By definition, test automation is the use of strategies, tools, and artifacts that increase or decrease the need for manual or human involvement or interaction on unskilled, repetitive, or redundant tasks. This details that there must be a formalized “manual testing process” in the company.

In software validation, the planning and development of test cases are done manually. Writing test harnesses and automated scripts, which iterate through test cases, requires planning and development time for the team. But most of the task involved in this case can be done automatically. Most of the types of tests that they usually perform are the following:

o Functional – A test that is usually performed to verify if operations are working as expected. It is used to test the user interface or as maintenance of the script between a series of developments.
o Regression: it is almost similar to the previous validation. Regression testing enables consistent and repeatable validation of each new version of an application or website. Regression testing can be done manually, but is best done through test automation to reduce the time and resources required for testing.
o Performance – This is done to determine the benchmark or scalability of the software in the real environment. Performance tests are typically run automatically to allow for easy replication of a variety of normal, peak, and exceptional environments.
o Stress – This is often done using the same process as performance testing, but using a very high level of simulated load. It is done to determine the absolute capabilities of the application and operating infrastructure.

Reliability, repeatability, programmability, speed, and cost effectiveness are just a few of the benefits that can be gained from automating software testing. Although the use of this process has some disadvantages, such as difficulty in maintaining test data files and requires high proficiency in test scripting, it is widely adapted in the software industry around the world.