Test Automation Clarified

Test Automation = Automation + QA

This article is one of the “IT Terminology Clarified” series.

Test Automation, according to Wikipedia, “is the use of software separate from the software being tested to control the execution of tests and the comparison of actual outcomes with predicted outcomes”. This definition is correct but too general. This article will share my thoughts on this.

Table of Contents:
· Test Automation vs Automated Testing
· Test Automation is about Automated End-to-End Testing
· Test Automation = Automation + QA
  ∘ Automation Assist
  ∘ Quality Assurance
· Test Automation’s Audience: the Whole Team
· Test Automation with other Testing Terms
  ∘ Regression Testing
  ∘ Shift-Left Testing
  ∘ In-Sprint Test Automation
  ∘ Continuous Testing
  ∘ “Done, Done” in Agile
  ∘ In Testing Paramid
  ∘ Manual Testing
  ∘ Exploratory Testing

Many IT people think “Test Automation” is just another term for “Automated Testing”. I disagree.

Automated Testing can be in various forms:

• Unit Testing
• Integration Testing
• Functional Testing
• Performance Testing
• Load Testing
• Penetration Testing