Your Guide to Automated Integration Testing

Automation is a dilemma. Do you need it? Is it worth it?

Allow us to cease your hesitations. Automation testing services are a true gift to your project’s performance and your team’s development. But you need to know what to do with them. Because for a solution to actually solve something, you need to understand how to realize it.

So today, we set out to discuss everything you need for profitable automated integration testing.

What Is Automated Integration Testing & Is It Better Than Manual?

We don’t believe that data dumping is a good way to learn. So, let’s explore everything incrementally.

First, integration testing.

It’s the process of verifying that individual software modules work correctly as a group. When you begin validating your product, you start with unit testing (assessing the tiniest testable elements). You check them in isolation before moving on to finding out whether they can cooperate with each other.

After, comes integration testing. It’s like your code’s journey from being introverted to extroverted. You investigate singular functions. Then, gather up a few of them to “train” their communication.

Second, what integration testing requires.

In software systems, different modules interact with each other through defined integration points, such as:

• APIs.
• Database connections.
• Messaging queues, etc.

During integration testing, you identify these junctures and design tests to verify the interactions between them. Hence, you need to:

• Create test cases.
• Set up a testing environment.
• Prepare test data.
• Manage dependencies.
• Secure stubbing and mocking, etc.

With integration testing automation, you employ apps that simplify and accelerate each of the above procedures.

• Test automation frameworks provide a structured environment for creating, organizing, and executing automated tests.
• Your test cases are implemented as automated scripts using the chosen automation framework. And you can leverage offered libraries and APIs.
• Use automated integration testing tools to provision and configure test environments automatically.
• Automated scripts may interact with databases, APIs, or external data sources to retrieve or generate test data dynamically.
• Integration testing automation tools include logging and reporting features to document test results.

With manual testing, you’d need to do all of this by hand. And it’d be quite time-consuming and error-prone. This distinction is what makes automated testing services irreplaceable for integration.

So, to conclude, automated integration testing is a great investment in your project’s growth. By using specialized software, you speed up the testing process, unload your team, and raise your confidence in the results.

When Should You Implement Automated Integration Testing?

Now, let’s use the business perspective. How can you be sure that you need automation integration testing? Well, there are a few indicators that your product could benefit from it.

• You have a significant number of integration test cases that need to be executed repeatedly.
• The software has complex integration points and interactions between components.
• Your environment calls for frequent software releases.
• There’s a lack of QA engineers or test environments.
• Your project plans to employ continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD). And in continuous integration, automated testing is unskippable.
• Regression testing takes a while, and that’s something you want to change.
• Your testing efforts need to scale to accommodate large or complex systems.

We always say that whether to implement automation is highly personalized. And we encourage everyone not to rush with the decision. As it can be both a blessing and a time bomb. So, you ought to clearly know why you want to automate integration testing and what for exactly.

Plus, you should make sure you have QA resources with impeccable expertise and skill. Because to enjoy all the perks of automation, you need truly capable integration testing services.

• Faster feedback on software quality and accelerated development.
• Consistent test execution and minimized variability.
• Unfluctuating results that help address issues promptly.
• Test repeatability, which facilitates validation of changes across multiple test runs and environments.
• Scalability that accommodates the testing needs of large or complex software systems.
• Early defect identification and resolution.
• Comprehensive and ampler test coverage.
• Lowered risk of mistakes escaping to production and reduced cost of development and maintenance.
• Freed up developers that can focus on more value-adding activities.
• Greater confidence in the quality and stability of software releases.

One by one, all these aspects result in polished UX. And we all know that your product’s success depends on user satisfaction. That’s exactly why you need remarkable QA services.

When Should You Run Automated Integration Testing?

Integration tests sit right in the middle of unit and system testing. And that’s precisely why people tend to think it’s the only place for them. But the impact of automation integration testing extends far beyond some arbitrary limits.

Software is a living organism. And a change in only one of its “cells” echoes throughout the entire body. So, for your product to be healthy and your customers happy, you can run automated integration testing in the following cases:

• As new features are integrated to maintain the stability and integrity of the software as it evolves.
• Each time code changes are committed to the version control system (as automated testing and continuous integration often go hand in hand).
• During regression testing to ensure that existing functionality remains intact after modifications.
• Before deployment to mitigate the risk of deployment failures and ensure a smoother deployment process.
• As needed for critical changes to support your software’s progression. When you alter core components, integration points, or business logic, integration tests are there to ensure your project is going in the right direction.

When you run automated integration tests will shift with your software’s maturity and testing goals. In other words, there’s no strict time slot for them. You just need to make sure that your testing efforts adapt to your project’s current realities. And automate integration testing in a way that’s actually productive.

One thing we’ll say is that when it comes to performing integration tests for the first time, they should always come after unit testing. Because although the Testing Pyramid is over two decades old, its principles are still valid.

You can run unit tests for 100% of your software. But a triangle shape can still fit into a square hole if turned sideways. That’s why examining individual components is never enough. You need to look at the bigger picture.

A Few Examples of Test Cases to Automate

Now, let’s review a few examples of when automation for integration testing is profitable.

API Integration Tests

• Secure consistent communication between different parts over time.
• Enable rapid feedback on changes and prevent regressions.

Database Integration Tests

• Ensure that data manipulation and storage operations are performed accurately.
• Maintain data integrity and avert issues that could arise from changes to the database schema or queries.

Integration with External Systems

• Verify that dependencies are properly managed and that the system can reliably communicate with external services.
• Reduce the risk of downtime or errors due to integration issues.

UI Integration Tests

• Allow for the verification of user interactions across different interfaces and devices.
• Provide a consistent user experience.
• Detect regressions or inconsistencies introduced during development.

Integration with Messaging Systems

• Check that messages are properly transmitted, processed, and handled by the system.
• Maintain the reliability and responsiveness of asynchronous communication.

Integration with Authentication & Authorization Systems

• Ensure that user access controls are correctly enforced.
• Reduce the risk of security vulnerabilities or unauthorized access.

Integration with Third-Party Libraries or Frameworks

• Make sure that dependencies are compatible and properly utilized.
• Minimize compatibility issues or unexpected behavior.

Integration with Logging & Monitoring Systems

• Ascertain that relevant events and metrics are accurately recorded and monitored.
• Facilitate effective troubleshooting, performance analysis, and system maintenance.

All in all, don’t use automation for the sake of automation. Always look for specific advantages automated integration testing can bring to your project. Then, you don’t waste funds, develop your team, and actually advance your product.

Best Practices for Automated Integration Testing

Allow us to clarify one thing. Best practices are everywhere. Every resource mentioned them so often that we got used to them and started perceiving these pieces of advice as “general tips”.

But these ones come from the real world. As a QA company with a decade of experience, we’ve collected insights that indeed work. Yet, we can’t tell you that these are the only ones for you. You could use this list as a backbone and adapt or build on it in ways that add precise value to your software.

Start Early & Test Continuously

Begin integration testing as soon as individual components are ready and continue testing throughout the development process. Integrate automated tests into your CI/CD pipeline to ensure that changes are validated promptly.

Isolate Dependencies

Minimize dependencies on external systems, databases, services, or APIs. For this, use mocks, stubs, or virtualization techniques.

Design Clear Test Cases

Write clear, concise, and well-defined test cases. Make sure they cover different integration scenarios, including positive and negative cases, edge cases, and error conditions. And for your team’s sanity, ensure that test cases are easy to understand, maintain, and extend.

Use Test Data Management

Manage test data effectively via data seeding, data generation, or database snapshots. Encourage your crew to create data representative of real-world scenarios and isolate it from production data to prevent corruption or leakage.

Implement Assertions Carefully

Use appropriate assertions to verify expected outcomes and validate system behavior. Avoid overly strict assertions that may lead to brittle tests or false positives. Here, the main thing is to focus on critical validation points and system accuracy.

Automate Environment Setup

Automate the setup and configuration of test environments to ensure consistency and repeatability. Use infrastructure-as-code (IaC) tools, containers, or virtualization platforms to provision test environments quickly.

Prioritize Test Coverage

Prioritize test coverage based on critical integration points, high-risk areas, and functionality that impacts user experience or business-critical workflows. Focus on testing scenarios that provide the most value and risk mitigation.

Monitor & Analyze Test Results

Monitor test execution, analyze test results, and track key metrics. Test coverage, pass/fail rates, and defect density will be your best guides. Rely on test reports, logs, and dashboards to identify trends, patterns, and areas for improvement.

Maintain Test Suite Quality

Regularly review and refactor automated test suites to ensure maintainability, reliability, and scalability. Eliminate redundant or obsolete tests, update and routinely refactor them.

Collaborate & Communicate

Foster collaboration between development, testing, and operations teams. It’ll help align integration testing goals, priorities, and strategies. Communicate test results, issues, and insights to stakeholders to facilitate informed decision-making and continuous improvement.

If you find yourself with a question “how to automate integration testing”, it’s always better to talk to your team. After all, they’re the pros in this. Yet, if your crew is still fresh or you think something is lacking, strive to partner up with a veteran QA services provider.

If you don’t have the capital to hire QA engineers, QA companies can also offer consultations. From them, you’ll be able to get lots of visionary wisdom nuggets.

Automated Integration Testing Tools To Consider

It’s probably not your first article mentioning integration testing automation tools. So, you most likely know why they are a pure virtue. Briefly, the testing process will be simpler, faster, and your QA engineers will be more productive.

Here is the list of integration testing automation tools that currently most companies prefer. And there’re a few we use for our clients.

• Selenium – an open-source tool that allows to automate integration test suites.
• EZscript – a popular integration testing tool that helps automate testing processes. It supports defect detection and enhances overall testing efficiency.
• Steam – another open-source automation platform introduced by GitHub for testing websites with JavaScript support.
• Spock – a testing framework for Java and Groovy applications. Facilitates easy-to-write and interpretable tests, with features like assertion testing and mocking.
• Pioneerjs – a tool that simplifies integration test scripting and debugging. It also works with various web application testing frameworks like AngularJS and React.

To Sum Up

Automated testing has always been a double-edged sword. But that’s only because lots of companies made it such. People tend to jump on new tech and methodologies in hopes they’ll be a miracle for them. Yet, when they face the reality – that you need to know how to implement them for your benefit – that’s where many find troubles.

And that’s why we’re here. You should try and use whatever you think will advance your product. Just be sure to do it right. Do it with QA Madness.