Automation Testing Paradigm: Shifting Left In the Software Development Life Cycle

Automation Testing Paradigm: Shifting Left In the Software Development Life Cycle

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The field of application development is ever-evolving has made it more and more important to incorporate automated testing early in the process. The practice of performing automation testing at the very end of the process used to be common, which led to increased costs, a longer time to market, and a delay in feedback.

Early automation testing increases development efficiency by providing immediate feedback, improving the quality of the code, and ensuring that the original criteria are met. This proactive strategy speeds up release cycles and reduces risks related to late defect discovery. 

This guide covers the various kinds of automation testing, their roles in the application development life cycle, and the significance of early testing or moving left in the process. Next, we will discuss the advantages of early testing, the potential drawbacks of early testing, how to start early testing or shift left testing in the software development life cycle, what happens after automation testing or shift left testing, and so on.

Understanding Automation Testing

Automation testing is the process of testing applications to verify their stability, performance, and usefulness. It involves the use of scripts and specialized software tools. It eliminates common problems in software development and offers several advantages over manual testing, which is carried out by human testers.

Teams can optimize automation benefits and speed up application delivery by tackling common obstacles and utilizing proven methods. Incorporating automation in the initial phases of development enhances these advantages by offering prompt feedback and ensuring testing is in sync with the development process as a whole.

Different Automation Testing Types in the Software Development Lifecycle

To ensure a definite goal and put emphasis on different areas of the application, automation testing can be divided into several categories within the application development life cycle. They are:

API Testing

Software systems use APIs, or application programming interfaces, as computer interfaces for data sharing and communication. An API describes the kind of queries that can be made, how to submit them, and what sorts of data formats are allowed. Instead of utilizing traditional user inputs like keyboards, API validation uses software to execute API calls, receive outputs, and log the system’s responses. API validation primarily targets the organization.

User Interface Testing

Testing the graphical user interface (UI), commonly referred to as GUI validation, involves verifying if the visual components of the application meet the necessary performance and functionality standards. Testers can verify that the user interface functions correctly by validating the graphical user interface. This involves examining all visual cues and graphical symbols, like menus, radio buttons, text boxes, checkboxes, toolbars, colors, fonts, and other components.

Regression Testing

Regression verification in application development is an automated testing technique that confirms an application’s functionality remains intact following updates. Regression testing verifies that the new modifications work flawlessly with the current features and do not affect the application’s functionality as it stands.

Integration Tests

Integration testing involves confirming that separate application components function correctly independently and when combined into a larger system. These tests can be conducted at any point in the application development process; however, they are usually done towards the end, closer to when the application is released. Integration tests aim to ensure that separate components function together harmoniously.

Unit Testing

Unit testing involves verifying small portions of code to ensure their correctness. One unit can encompass a variety of elements, such as classes, functions, or methods. A single line of code could serve as a basic unit test. Conducting small, easily manageable tests like these allows for speedy verification of code. Unit tests enable the performance of numerous beneficial tests quickly.

Functionality Testing

A sort of validation called functional testing determines whether an application’s features function as required by the program specifications. Each function’s output is compared to the related requirement to see if it meets the end user’s expectations.

The Importance of Early Testing or Shifting Left in the Software Development Lifecycle

Shifting left, also known as early testing, is a proactive approach that focuses on detecting defects early, promoting collaboration, and enhancing quality for more efficient software delivery. Below are some of the importance of early testing and its effects on different stages of the software development life cycle:

  • Early defect detection: Early defect detection and resolution are less expensive and easier to handle than defects discovered later in the development process. Early issue detection saves time and money by halting problems before they get worse.
  • Enhanced code quality: Implementing testing at the beginning of the development process motivates developers to produce higher-quality code. This leads to code that is cleaner and more dependable, reducing the occurrence of bugs.
  • Quicker response: Automated tests running early offer instant feedback to developers. This rapid feedback loop allows them to tackle problems immediately, resulting in quicker issue resolution and ongoing enhancement.
  • Improved understanding of requirements: Early testing includes developing test cases from the initial requirements. This guarantees that everyone comprehends the software requirements, minimizing confusion and miscommunication.
  • Improved cooperation: By including testers, developers, and stakeholders in the early stages, teams collaborate more efficiently. This partnership guarantees that all individuals are in agreement and play a role in improving the project’s overall results.

The Benefits of Shifting Left in the Software Development Life Cycle

The various benefits of early automation testing in the software development life cycle are stated below:

Enhanced test coverage: Automating early enables thorough testing across different scenarios and configurations right from the beginning. This extensive coverage ensures that a greater number of software components are confirmed.

Consistency and dependability: Automated tests are consistently executed every time they are run. This regularity decreases mistakes made by humans and guarantees that tests can be trusted and replicated, resulting in more precise outcomes.

Enhanced productivity: Automating the repetitive and time-consuming tests allows manual testers to dedicate their time to more intricate and exploratory testing. This enhances overall effectiveness and enables more comprehensive testing in the same period.

Support for continuous integration: Automation in the early stages facilitates CI practices by automatically running tests whenever there is a code change. This assists in upholding code standards and guaranteeing the software’s deployment ability during the entire development process.

Improved collaboration: Automation in the early stages promotes teamwork between developers and testers by offering instant feedback on code modifications through automated tests. This alignment ensures that testing is smoothly integrated into the development process.

The Drawbacks of Shifting Left in the Software Development LifeCycle

Below are some of the drawbacks of early automation testing in the software development life cycle:

  • Investing in tools, frameworks, and skilled resources is necessary for implementing automated testing. This initial expense can be substantial, particularly for minor projects or groups.
  • Initial automation necessitates an intricate setup of testing environments and tools. This configuration may take up a lot of time and may necessitate a certain level of expertise to ensure everything is functioning properly.
  • Regular maintenance is necessary for automated test scripts to align with application changes. This constant upkeep may be demanding in terms of resources and might need extra work to ensure tests remain meaningful and operational.
  • Tests run automatically can occasionally yield unreliable outcomes, which are referred to as flaky tests. The inaccurate findings may cause uncertainty and result in incorrect positive or negative results, which can diminish the reliability of the test results.
  • Expertise in scripting and test automation tools is necessary for creating and managing automated tests. Teams lacking the required skills may face challenges when trying to develop tests that are both effective and efficient.

Getting Started with Shift Left Testing in the Software Development LifeCycle

By adhering to the steps listed below, developers can successfully incorporate early automation testing and shift-left practices, resulting in enhanced application quality and a streamlined development process:

  • Establish goals to figure out the desired outcomes with early automation, like quicker feedback and enhanced quality.
  • Choose appropriate automation tools that are suitable for the technology stack and requirements, such as Selenium for web applications and JUnit for Java.
  • Create a plan and determine which kinds of tests will be automated and how they integrate with the development procedure.
  • Create a test automation framework that meets the tester’s requirements and guarantees ease of maintenance.
  • Start implementing automated tests at the beginning of the development process, preferably within your CI/CD pipeline, so that tests can be executed with every code modification.
  • Start by automating unit tests to verify individual components or functions in the application.
  • Gradually incorporate integration and functional tests to cover interactions among components and the overall behavior of the application to enhance automation.
  • Offer training and ensure team members have the necessary skills to use the selected tools and frameworks for creating and managing automated tests.

What Changes After Automation Testing or Shift Left Testing in the Software Development Life Cycle?

After incorporating automation testing or moving left in the Software Development Life Cycle, here is an overview of the modifications and the potential impact on the project:

  • Faster feedback: Quick and frequent automated tests provide immediate results on code changes, leading to faster feedback. This enables developers to tackle problems immediately instead of delaying until later phases.
  • Enhanced code quality: Testing early helps detect errors when they are added, resulting in better code quality. This decreases the amount of errors and enhances the general reliability of the application.
  • Wider test coverage: Automation enables thorough examination of various scenarios and edge cases that may be overlooked during manual testing. This guarantees a more comprehensive assessment of the application.
  • Efficient development process: By incorporating automated tests into the CI/CD pipeline, testing is seamlessly incorporated into the development process. This results in more efficient and quicker development processes.
  • Simplified test maintenance: Automated tests can be effortlessly modified and managed as the application changes. This ensures that the testing process remains current and minimizes the amount of effort required for continuous test management.

Integrating Automation Testing with Cloud Technology

Test automation is crucial for improving the efficiency of application testing. Shifting left in automation testing is a concept highlighted in the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), which includes testing early in the development process to find and address errors sooner. 

Teams may easily add automated tests to their CI/CD pipelines by utilizing cloud-based platforms like LambdaTest, which provide broad environment coverage and flexible text scripting for web automation. Selenium plays a fundamental role in this approach. 


LambdaTest is an AI-powered test execution platform that provides access to a cloud Selenium grid, allowing you to run manual and automated tests at scale over 3000+ real browsers, devices, and operating systems online for web and mobile testing. 

It offers powerful automation features that developers may use to construct and run tests, which ultimately help improve application quality and shorten their time to market. 

With this platform, you can easily integrate Selenium Java, Selenium Python, and other framework scripts with CI/CD pipelines and enhance the automation process.

This is a fundamental approach to ensure that the web application is tested automatically whenever changes are made. 

This reduces the cost and operational expenses of maintaining such infrastructure. Teams can use this configuration to verify their applications constantly, starting from the very beginning of development, across a range of browsers and devices.

Conclusion

Implementing automation testing strategies at the beginning of the software development phase, or shifting towards the left, greatly improves the entire development cycle. By incorporating automated testing from the beginning, companies can enjoy many advantages that enhance both effectiveness and quality.

In summary, incorporating automation testing in the early stages changes the development process by integrating quality assurance sooner. This method enhances code quality and testing efficiency and enables a more agile and responsive development environment. By adopting automation early on, companies can realize a software development process that is more efficient, effective, and of high quality.