Developers, testers, managers, and end users are just few of the many groups that may benefit from end-to-end testing. Developers gain efficiency since they no longer have to spend as much time testing and ensuring quality of the application; instead, they can focus on expanding the functionality of the programme. Because they are based on the user’s behavior, which can be seen during usability testing and recorded in tickets, end-to-end tests are simpler for testers to create. By simulating real-world usage of the programme, end-to-end testing facilitates the detection of bugs before they reach the hands of actual users. End-to-end testing aids managers in prioritizing jobs in the development backlog by highlighting the significance of a process to the actual user.
The quality of the user experience is also enhanced through end-to-end testing. The test cases are based on user expectations, which are especially important for highly interactive applications such as web, desktop, and mobile apps.
End-to-end testing done manually
A manual test is one in which a human tester interacts with the testing software in its native environment. These testers may swiftly get insight into what does and does not work when designing tests. Manual testing is useful for finding bugs and finding out how the system handles user interactions that were previously unknown. Testers may use that knowledge to begin planning for the future automation of these test cases. The manual tests that include test plans and test cases may be converted into automated tests.
All aspects of an application may be tested using horizontal end-to-end testing. It necessitates that software development teams have specified processes and mature testing infrastructures. Multiple modules may be tested in a single process. One example of a horizontal end-to-end test is a strategy for testing the user interface, database, and email all at once.
Testing from the top down, or vertically, dissects the application into smaller, more manageable pieces. Due to this level of detail, vertical end-to-end tests are often conducted before their horizontal counterparts. For instance, if you run an end-to-end test from top to bottom using the user interface components, you may quickly find and rectify any issues.
Automated end-to-end tests
Completely manual end-to-end testing will become unworkable as your project evolves. Because a single interaction with a user interface may have so many different outcomes, testing user interfaces is notoriously difficult. Because of this complexity, automated testing has become crucial. Testing from beginning to finish may assist automate user interaction testing, which can save a lot of time.
After settling on a set of test cases, you may implement them using an automated testing tool by turning them into code. Using a CI/CD pipeline, for instance, you can speed up and simplify software testing at every stage of the process.
Due to the rapid pace at which software is able to add new capabilities, software testing must be automated. When using automation, errors may be found more quickly since each new line of code is automatically compared to the test cases.
Conclusion
Both the advantages and disadvantages of end-to-end testing were discussed in this article. Different types of testing were discussed, including horizontal and vertical testing, as well as the difference between human and automated testing, all of which are crucial to the successful execution of end-to-end tests.
Certain kinds of applications will require a lot of creativity from the testers. These are usually apps that span multiple use-cases and are industry agnostic.
Manual testing is a solid basis for developing automated tests. Saving time and avoiding difficulties, automation also frees up your team to focus on what they do best: creating apps.