Automation testing has become a very important part of the software industry. This testing is the process of using automated tools to perform software testing. Software testing checks whether your developed software application meets user requirements.
There are many steps included in the execution of software testing. First, you need to make tests, then you do testing, and finally, you find bugs and errors. The next step includes fixing the bugs and then running the tests. However, building and scaling test execution is not an easy task. Scalability is defined as the activity of your tests by upscaling and downscaling the number of functions, variables, and other parameters.
A remote test lab is a combination of server tools and components that is generally used in cloud-based software testing. Various ways can be considered to make the test scalable and efficient to get the best testing result. In this article, you will see a brief discussion about remote test labs, and then you will see the best tips and practices to scale test execution with remote test labs.
Introduction to Remote Test Lab
A remote test lab is a software testing solution widely used to make your software application robust and efficient in meeting stakeholder requirements. Remote test lab combines software server applications, various tools, and components. This combination helps the team connect the test bench to the network and the test bench. The users can see all the test benches allowed for a specific location. It provides users many useful options, such as reserving a time slot, manipulating the bench connection, and controlling the web interface.
Remote test labs are generally associated with on-cloud testing. It is a virtual environment on the cloud used by the testing team and developers to perform automation testing remotely. You can get a huge range of devices available on the cloud to fulfil the testing purpose. This availability of devices on the cloud for testing purposes has several advantages over physical testing. When you run automated tests in the cloud, it helps you to make the testing process fast and efficient.
Also, it allows you to better collaborate with similar kinds of people as there are many online forums and communities where similar domain experts are available to share their experiences and ideas. Cloud testing is also cost-effective as you need to pay for only the sources you use. You can revoke the resource access at any time to save extra cost.
Best Practices and Tips to Scale Your Test Execution with Remote Test Lab
Till now, you have an understanding of what a remote test lab is. Now, let us see the tips and best practices to scale your test execution with a remote test lab.
Create a Powerful Test Matrix
Making a test matrix is useful for scaling test execution with a remote test lab. Making a test matrix is the process of making a list of various web browsers, operating systems, and configurations for which you will perform automation testing. Because all your software applications can’t be compatible with all web browsers, devices, and configurations. There are many reasons behind it; one is that many functions and CSS properties are not supported in the older browser versions. However, we try to make our website and web application as compatible as possible by scaling the test execution. This will help us to target more and more users in the future. A powerful test matrix will help you to perform automation testing with focus and efficiency.
Choose the Right Cloud Testing Strategy
As we know, different types of automation testing are available and are done for specific purposes. You may need a software testing strategy for scaling test execution with a remote test lab. The various testing types are functional testing, stress testing, performance testing, etc. Each test has some specific advantages and challenges. So, you need first to analyze your testing requirements and objectives. For example, if you want to perform testing for your software application and check if it can handle high user traffic and fulfill the demand, then you need to perform load testing or stress testing. Hence, with the right testing strategy, you can make your test execution more scalable with a remote test lab.
Choosing the Right Cloud Testing Tool
Choosing the right cloud testing tool is another useful practice that the testing and QA team must follow to make your test execution more scalable with a remote test lab. Cloud tools are used to automate the testing tasks. You can find various cloud testing tools in the market with specific features and use cases. The testing team needs to make a planned decision so that they can identify the testing requirements and you can choose the right cloud tool accordingly.
One such tool that can be used here is LambdaTest. LambdaTest is an AI-powered test orchestration and execution platform that facilitates the seamless and efficient running of manual and automated tests on a large scale. With a focus on providing a versatile testing environment, LambdaTest empowers users to conduct real-time and automated testing across an extensive array of environments, encompassing over 3000 configurations, including browsers and real mobile devices.
LambdaTest extends its testing capabilities to real mobile devices, providing a realistic environment for testing mobile applications. This includes testing on various devices, operating systems, and screen sizes, addressing the complexities associated with mobile app development.
Integration with Continuous Integration Environment
To scale your test execution with a remote test lab, it is advised to integrate your test process with CI/CD Integration. Integrating the CI/CD pipeline into your software testing process is a must-do step in automation testing using the cloud. As you know, the CI/CD pipeline works as a central repository that is used to reflect any change in your software source code. All the team members can see and modify the changes in the software application before making them live.
To scale test execution with a remote test lab, if the CI/CD pipeline is not integrated, it will lead to non-transparency. When you use cloud-based automation testing, it must be associated with the CI/CD pipeline so that all testing team members can see and provide their contribution to the project. So, you must follow this best practice of CI/CD Integration to scale your test execution with a remote test lab for better productivity and transparent test execution.
Monitor and Analyze Testing Results
When you perform test execution with a remote test lab, monitoring the test results is recommended and good practice. Cloud test results are the outcomes that you get after successfully executing the automation testing in the remote test lab. These consist of various information such as failed tests, success tests, the overall test results, etc. You need to monitor and analyze cloud test results to evaluate the quality and performance of your software design in the cloud.
Apart from this, the testing team also needs to identify any error or bug from the test result analysis and try to rectify them as soon as possible. Detecting and fixing any bug at an early stage is a very considerable tip to scale your test execution with a remote test lab. There are many analytical tools that can be taken into account to make such an analysis and to scale test execution.
Implement Version Control
The version control system is a very important practice that must be followed by the testing and QA team for scaling test execution with a remote test lab. Version control uses a repository ( generally termed a database of program versions) and a working copy where you can edit the project files. Your working copy (generally termed as a checkout or clone) is the personal copy of all the files in the project. You make arbitrary edits to this copy, without disturbing the files of your teammates.
Version control system helps to maintain and scale your test execution process especially when your automation test size is big and complex. There are many version control systems available that you can use for test execution scaling. Some examples are Git and SVN. It also helps the team to collaborate with other team members and manage your tests. You can easily track any change in the source code and validate them.
Conclusion
Automation testing is gradually expanding its scope in the whole software application testing field. It helps the testing to deliver better testing results in less time with less human effort as it uses automated tools and technologies. One of the major factors that decide the automation testing result is test cases. The better you make a test case, the better you will be able to cover the working and functionality of the application. It is very important to make your test scalable. You can scale your test execution with a remote test lab.
A remote test lab is defined as a combination of software server applications, various tools, and components that help to make the testing according to the stakeholder’s requirement. But you need to scale test execution with a remote test lab with best practices and tips for the best possible result. You can follow some best practices, such as using appropriate testing tools, creating a test matrix for scaling the test execution with a remote test lab, etc. You are also advised to use the cloud-based tools, integrate CI/CD pipelines, and regularly monitor and analyze the test reports.
