual test cycle typically follows a pattern similar to the following:

• Take your test application to the starting point of the test.
• Perform a series of actions that interact with the test application.
• Observe what happens as you interact with the application.
• Compare the results of your interaction with what you expected would happen.
• Record any discrepancies between what you expected and what you saw.
• Fix the application as needed.
• Retest the application or move on to the next test.

Silk Test Workbench can mimic each step of this test pattern; it can type on your keyboard, move the mouse and click mouse buttons, compare what is displayed on the computer to what is expected, and save results of tests to a file for subsequent analysis. You can link tests, so that the successful conclusion of one test triggers the start of the next test. Because actions and verifications are included, automated testing is faster and more reliable than manual testing.