Choosing a functional regression testing tool can be challenging. We've written a brief guide to help you, as an expert in intelligent test automation, decide on tool testing features and how to pick a trusted regression testing tool. Read our guide below.
What Features Should you look for in a testing tool?
Here’s a list of some of the key features that a good regression testing tool should have.
Easy Script Creation and Maintenance
It should be relatively easy to create test automation scripts without a lot of effort, especially when practicing agile delivery practices that demands high velocity. With each sprint, you'll need new regression tests, but if you don't have the right regression testing tool to support you, you'll spend a ton of time updating your tests as your app under test is updated. You will need to be able to create automated tests quickly, and your tests need to be able to adapt to minor changes so that you don't have to spend extra time reworking your automated regression tests.
Run Regression Tests after each build
The testing software should be able to be integrated with CI/CD pipelines to make functional regression testing part of your build process. The regression testing tool of choice should be easily plugged into your CI/CD of choice and be sophisticated enough to power intelligent pipelines, triggering actions based on test results.
Detailed and quick reporting
Rich error messaging (beyond “pass/fail”) is crucial for helping to identify causes of bugs, and ideally this should include screenshots and diagnostic information so that there's no need for the "works on my machine" volley. Reports should have information about previously conducted tests so that it is possible to spot important regressions in areas adjacent to the user-story under test, such as performance and network issues, and visual regressions. Your functional regression testing tool of choice should be able to help you identify where you need more test coverage so you can be more proactive.
Unlimited Parallel Execution
With the agility of today's delivery practices, your tests need to run fast and provide results fast. When you have tens of test cases running against different scenarios, browser versions and screen sizes, the amount of resources you need add up exponentially. A good regression testing tool will give you those resources on-demand, without limit, so you can run your entire test suite in the time it takes for 1 test to complete.
Reusability and Scalability
If a code change affects your app under test, you should be able to easily manage all affected tests without having to rewrite every single test script. Your functional regression testing tool of choice should give you the ability to modularize your tests. You should be able to create a library of scripts or reusable test snippets so you can construct new tests quickly. You should be able to employ data-driven testing strategies so you can use a single test across unlimited scenarios.
Collaboration
It should be easy for multiple team members, from QA to developers, to access the tests and test results so that any identified regressions can be troubleshot and fixed ASAP. Reported issues with accompanying logs should be accessible wherever you collaborate, whether that's in Slack, Jira, dashboards - wherever your team comes together.
Why mabl?
mabl provides all of the above and more. By providing a simple-to-use interface with robust features and flexibility, anyone can easily create complex regression tests in minutes.
Set up functional regression tests as part of your testing process. Integrate them into your CI/CD process, or schedule tests on a regular basis to keep an eye on things. On top of this, mabl digs into your test output for you by using machine learning to automatically detect visual and performance regressions.
Run your functional regression tests in the cloud without limit. mabl comes with a secure, reliable, cross-browser testing cloud already built-in. Start building your functional regression testing suite - sign up for a free trial of mabl today.
