End-To-End Test Automation for Boosting Software Effectiveness

In the current fast-paced digital environment, organizations deliver more and more complicated software solutions. These have multiple interconnected modules responsible for diverse business processes, third-party services, or databases that must be updated regularly. Failures in their cohesive operation can result in massive problems — from slow loading speed and freeze to complete system outages and data breaches.  

Any of these will negatively affect end-user satisfaction, user retention rates, and profit. Financial losses caused by system outages in the USA quite often reach $100,000, as reported by the Uptime Institute. Just remember the case of a major social network that lost more than $60 million in advertising revenue after a six-hour outage.  

To prevent such unpleasant consequences, companies can utilize end-to-end test automation. But what is it? What benefits does it provide? How can it be established on a project? Let’s delve into it a bit further.  

Defining the Concept and Its Business Benefits 

End-to-end test automation is the process of performing automated tests aimed at verifying each software component and its multiple interactions. This is done to make sure the IT products operate in line with requirements and don’t contain any issues. The software flow is meticulously scrutinized from beginning to end. Therefore, using a manual approach for this work is a bad idea, as it may take too much time and still cause errors provoked by human factors. 

Respondents of the World Quality Report 2023-24 (WQR) stated that they expect automated QA workflows to bring improved CX (50%), fewer live issues (51%), and minimization of risks (54%). In addition to this value, I also consider that by utilizing end-to-end test automation, QA teams can examine the software more efficiently and obtain the following benefits: 

• Maximized test coverage: A comprehensive approach to testing helps cover the entire software workflow and run dozens of extensive test cases in parallel, which speeds up the execution time and allows round-the-clock testing.  
• Minimized risk of human errors: Even proficient specialists with years of experience can make a mistake when they execute monotonous, voluminous checks manually. Due to the automated nature of testing, the overall accuracy of the QA process increases, which contributes to obtaining solid and trustworthy results.  
• Continuous and rapid feedback: The possibility to run tests automatically and around the clock provides QA teams with ongoing results on software quality and areas that require fixing. This is also a huge benefit for developers, as they can rectify issues at the early SDLC stages when their mitigation isn’t so difficult and expensive. 
• Save financial and time resources: Performing large regression suites comprising thousands of cases manually means longer test cycles, higher team stress, missed deadlines, and lost revenue. Test automation can economize hundreds of hours of manual QA engineers’ work and resolve diverse problems more effectively, thus decreasing operational costs. 
• Improved software quality: When automated tests are executed regularly, end users receive a more stable and reliable application that is secure, high-performing, and operates like clockwork due to proactive rectification of any defects. 

7 Essential Steps To Get Started With End-To-End Test Automation

Although end-to-end test automation helps significantly speed up testing processes and boost software quality, organizations still struggle with its introduction. According to the WQR, multiple issues can hinder its adoption, for instance, work with legacy systems (34% of interviewees), the shortage of professional knowledge (30%), the lack of required tools (18%) or strategy (15%), and many more.  

Therefore, I suggest considering these steps for the effective implementation of end-to-end test automation on the project: 

Identify the Scope for Automation

From my experience, I can say that 100% test coverage can rarely be achieved, especially when deadlines are tight. So, I recommend first focusing on high-priority application functions that are critical for business. For example, if we are talking about an eCommerce application, I’d define registration, search functions, description of products, placing orders, working with a card, payments, and delivery as the main workflows that must be scrutinized from the very beginning. Then, it’s possible to focus on other software areas. Such a deep understanding of user requirements helps ensure coherent and failsafe operation of software solutions.  

Choose Proper Tools 

Nowadays, companies can choose from a wide variety of free or chargeable tools and frameworks — from Cypress to Katalon. To select them, it’s important to consider unique project specifics, such as (but not limited to) duration, QA budget, the type of a platform or browser, integrations with CI systems or test-tracking solutions, the need to perform parallel test runs, team composition, and knowledge. Also, it may be a good idea to leverage AI-based tools as they can streamline QA processes even more. For example, AI may be used to analyze the reasons for test failures, thus simplifying decision-making afterward.   

Create Reliable Automated Scripts

To check the entire application flow, QA automation engineers must implement robust automated scripts based on test cases that follow real-life user scenarios. It’s vital to make sure the scripts are maintainable and can be easily understood by every team member.  

It’s also important to pay special attention to tests that verify UI to prevent flakiness, i.e., tests that either fail or not when being run under the same conditions and without any code changes. This may happen because of the complicated nature of tests or some outer conditions, such as problems with the network. To avoid flaky tests, QA automation engineers should constantly monitor test results, use suitable test data, and ensure that the test environment is stable. 

Do Not Forget About Parallel Test Runs

To expedite software testing activities and obtain valuable feedback faster, it's good practice to run several automated scripts at the same time on diverse equipment or environments. While doing so, companies can either use cloud infrastructure, such as virtual machines, or use on-premises ones, depending on the client’s technical ecosystem. In addition, in the case of the former option, QA automation engineers can ramp up cloud infrastructure to support important releases, which allows more tests to run at the same time and avoids long-term investment in local infrastructure.  

Give Preference To Monitoring

By analyzing test results on an ongoing basis, QA engineers can make sure the defects are fixed on time, and no production issues occur, as well as increase overall efficiency by locating possible problematic areas in the testing process. 

Ensure Continuity of the Testing Process 

By smoothly embedding QA automation into CI/CD pipelines, project teams can test every code line faster before deployment. This is to make sure the software is secure, reliable, and operates exactly as it should according to the requirements.  

Do Not Bail on Test Support

Ongoing revision and renewal of current test suites and scripts is a crucial activity that helps QA engineers make sure all novel changes in the application are covered by diverse verifications. It also allows the deletion of recurring or irrelevant tests.  

Conclusion 

End-to-end test automation helps companies provide failsafe software functioning and performance, drive down operational expenditure, ensure expedited time to market, and reach business goals.  

To effectively set up this approach, project teams can wisely choose the scope for automation and suitable tools, create stable tests, set up parallel test runs, regularly monitor results, and establish integration with the CI/CD pipeline.