Test automation tools: why, where, how
Automation Best practices
5 mins read
May 18, 2022

Test automation tools: why, where, how

Test automation used to be a controversial topic: some engineers believed that they were not worth the effort. Indeed, automated software testing requires both developing specific tests and adjusting your routine to fit them. These days, running full manual is simply not sustainable in the long run. Let’s look at why and how you can make the transition.

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photo
Denis Matusovskiy
Kate Hornysh

Why you need automated software testing

Here are the reasons why you should use test automation tools.

How to make an automated software test

Let’s look at the basics of automating software testing.

Best automated testing tools

As we mentioned earlier, you would normally use different test tools for different types of automation. Below are some of our picks from best automation testing tools.

Selenium

Selenium in action

Selenium is the swiss army knife of QA automated testing tools. It primarily targets web solutions on desktop & mobile OS as well as browsers for them. Selenium is simple to learn due to supporting Python yet also provides room for advanced users.

SoapUI

SoapUI

SoapUI is the king of API software test automation tools. Just like Selenium, it is an open-source and free tool with active developer & community support. SoapUI can hook to your in-house software or test management tools thanks to REST support.

JMeter

JMeter

JMeter is designed for load testing, and it has quite some capabilities to automate it. JMeter too supports REST calls as well as third-party libraries to enhance your testing. Some make writing new scripts as simple as using a Chrome extension.

Jenkins

Jenkins pipeline example

Jenkins pipeline example

Jenkins is an automation server for continuous integration and delivery. This includes quality assurance: automated tests can be used as part of the delivery pipeline. Jenkins runs on Java, so you shouldn’t have much trouble setting it up.

UnixShell

UnixShell has many uses, but QA specialists have long adopted it for test automation. Using shell scripts cuts down on hours of manual labour, and they are very much transferable to and from other automated test software.

PowerShell

PowerShell is the Windows alternative to UnixShell among software test automation tools. They are similar in capabilities and how software testers go about them. PS also supports objective-oriented programming for simplified shell scripting.

Why choose aqua as your automation test management tool

Automated QA & Jira integrations

Full list of aqua integrations

Full list of aqua integrations

aqua has over 10 integrations with leading automated test software. It also comes with a Jira integration: you can either access individual items or fully sync aqua & Jira projects. No extra cost attached.

Cloud & On-Premise offerings

aqua’s deployment options

aqua’s deployment options

aqua offers both cloud and on-premise versions with virtually identical functionality. On-Premise is not an afterthought for us: we have plenty of clients in banking insurance, and government.

Reporting wizard & dashboards

aqua report example

aqua report example

aqua’s reporting wizard is quick to set up yet comes with quite some depth. You can even execute custom scripts inside the report. Dashboards help visualise progress and support KPI alerts for emergencies.

Traceability as a feature

Data records in test management tool aqua

aqua is fully compliant with traceability requirements, proven by our banking and government portfolio. This traceability, however, helps in any industry. You can see all changes to tests and revert if needed.

Robust foundation & infrastructure

aqua works fast and doesn’t slow down even if you have millions of test cases. We have such clients using both Cloud & On-Premise versions without hiccups. Test execution doesn’t throttle for them either.

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More than a test management tool

aqua is an Application Lifecycle Management solution. You can use it for all stages of your project.

Planning, development, and testing in one tool

AQUA PRODUCT TOUR

aqua ALM has a proven track record in heavily regulated industries, but we are not limited to them.

Migration

Moving to aqua takes 1 day on average. We have our own migration tool to make the process smooth, secure, and cost-effective.

Even millions of items can be moved to aqua without hassle

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FAQ
What is a QA automation tool?

QA automation tools are solutions that automate steps done as part of manual testing.

What is the future of automation testing?

The future of automation testing lies in autonomy and predictivity. Artificial intelligence tech is starting to make it into QA software (such as aqua) to go beyond replicating manual testing at scale. Identifying what needs to be tested and even making tests for that is the next step.

Which tool is used in automation testing?

A variety of specialised tools are used for testing different software. The list includes SoapUI, Ranorex, Selenium, JMeter, and more. 

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