Test Automation Framework

Automation!!!!! framework!!! maintainence!!!!!!ROI!!!! …. These are the terms generally heard by many automation specialists in their day to day activity. In this post I would like to discuss on what exactly these terms mean and I appreciate additional information from the fellow bloggers on this topic
First, Automation as name suggests automation in testing jargon means zero manual intervention. Many testers are mislead by this techinal word and think that anything and everything can be automated and they can happily take rest thinking that automation is taking care of everything. This kind of thinking is wrong. Let me explain what automation is all about.  Automation is duplicating the manual testing work through a tool. It has got some rules to be followed else it will be a headache for a tester
The basic thumb rules for automation are .. 100%  Automation is not possible – practically. Rule number two.. Automation should only be done when the product attained stability in terms of functionality, perfomance and behaviour. Rule number three automation should be done only when there are many  regression cycles.
These three rules are very important in determining whether one can proceed to automate an appliation.
Coming to Framework, a term thats used very frequently has a very important role to play in automation. Framework  actually means  the strategy, method, rules or policy that are proposed for automation. It doesnt mean any files, folder structure etc. Framework  may vary depending on the type of tools the tester use.  Designing a Framework means designing a strategy, rules, method  before proceeding to developing scripts.  Generally framework can be categorized into 3 types
 1. Keyword Driven
2. DataDriven
3. Hybrid Framework
Keyword Driven Framework deals with keywords. Keywords are functions used to perform an action. For Example
Login
Navigate
Validate
Logout
The above mentioned functions are keywords that are used to perform series of actions. This is the essence of Keyword driven framework
DataDriven Framework deals with loads of data. In this framework a data driver file exists that inputs data to the script. This data can be test data or object data(Object properties). The whole framework depends on data driver script
Hybrid Framework is a combination of keyword and data driven framework. It uses keywords and data driver scripts.
Now the important aspect of Automation is maintainence time. What is the time required to maintain and fix the scripts for errors. Maintainence time of the scripts should be a minimum as possible so that the lapse in execution is prevented. For  minimal maintainence the framework should be foolproof.  Maintainence is dependent on Framework.
Let us take a scenario to explain the dependency. Let us say after first cycle of regression of some 70 scripts, the login page changed and now has 3 text inputs instead of two.  Now if your framework cant handle this change with minimum changes then the maintainence and fix time for the 70 scripts will increase many folds thereby pushing forward the release cycle.  Seeing the other side of this if the framework handles this change with minimum code change, maintainence time would be lesser than it would be in the earlier case.
Now coming the term most managers use knowingly or unknowingly is ROI. ROI is  Return on Investment.
 Companies spend lot of money on Automation tool and obviously look for returns from that tool. In my opinion, I may be wrong, ROI is linked with time. One cant expect ROI immediately after buying the tool.

MTB Trail Ride at Narsapur, Medak

This is my first MTB Trail ride at Narsapur forest area, Medak. I did the trail with my Rockrider 5.0.

The alarm in my cell rang and I woke up with a sudden jerk. I was alone in my flat and for a moment the environment was like the horror movie of RGV. The time was 3:45 AM and it is time for MTB ride at Narsapur. I got to know about this ride from facebook and TBA(where I bought RR5.0), I immediately voted in and was ready with all the pre-requisites like 5 star bars, helmet, glove, tubes and puncture kit. I removed the front tyre of my bike and loaded the bike in my car and left to the TBA shop at Kondapur, Hyderabad. It was 4:20 AM and to my surprise I was the first to come. I switched off the engine opened the tinted glass to half and took a short nap. It was around 4:40 AM when I heard another car came to screaching halt beside mine. I was too lazy to look who was there and went to sleep. After 10mins I woke up and realized that some more came and were waiting for the organiser (Krishnendu Basu). He came after five minutes and after all the checking and introduction we loaded the bikes into TATA ACE and left to Narsapur near Medak. I was the only person in the entire group of 12 riding Rockrider 5.0. I was apprehensive about this as my bike didnt have front shocks which is very much necessary for MTB rides.

The clock clicked around 6:00 AM and we reached the destination. We waited for the rest of the group to join and started the ride at about 6:40 AM. I was literally scared to hell when I was riding on the muddy, rocky terrain. I was very uncomfortable at the begining and cursed myself for opting in though I didnot show the emotions on my face  . I was riding slowly and was trailing behind the main group with only one rider behind me. As the time passed by I gained confidence and started peddling hard. I gained good speeds at the cost of my wrists. They started paining. We turned back at around 10:30 AM and returned to the starting point. Here I had a fall... There was a hard left and I tried to bend my cycle(like people do with their bikes), I was at good speed and the front tyre slipped and I fell. The left shoe sole gave away and luckily nothing happened to my already paining wrists. Thanks to the gloves. We reached TBA at 1:00 PM . Overall it was pretty good experience