Test Automation Framework Essentials

(CSTP #5) or (CTM Elective) or (CSTAS Elective)

This course covers area 6 of the Test Professional Body of Knowledge requirements. This course also counts as an Elective towards the requirements of the Certified Test Manager (CTM) certification. This course also counts as an Elective towards the requirements of the Certified Software Test Automation Specialist certification.

For costs and cities where this course might be offered, please see the right border of this page or to bring this course to your test team at your location, contact our Education and Professionals Services Group.

Concepts

This one-day course is essential for test automation professionals, test automation project managers, test automation engineers, and everyone involved in designing automated test data and framework design. It covers details on how to approach a test automation framework. The course introduces an Excel-based data structure framework as well as  robust execution processes. It is based on the instructor's philosophy of using function libraries to assure object validation, reporting and reduced project management. The course also provides an introduction to regular expressions for improved objected recognition with multiple exercises.

Participants will learn:

• How a Framework Design can overcome several challenges of Record and Playback  
• Learn to implement Separation of Concerns
• Learn how object validation can reduce errors generated during run time  
• Learn debugging techniques without reducing the impact on execution  
• Learn the advantages of modular design on functions, business process and test suites

Outline

• Automated Testing Introduction
  • Goals, Challenges & Myths
  • Methodology of Test Automation
  • Automation Architectures
  • Overview of Tool Selection Criteria
• Bottom Up vs. Top Down Design
  • Functional Considerations
  • Typical Framework Components and Flow
  • Separation of Concerns: Code from Data 
• Maintenance Reduction
  • Modular Design of Functions, Steps and Business Processes
  • Application, Object, Action & Data Validation
  • Creating Less Code with More Data
• Coding Standards: Design Patterns & Anti-Patterns
  • Unit Testing
  • Avoiding Misspelled Variables
  • Implementing Hungarian Notation
  • Avoiding Common Anti-Patterns
• Project: Build a better Dialog Box
  • Robust Debugging
  • Implementing Coding Standards  
• Reporting
  • Actual Result matches Expected Results
  • Actual Result contains Expected Results
  • Case Sensitive Validation
• Regular Expressions for Object Recognition
  • Matching Dynamic Object Properties
  • Basic Metacharacters, Classes and Sets
  • Optional Matches and Literal Characters
• Documentation
  • Function Header design
  • Automating the documentation process
• Hidden Issues
  • Resource Leaks
  • System Requirements
  • Local Machine Development