A test automation infrastructure, or framework, consists of test tools, equipment, test scripts, procedures, and people needed to make test automation efficient and effective. The creation and maintenance of a test automation framework are key to the success of any test automation project within an organization.
The implementation of an automation framework generally requires an automation test group. The responsibility of this group is to develop test automation infrastructure, test libraries, and tests tools.
The idea behind an automation infrastructure is to ensure the following:a) Different test tools and equipment are coordinated to work together.
b) The library of the existing test case scripts can be reused for different test projects, thus minimizing the duplication of development effort.
c) Nobody creates test scripts in their own ways.
d) Consistency is maintained across test scripts.
e) The test suite automation process is coordinated such that it is available just in time for regression testing.
f) People understand their responsibilities in automated testing.
Components of a typical test automation framework are as described in the following figure.
1) System to Be Tested: This is the first component of an automation infrastructure. The subsystems of the system to be tested must be stable; otherwise test automation will not be cost effective. All the subsystems must be stable and work together as a whole before the start of an automation test project.
2) Testing Platform: The testing platform and facilities, that is, the network setup on which the system will be tested, must be in place to carry out the test automation project. For example, a procedure to download the image of the SUT, configuration management utilities, servers, clients, routers, switches, and hubs are necessary to set up the automation environment to execute the test scripts.
3) Test Case Library: It is useful to compile libraries of reusable test steps of basic utilities to be used as the building blocks of automated test scripts. Each utility typically performs a distinct task to assist the automation of test cases. Examples of such utilities are ssh (secure shell) from client to server, exit from client to server, response capture, information extraction, rules for verdicts, verdict logging, error logging, cleanup, and setup.
4) Automated Testing Practices: The procedures describing how to automate test cases using test tools and test case libraries must be documented. A template of an automated test case is useful in order to have consistency across all the automated test cases developed by different engineers. A list of all the utilities and guidelines for using them will enable us to have better efficiency in test automation. In addition, the maintenance procedure for the library must be documented.
5) Testing Tools: Different types of tools are required for the development of test scripts. Examples of such tools are test automation tool, traffic generation tool, traffic monitoring tool, and support tool. The support tools include test factory, requirement analysis, defect tracking, and configuration management tools. Integration of test automation and support tools, such as defect tracking, is crucial for the automatic reporting of defects for failed test cases. Similarly, the test factory tool can generate automated test execution trends and result patterns.
6) Test Administrator: The automation framework administrator does the following
a) Manages test case libraries, test platforms, and test tools;
b) Maintains the inventory of templates;
c) Provides tutorials; and
d) Helps test engineers in writing test scripts using the test case libraries.
e) Provides tutorial assistance to the users of test tools and maintains a liaison with the tool vendors and the users.
Source: http://www.softwaretestinggenius.com/articalDetails.php?qry=957
