Testing and validating critical business processes that span multiple enterprise systems is inherently complex and requires a sound test plan, as well as expertise across various disciplines. Over time, the effort spent on performing these validations doesn’t decrease, nor does the need for highly specialized and expensive experts. Enter: test automation
Considering a test automation strategy to support your critical business processes can be overwhelming, particularly when outlining the strategy and the implementation specifics. To help guide you through this process, here are some questions you may want to consider and align with all stakeholders. These questions are designed to spark conversation and facilitate a well-rounded implementation strategy, not to overwhelm you further.
1. Strategy
- Have the business processes and scope of test automation been defined?
- Have the different internal teams and stakeholders been identified?
- Has leadership support and alignment been obtained?
- Do the leaders have realistic expectations around test automation strategy?
- Which teams own which parts of the business process?
- Are the business processes documented, and what is the plan to keep them updated as the business evolves?
- Have the success criteria been established?
2. Change Management
- Does your organization have well-defined practices for handling changes to business processes and systems?
- Is there a hierarchy of change flow available, and how are the various instances provisioned (e.g., development, test, user acceptance, pre-production, and production)?
- In which phases of the hierarchy is testing required, and what kind of testing is applicable for each phase?
- What are the promotion criteria for installing changes in the higher instances?
3. Data Strategy
- How is data provisioned and maintained for testing today?
- How much of this strategy can translate into an automated testing framework?
- What provisions are in place to ensure the integrity of test data?
- How is testing data extended across multiple sites or business units?
- How is data destruction handled?
- Who are the subject matter experts for data management?
4. Results Analysis
- Who is responsible for analyzing the results from a test run?
- What is the framework for error triaging?
- What are the different error types?
- What are the escalation paths depending on error types?
- What is the protocol for re-executing failed tests?
- Who is responsible for test suite upkeep?
5. Training and Maintenance (Expansion)
- Who are the team members that need to be trained on the test automation strategy and the chosen tool?
- When can the training realistically begin, and do the team members have the necessary bandwidth?
- What is the test automation expansion strategy, and what are the different phases?
- What is the maintenance workflow?
6. What to Test
- Which applications need to be tested for which business processes?
- How are the tests selected? (Refer to our Test Automation Checklist.)
Implementing a test automation strategy doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing approach. Some of our most successful customers began with small steps, such as setting up smoke tests, before scaling most of their testing scenarios into automation. Starting with small, manageable tasks is crucial for getting your team acquainted with the tools and strategy. It also provides an opportunity to adjust the strategy as needed, ensuring a smoother and more effective implementation.
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