Understanding Regression Testing
Whenever developers receive test reports, they apply the required fixes to the software. In the process of introducing any changes to the system, new bugs can pop out of nowhere. That’s when regression testing comes into the game. If done right, regression testing can help improve the overall quality of the product.
With that being said, there are two major cases when regression testing is used:
- After major defects were fixed and the product requires quality assurance to make sure there are no side-effects of applied changes;
- When the code was updated due to the addition of a new feature, changes in requirements or business flows.
That’s what applies to functional regression testing. Also, there is a term visual regression testing, which aims to ensure that no side issues will pop after modification in software visual design. Visual regression testing is just as important because it helps you ensure that the software looks just as good as it works.
This is a brief overview of regression testing to help you grasp the core idea behind it. To find a more exhaustive definition of this type of testing, check out our comprehensive guide on what is regression testing and how it is performed.
Regression Testing In Agile Methodology: Basic Concepts
In agile teams, testing has to evolve with every sprint to make sure that previous modifications don’t affect the existing functionality.
The key to enabling high-quality regression testing is automation. Manual regression testing can take too much time. Since this type of testing requires constant repetition, it is generally a good candidate for automation.
How to develop a good strategy for automated regression testing? To build a solid strategy, it is vital to understand that agile project management and development implies constant changes. Therefore, to bring the most benefit, all regression test sessions should adjust to the dynamic environment. To ensure the continued high value of the regression suite, it is wise to build it with a focus on high coverage, robust test scenarios, and near-zero test maintenance.
Regression Automation: Things To Keep In Mind
The biggest benefit of automation over manual regression testing in agile is that it allows QA engineers to focus on testing various environments and merging complex cases. However, there are a few things to consider when building a strategy for automating your regression suite:
Don’t strive for 100% coverage
100% coverage of the regression test is rather hard to achieve. Thus, focus on covering about 70-90% of manual tests.
Use your manual tests as a starting point
To make automated regression testing effective, it is why to perform it after you run manual tests at least once.
Consider if automation is the right solution for your project size
As a rule, automation is best applied to medium and large-scale projects. Otherwise, it may not bring a sufficient return on investment.
Biggest Challenges Of Regression Automation
There are two major obstacles your team should be aware of:
- False positives – sometimes, due to obsolete test cases, timing issues or poorly designed tests, the results of automated regression testing can be inconsistent (i.e. report failures when there are no issues).
- Maintenance – agile projects are known to change quickly, which is why automation regression tests suites need to be maintained continuously to reflect on all modifications in the project and avoid obsolescence of test cases.
Regression Testing In Agile: Best Practices And Tips
Finally, analyzing all the information and tendencies of regression testing in software testing mentioned above, we can give you a comprehensive list of tips to follow when adopting it in agile environment:
- False positives – sometimes, due to obsolete test cases, timing issues or poorly designed tests, the results of automated regression testing can be inconsistent (i.e. report failu1. Maintain your regression suites continuously to ensure they keep up with the constantly changing environment.
- Distinguish full regression testing cycles from sprint-level selective regression tests based on your goals, time frames, scope, and platform coverage.
- Avoid obsolescence and ensure you keep only those test cases that are of high value and priority.
- In most cases, regression suits should be 100% automated. Therefore, make sure you don’t include in your suit what is hard to scale or automate.
- Keep a process in place to have a possibility to accommodate the necessary changes to test code as your agile environment changes.
- Evaluate your test scenarios within the suites to prioritize tasks.
- Make sure you have full visibility of the reports from the regression suite to have an ability to measure and enhance it.
