Solving common problems
We have often been asked "Can’t I just use an automated testing tool? Why am I better off, also using Scenario Tester?"
All too often we have seen scrapped automated testing efforts or at a minimum automated tools that end up being used in a very limited way. We’ve even been involved in some of these efforts! This was very upsetting to all of us and forced us to investigate why so many automated testing efforts are not successful. We discovered recurring problems:
• Problem 1
Scripts are hard to understand. A scripter returns to a script a month after it was written and has a hard time understanding what the script did. Because the tester does not have the time to figure out the scripts, the scripts usually die and are not replaced or sometimes the tester ends up creating new ones.
• Solution
Scenario Tester enforces a logical, simple and standard way to write all scripts. Each script is fundamentally the same. If you understand one, you will understand them all. In addition Scenario Tester enforces a common and understandable method for commenting all scripts.
• Problem 2
Changes in the application result in many changes in too many scripts. Most automated scripts are difficult to maintain and thus are never re-used. This is the number one reason scripts die.
• Solution
Scenario Tester enforces a set of standards that results in a small number of script changes caused by changes to an application. Scenario Tester scripts, therefore, have a much longer life than conventional automated testing tools.
• Problem 3
It is hard to control the data files with even small amounts of data, let alone medium or large amounts. The general wisdom is that to do proper automated testing, one should separate data from the scripts. This is called data driven testing. What is generally glossed over is is how hard it is to manage large amounts of data. Whether you use comma-separated (CSV) files, spreadsheets or datapools, this is a very frustrating task. We have seen automated testing projects aborted because of the difficulty of maintaining the data.
• Solution
Scenario Tester makes this extremely easy. Anyone who knows the application can create and maintain the input data easily. Since it is so easy to create and control large numbers of scenarios and associated data, testers can dramatically increase testing coverage of their application. It therefore empowers testers, business analysts and users.
• Problem 4
Testers quite often do not want to write automated testing scripts or are not skilled enough to write the necessary scripts. Testers are often hired to know the business, not to become coders. You can then have a situation where you lose a good tester and gain a poor coder. More often, the tester abandons the coding effort and returns to being a manual tester.
• Solution
Scenario Tester separates the function of coding from setting up scenarios and entering test data. You can then have a coder create all the background scripts, while the testers enter and control test data. We have found that testers have no problems with creating and managing the data. They pick it up quickly and enjoy gaining control over all their test cases.
Summary
In summary, Scenario Tester leads you to write easy to understand and easy to maintain scripts. The number of scenarios that can be created by non-programming QA personnel will increase dramatically when compared to how standard automated testing tools are usually used, dramatically increasing coverage and reducing non value added effort. And, the number of scenarios which can be created and then managed by QA personnel, who don’t have to be developers, far outstrips what could be done with just an automated testing tool without Scenario Tester.
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