In this era of Agile and DevOps, software vendors are rolling out new updates as quickly as possible. Due to this process of continuous improvement and innovation, QA teams need to perform regression testing on a weekly/ daily/ nightly basis. However, keeping up with the speed of development manually isn’t a viable solution. This is where automated regression testing comes in.

In this blog, we’ll highlight what regression testing is and why there is a need to automate it.

What is Regression Testing?

Regression testing is a software testing type used to validate whether a code change in the software has impacted the existing functionality. Whenever new code is introduced, there is a possibility that it may affect the existing functionality of the software. Regression testing, a black box testing technique, ensures that the existing functionalities of the software are working fine after the deployment of new code. When it is performed with the help of tools, it is termed automated regression testing.

Why is there a Need for Automated Regression Testing?

To better understand the need for automated regression testing, let’s discuss a few use cases:

Oracle: If you’re using Oracle EBS as SaaS (software-as-a-service), you must be aware that Oracle rolls out quarterly updates. Since these updates have the potential to impact your existing configurations, customizations, integrations, and security roles, they need to be tested. However, there is a catch. Each Oracle Cloud update requires at least two rounds of testing. And the testing window is of two weeks only. Thus, each regression cycle needs to be done in two weeks. Moreover, you need to perform regression testing at least 8X in a year. Doing this manually can be very challenging.

Workday: It is a globally recognized HRMS with a global market share of 8.4%. Like Oracle, Workday also rolls out weekly service updates and two major releases per year. Regression testing of Workday is of utmost importance since it has exposed its APIs to developers to support custom application development. Since manual testing is time-consuming and error-prone, bringing in automation isn’t just a choice but a necessity.

Salesforce: You must be aware that Salesforce is a globally recognized customer relationship management software. It also rolls out three seasonal releases to offer new features and functionalities to its customers. All these seasonal releases need to be tested since Salesforce has also exposed its APIs for custom development. Whenever changes occur, they need to be tested to ensure business continuity.

Since you are now aware that most enterprise apps are rolling out new features on a more regular basis, regression testing has become a necessity for ensuring business continuity.

Best Practices for Automated Regression Testing

No Code Test Automation: While selecting a test automation tool always opt for a no-code platform. Platforms that don’t require programming knowledge have a low learning curve and business users can easily operate them. One such platform is Opkey. It supports 14+ ERPs and automates regression testing for Oracle, Workday, SAP, and Dynamics 365.

Self-healing Capabilities: One of the challenges with test automation is that test scripts get easily broken due to the presence of dynamic elements. A lot of effort needs to be put into maintaining test scripts. So, always opt for a test automation platform that detects changes in the scripts and heals them without requiring human effort.

Test Prioritization: What to test or what not is still a million-dollar question. Opt for a test automation platform that recommends test cases based on the impacted business processes. This will ensure adequate coverage.

End-to-end Testing: Select the platform that offers end-to-end testing so that all critical integrations can be tested easily to keep business risks at bay.