Automation is an oft-heard term as far as the software industry is concerned. Testing automation has truly transformed the way testing is viewed and conducted in the industry. It has facilitated greater speeds, enhanced efficiency, and reduced errors throughout the testing process, further contributing to faster time to market.
While testing automation has certainly proven to be a game-changer for organizations, it has become crucial to have a test automation strategy in place to ensure that the benefits of automation are reaped to their full potential. A crucial aspect of the test automation strategy is the test orchestration framework.
Over and above automation in testing, organizations today are increasingly incorporating continuous delivery into their operations. This, just like automation, is aimed toward improved speeds and better quality. In this endeavor, CI/CD pipelines are useful in streamlining the entire delivery process. Testing is one part of the full delivery cycle, and test orchestration takes care of structuring this part of the cycle.
This makes the case for organizations to have test orchestration as a part of their testing workflow. Now that we understand the importance of test orchestration, let’s dive into understanding what it really means.
What is Test Orchestration?
Test Orchestration is the setting up of a logical and organized sequence of all the testing tasks. Individual tests need to be woven together into a proper sequence that would optimize the testing process and give superior results.
There are several types of tests that are conducted through the testing phase of the development cycle; for example- unit tests, functional tests, integration tests, regression tests, and many more. The goal is to automate each of these tests to reduce testing time while improving the quality of testing.
Even so, testing teams cannot simply automate the tasks and then sit back and relax. Manual intervention is certainly required in specific scenarios such as when uploading the input data for tests or when making updates to test data etc. The entire testing phase, hence, comprises automated as well as manual tasks.
The test orchestration framework focuses on choosing the test types, timings, sequence, points of manual intervention, and all such elements to come up with a linear sequence for the execution of all testing activities.It is a master plan of sorts, for testing. Test orchestration defines the building blocks in the test automation process.
We understand a musical Orchestra in terms of the coming together of various musical instruments that each contribute different aspects to the overall harmony of the musical setup. The orchestration is done by a conductor to ensure that various instruments are put together in such a way that it creates harmony in the best possible manner.
If we think of test orchestration in a similar fashion, we can think of individual testing tasks- manual and automated, like the musical instruments and the well-defined coming together of these tasks as the test orchestration process. The coming together of the tasks is to be done in a harmonious way so to maximize gains of automation. Test orchestration is seen as an important part of the overall test automation strategy in any organization
We have understood in depth what test orchestration is all about. One crucial question is, now to be answered. This is important to clarify further the process of test orchestration.
How is test automation different from test orchestration?
Test Automation is all about the automation of testing for compliance and proper functioning of a certain aspect of the final product. It is more focused on individually focusing on the tests that need to be automated.
Test Orchestration is more to do with arranging these individual automated tests in an organized manner to optimize the automation process. Orchestration is the process through which development and QA teams can maintain efficiency in testing automation. It offers a birds-eye view of the entire testing process.
Testing automation is done at the scripting level and it is the responsibility of developers and the design team. Testers create the tests, and the DevOps team creates the testing environment. Automation tools and software are selected and utilized to undertake the chosen automated tests.
Orchestration is more of a detailed plan that enlists the manner in which the execution of the tests should be done. It is much wider in scope compared to individual testing automation. It details the types of tests to be done, at what point they are to be done, the sequence of execution, and the level of manual intervention through the entire process. It’s a more holistic approach to testing.
Orchestration is much more challenging in technical terms and requires a higher level of skill to create a plan for the execution of tests.
Let’s now move on to all the reasons why Test Orchestration is critical for success.
Why undertake Test Orchestration?
The main agenda behind deploying test orchestration is to set a proper structure for testing both manually and via automation. Following are all the advantages of a test orchestration:
- Shift-left approach to testing
The whole idea behind shifting left is to move the detection and ramification of errors earlier in the software development life cycle. A systematic plan for testing, which is what test orchestration creates, helps achieve this goal.
- Reduced testing time and costs
With test orchestration, the whole process of testing is streamlined, and hence, the resources that go into undertaking the tests are used optimally. This aids in saving time and reducing costs over the long term.
- Flexibility and possibility of customization
With test orchestration, organizations are able to keep a flexible approach to testing. Teams can orchestrate a testing plan as per their requirements and budgetary constraints. Also, certain areas of testing can be prioritized over others, as deemed fit by the developers and testing teams; this can be built into the test orchestration strategy. Thus, orchestration lends a lot of flexibility and gives scope for customization to the organizations.
- Improved transparency
Test orchestration offers an overall view of the testing process, it involves all teams from developers, QA testers, product managers etc. All the team members involved are in the know of what the testing plan is and hence there is enhanced transparency. This, of course, contributes to greater productivity and lesser chances of miscommunication.
- Building risk into the test plan
One of the advantages of test orchestrations is the fact that test plans can be created based on the assessed level of risk. There may be concerns regarding performance, scalability, security, etc. These can be addressed appropriately by building them into the test orchestration pipelines.
- Contribution to Continuous Testing
Test orchestration can unleash the full potential of continuous testing which is a boon for organizations following the agile and dev OPS methodology in their workflow. The tests can be undertaken all through the day and they can be scheduled as per the convenience of the testing teams. Organizations are able to automate tasks that are repetitive in nature and the same tests can be run multiple times. This helps to achieve greater efficiency, integrating well into the CI/CD pipeline.
- Data Visualization
Detailed reports of all automated tasks are generated. This can be used to see what tests passed, which ones failed and the overall status of the testing pipeline. This also helps to keep in the loop all the stakeholders involved- developers, QA team members, project heads, etc. With the data generated through automation, organizations can build graphs, charts, etc. which can aid in data visualization. These can be used to communicate the latest status pf the software development, particularly with regard to the software quality.
Thus, we can see that test orchestration is a very powerful strategy with multi-fold benefits that can streamline the automation process, bring about improved efficiency, and accelerate the time to market.
How to plan for Test Orchestration?
As an organization, it is imperative to have a neat and clear test orchestration plan in hand. Orchestration of testing doesn’t require there to be automation in place already. It is possible to start working on a test orchestration strategy before introducing automation in all aspects of testing. In fact, it is recommended to have an orchestration framework in place from the very beginning and then gradually introduce automation to all possible areas. The idea behind this is to have a systematic plan in place beforehand so that the benefits of automation may be fully explored. Let us look at some factors to remember when planning a test orchestration strategy:
- The foremost aspect is to properly define and measure the purpose of each test orchestration pipeline. For example, the pipeline may be created to undertake performance testing, particularly load testing. The point in the testing cycle where the load testing needs to be done has to be decided as part of the pipeline. The projected result in terms of the performance metrics must be defined. The actual outcome needs to be measured against the expected one to assess whether the automation is going as planned or not.
- Identifying the right tools for each aspect of the test orchestration strategy is what can make or break the whole pipeline. The tools for functional tests would be different from those for load tests etc.
- Besides, the differences in tools required, there is a myriad of tools available in the market, and the appropriate tools need to be chosen by the organization.
An ideal test orchestration tool should give the freedom to customize as per project requirements, which tend to be dynamic rather than static. It must support test management, bug management, and CI/CD integrations. - It becomes important to collect and analyze the output data flowing for the orchestration process. This is how one can ensure that the orchestration strategy is one that delivers the maximum benefit that is possible.
- As already mentioned, we don’t need to have the maximum amount of automation while drawing up the test orchestration strategy. The goal should be to slowly move to higher levels of automation. One should target the high-risk and high-stake areas in the testing process and automate them first. Once this is in place, eventually we can move to low priority and low-risk areas as well. The idea is simple: higher the automation levels, lower the chances of errors and delays due to human intervention.
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