How do you ensure consistent quality when integrating manual and automated testing processes?

-Define clear roles for manual and automated testing -Promote cross-team collaboration and knowledge sharing -Maintain a flexible, adaptive testing strategy "The most powerful tool in testing is the human mind, exercising critical thinking skills."

You ensure quality in the product and processes in the following ways - Don't categorize something as manual or automation. Treat it in a simple way as Testing - Quality has to be brought as a central theme from the very beginning which is user interviews, requirements definition & architecture design - Identify and leverage automation in the right technology and process layer - Unit & integration tests should be the maximum in number when it comes to testing followed by automated API and then UI tests - Testers should contribute as pair wise with developers to enhance coverage in Unit & integration tests - We should constantly learn from production to understand how the end customer is using the app, to refine test approach

Absolutely must is the clarity of outcome and scope with each activity either its Manual or Automated. These are not exclusive activities, but complimentary to each other. In case of new greenfield projects, The standard Testing pyramid gives a good idea of priority and spread of different types of automation ( unit to contract to integration to E2E) and where manual testing is crucial for new features and exploratory. In case of legacy products, it’s a different ball game altogether and one has to balance, between the technical debt, existing Setup and capacity for changes along with RoI. In both situations it’s crucial for the testing & development team to understand customer usage & critical flows to keep the business running.

Correct regression testing can be automated to save time in verifying that whatever that was not updated in the builds are working as expected. However automation is not data eccentric validation. Exploratory testing help in term of providing that extra touch of validity. It would be good to add some extra time in regression areas that are critical of usage to be manually tested, just to be sure

To ensure consistent quality when integrating manual and automated testing processes, establish a clear strategy that defines the scope and objectives for both testing types. Create comprehensive test plans and maintain detailed documentation to guide the process. Use automation for repetitive and time-consuming tasks while leveraging manual testing for exploratory and complex scenarios. Regularly review and update test cases, ensure continuous communication between teams, and use consistent reporting tools to track progress and outcomes.

Test planning is an important stage in software development process. Involve the Product Owner, BA, Dev Lead and Test Lead. Understand and prioritise from the business point of view what needs immediate action. Accordingly derive a plan in the order of the priority. Not everything can be worked at once. Define the features/functionality to be released in the order from High to Low priority and accordingly step by step execute the plan.

In any testing process, it is crucial as it involves designing of a comprehensive test plan. Therefore, the QA team should engage in brainstorming sessions to discuss all the details to be included in the test plan, such as entry criteria, exit criteria, scope, and resources. The main goal of this activity is to ensure that everyone is aware of the testing process to be followed for the project. Given the changing nature of requirements in agile methodologies, the test plan should be flexible enough to accommodate adjustments. During test planning, the team should place significant emphasis on defining exit criteria, as this will be critical in determining when to conclude the testing process.

After defining the goals and objectives. The next step is to plan. Test plans varies depending on the set goals and objectives. You need to cover every scenario. It is also advisable to seek others help to review your plan.

In many industries, having an appropriate and comprehensive dataset for testing is key. If you are testing ETL/ELT/dbt processes, the data you are using must cover as many use cases as the business needs to represent the data necessary to forecast expected or desired outcomes and provide actionable insights. For many types of testing, the dataset IS the accumulation of use cases. The tester needs to know that the dataset is being loaded and transformed correctly.

Whole team approach is best suited for tools selection. Involve the Dev and Test team members. In my previous project, everyone in the team was on the same page that we need to select the test automation tool that supports the same programming language in which software development is done. Accordingly, we made a list of 3-4 popular tools in the same language and voted out for the tool selection. Finally, 2 frameworks were selected. The dev and test team members got divided in 2 separate teams. First team selected 1 tool and other one second and did a POC with pros and cons and a demo was arranged. Tool with higher pros and less cons was finally selected after voting.

You can use automation tools that are equally efficient and usable for automation engineers and manual testers. For example, testRigor is a generative AI-based tool that lets you write/generate test cases in plain English. Hence, the transition from manual to automation is immediate. With these intelligent test automation tools, you can drastically reduce test creation time and maintenance efforts. This allows you to focus on creating more robust tests with excellent coverage without worrying about coding hassles and implementation issues. This way, you can have an effective mix of manual and automation tests, and when you want to change the manual case to automated, it is super quick.

There are lot of automation tools out there. Choosing one is crucial. How do we choose the perfect automation tool? Here are things to consider - - Budget - Do we have the budget to pay for the paid ones? - Knowledge - Do we have the knowledge for that tool? Do we need some training? - Compatibility - Do this tool compatible to our system/platform? - Stability - Is this tool stable enough and will not affect our productivity? - Usability - How easy it is to use? is it user friendly?

Tool selection varies significantly from team to team and project to project. For instance, manual teams require different tools than automation teams. When selecting a tool, the team's primary focus should be on identifying their specific needs and objectives. The clearer they are about their requirements, the more effective the tool selection process will be. In addition to requirements and objectives, another crucial factor to consider during tool selection is the team members' skill levels with the chosen tool. It's important to ensure that team members possess the necessary skills or can be upskilled to utilize the tool effectively, otherwise, it might not be as useful for the team.

I believe the team must possess the necessary skills to effectively integrate manual and automated testing. Hands-on practice is crucial for understanding both methodologies and tools. Both types of testers should learn from each other, collaborate, and share knowledge. This collaboration not only fosters individual growth but also simplifies maintaining quality across both testing approaches.

In my opinion, whether one specializes in manual or automated testing, having knowledge of both is beneficial not only for the individual but also for the team and the project. Expertise in both areas enables testers to transition between manual and automated testing based on project requirements. Additionally, an environment of knowledge sharing within the team allows each member to contribute their expertise and insights. This learning culture promotes the diversification of skills among team members, enhancing overall team capability and performance. Also, encouraging continuous learning and offering training programs keeps the team updated with the latest tools and methodologies, enhancing testing quality.

Skills are very important to master both manual and automation. To acquire the required skill, you must do some work. You must experienced it yourself. Doing some learning is also helpful, but application will really honed your skills.

From my experience, effective feedback loops are essential when integrating manual and automated testing. Automated testing quickly highlights code issues, helping us address problems early. Manual testing, however, reveals usability and experience issues that automated tests often overlook. Both types of feedback offer unique strengths and are crucial for maintaining the product's quality. Clear communication of results from both testing approaches to the development team supports rapid iteration and ongoing improvement, leading to high-quality outcomes.

While getting feedback is good but testers should realize that one-time feedback alone is insufficient for meaningful change. Continuous feedback is necessary for ongoing growth and development. Testers should seek feedback from everyone they work with, including developers, project managers, and the testing team. Feedback from diverse sources provides different perspectives on their work, helping them identify areas for improvement and determine actions for self-improvement. Also, after taking action on previous feedback, they should demonstrate the changes made to encourage others to continue sharing feedback in the future. When receiving feedback, testers should listen patiently to fully understand the context.