Modern applications have adopted a complex architecture that allows them to function seamlessly on multiple devices like smartphones, tablets, and desktops. Moreover, these apps can perform multiple actions at the same time and serve a wide range of users. So, while performing the testing phase, the testers have to create several test cases to verify the stability of all these features. To improve the efficiency of this process, the developers can incorporate automation testing, regression testing, and cross-browser testing.
Since, it is a very important process to organize all the testing instances, with this article, we will explore various ways to organize and group test cases using the testing XML suite and test tags. We will also understand some other best practices that can help the developers to use the full potential of the testing infrastructure.
Exploring Testing XML Suites
We can define a testing XML suite as a configuration file in XML format. This file is mainly used in various testing frameworks including TestNG for Java and JUnit for .NET. This helps the testers to define and manage the execution of test cases. Using this suite, automation testers can also specify the structure of tests, test classes, test methods, dependencies required for testing, and all the other required parameters. Let us now understand some other key components of modern testing XML suites:
- <suite>: This is the root element that encapsulates the entire suite.
- <test>: It will represent a logical group of test cases that need to be executed on the application.
- <classes>: It will contain all the references to the test classes that need to be executed on the application that is currently being developed.
- <methods>: This component allows the automation testers to specify individual test codes while using testing XML suites.
- Parameters and Dependencies: All the modern XML suites allow the developers to define parameters and dependencies that are needed for executing the test cases.
XML suites allow flexible test execution configurations including parallel test execution, test grouping, test prioritization, and parameterization of test cases. Therefore these suites have a critical role in making it easier to manage and control the testing processes when the developers and testers are working on larger projects.
What are Test Tags
Test tags are often paired with testing frameworks like JUnit or TestNG. These are mainly levels or markers assigned to testing methods or groups of test cases. Using these, the developers can categorize and organize all the testing instances based on certain specified criteria. Test tags also allow defining metadata for tests that can be utilized during test execution to selectively run specific test instances or a group of test cases.
Let us now understand some of the most important features of modern test tags:
● Categorization
Using proper test tags the application developers can categorize all the testing methods based on factors like functionality, priority, or any other criteria relevant to the testing process.
● Selective Execution
Since test tags help the developers to categorize the testing instances into various segments, they also help to selectively execute them based on they are tags. Moreover, the developers have the option to include or exclude the testing runs at any instance during the testing phase of the application.
● Grouping
Test tags allow the grouping of related tests making it easier to organise and manage the test suites. It is especially an important process when the application developers are working on complex applications that consist of thousands of different testing instances.
So, by utilizing test tags, the developers and testers can control and manage test execution based on the categories or criteria that they have previously determined. It also allows them to execute more targeted testing efforts.
Importance of Grouping The Test Cases
The application developers need to organize and group the test cases based on certain factors relevant to the testing instance. To simplify this knowledge for the new automation testers, we have mentioned some of the crucial benefits of the strategy:
● Clarity and reliability
It is no wonder that well-organized test cases are easier to understand, navigate, and maintain. Clear organization of testing instances makes it simple for anyone including non-technical members to comprehend the testing structure and purpose.
● Efficient Test Execution
By grouping the test cases, the developers can execute targeted and selective test execution. They can also run specific sets of tests like smoke tests, regression tests, or performance tests rather than executing the entire suite. This process gives the app-developing companies a lot of time and resources.
● Failure Isolation
After the developers have grouped the test cases logically, it becomes easier to identify and isolate the failures in the application infrastructure. This is because if a specific group fails, the developers can quickly pinpoint the problem area or features that need proper attention before the production phase. By isolating the failures, the developers can also ensure that any critical bugs or errors do not affect the other elements present in the web application.
● Scalability and Maintainability
As the test suite continues to grow, maintaining an organized structure becomes increasingly important. This is because proper test organization simplifies adding, modifying, or removing tests without causing confusion or disruptions in the existing performance of the application.
● Prioritization and Parallel Test Execution
By grouping the test cases, developers can prioritize the critical tests and allow a parallel test execution. In this process, the developers can execute thousands of different test instances simultaneously. Moreover, certain tests like critical paths or high-priority ones can be run separately or given priority during the test execution process.
By prioritizing the test cases, the developers can also ensure that at least the basic structure of the application is functional in all instances irrespective of any use case scenario.
● Enhanced Reporting and Reusability
By grouping the test cases, the developers can gain better insights while performing test reporting and analysis. This also generates reports specific to certain testing groups which facilitate better decision making and identifying patterns or trends within the bug reports. Moreover, organized test cases often lead to reusable components. For instance, common functionalities or setups can be abstracted into separate modules or utility classes.
This approach will help reduce duplication and improve maintainability of the test suite. The primary goal of test grouping is to streamline the development process while making it more understandable, manageable and focused.
Organizing and grouping the Test Cases Using XML Suite and Test Tags
By using XML suites and test tags in testing frameworks like JUnit or TestNG, the testers can organize and group the test cases efficiently. Let us go through a general structure for performing this process:
1. XML Suite Structures
The developers can use the native XML suite structure to create different testing groups and incorporate the test cases within these groups. To simplify this knowledge for the new automation testers and developers, we have mentioned a sample test code with the above structure:
Here we define a suite that contains multiple tests as per the requirements of the application development project. Each test represents a group of test cases that are mentioned with their respective tags and references in the test classes.
2. Using Testing Tags
It is also possible to group and organize the test cases using test tags within the classes. While creating these tags, the automation testers must remember to mention the criteria based on which these tasks will be created. To further improve this knowledge, we have mentioned a sample test code explaining this feature:
Within Java test classes, we used the “@test” annotation to assign one or more groups to a testing method. In this case, the test cases are grouped based on their functionality or purpose using different group names. When running the test cases, the developers have to specify which test groups to include or exclude. This will allow them to exclude specific sets of test cases based on the groups or tags.
For instance, while using TestNG, the developers can use the ‘groups’ parameter to run specific groups using the following command in the terminal window
mvn test -Dgroups=smoke
3. Additional Tips
- Since the names of the test cases have a crucial role in the organization and grouping process, we advise the app testers to name the test instances according to their target elements. This process will help the developers and testers avoid any confusion that might arise on complex projects consisting of thousands of different elements.
- We advise the application developers to go through the official documentation of the XML test suite that they will be implementing in their app development project. This documentation will provide various invaluable resources like tutorials, guides, and sample test cases to explain certain features that might be relevant to the requirements of the application development project.
- The app developers can also consider the perspective of integrating modern cloud platforms in the test organization process to further improve the efficiency of this step. For instance, cloud platforms like LambdaTest utilize Selenium remote WebDriver capabilities to connect with the Selenium grid and help execute tests using the TestNG suite.
In this step, the developers can also execute the test cases on thousands of real devices through remote servers. It is possible to categorize and group the test cases based on their target platform, operating system, or other configurations and device requirements. We have mentioned a sample Java code snippet for connecting LambdaTest with testing XML suites.
- Lastly, we advise all the application developers and testers to download all the required files, dependencies, and relevant libraries from the official websites. This practice will help with any risk of data breaches or security errors. It is a crucial process as modern applications hold a lot of sensitive user information regarding their personal details and transaction credentials.
The Bottom Line
Using all the techniques that we discussed in this article, the testers can effectively organize and categorize their test cases. This process will make it easier to manage and execute specific sets of tests based on project requirements. We also advise the developers to consider their specific requirements, target audience, and application intentions to further customize the plan for organizing the testing instances.
Moreover, understanding the target audience will allow the developers to integrate additional features to serve a wider section of the target audience. Finally, by integrating automation testing with the app development infrastructure, the developing companies can perform the development and testing process side by side to further improve the productivity of the testing infrastructure.