How to start learning test automation?

Question

Software testing

Hello! The question is probably to those who work in the position of QA automation: where to start learning test automation? Can you recommend any resources? At the moment I have been working for 8 months in the position of junior Qa manual, there are no automatizers on the project, only handbrakes. Thanks in advance for any tips/hints/recommendations on where to start and how to get started learning automation.

Answer 1

I would start by learning JS, then cypress is a framework for automation, I think it’s not difficult there, you can look for ready-made examples on github, then run it all on jenkins so that tests of some kind of web page run on schedule. Another option is to write api tests https://codecept.io/api/ using this.

Answer 2

This question cannot be answered simply. The scope of what needs to be studied depends on the specifics of the project. If the project is a site with server rendering or a SPA with a rest backend, then this is one way with its own set of technologies. If it's a desktop or mobile app, it's a different path with a different set of technologies.
How the development process is organized is important. It’s one thing if it’s a waterfall model, it’s completely different if it’s a modern DevOps stack, where autotests should be part of the pipeline and run several times a day.
Let's say your project is a SPA with a rest backend, which means that the integration layer of the testing pyramid can be closed with api tests, and the end-to-end layer with UI tests. But here, too, not everything is so simple, api-tests can be run on a separately raised service with a locked environment, or they can be run for a service deployed in a test infrastructure.
In general, we can advise the following:
1) Learn one of the popular languages, Python is best, it is the most versatile and has a low entry threshold
2) Start with api-level automation
3) If the project has a CI / CD pipeline, immediately integrate tests into it , let them run as a separate stage
4) Set up sending messages about passing tests to the corporate messenger. It is very important that the whole team knows about the tests, not just the testers
5) For UI tests, use Selene - it's a convenient wrapper on top of selenium
5) Don't write a lot of UI tests. A small amount covering the main user scenarios is enough.
But I highly doubt that joon will master it all. Talk to management and let them hire an experienced automator if there is a real need.

Answer 3

Start by learning why you need it. It is best to engage in some activity not without a reason, but with a specific purpose. Next, when you understand the target audience and indicators, come up with an automation plan (after all, you have already studied the theory of testing and the theory of reliability in the qa position) taking into account your tools and projects. Then estimate the time to automate. Automation usually turns out to be inexpedient in time. And finally, proceed to the implementation.
Summary
Automate common tasks. If they are not typical, then drive programmers into typical frameworks. Then just download and run ready-made tools for these most common tasks.