Modern applications consist of multiple elements that have a specific role in ensuring the application’s stability. The modern app testing process should also consist of various test cases that can properly assess the stability and functioning of all these elements. Regression testing is one such process that plays a critical role in ensuring the stability of applications. This test case is especially efficient when the developers are working with apps that undergo a frequent updating process. Various tools and platforms will help the developers to improve the efficiency of the testing process while working with regression testing. Moreover, the developers must ensure that the application is stable and compatible with all the popular devices presently available. This is because, in this competitive market, the companies cannot remove any part of the industry due to compatibility.

In this article, we’ll discuss some of the best frameworks and tools that will help application developers to streamline regression test cases. We will also understand how the developers can improve the efficiency of the test cases with the help of integrating automation testing.

Understanding Regression Testing

Regression testing is the process of verifying not only the individual performance of every element in the application but also its effect on the other elements present in the app. It is a very useful feature when the developers add any new element to the application. With this testing process, the developers verify that this new feature does not negatively affect the proper execution of all the existing elements. Regression testing is highly beneficial for applications that frequently update, like health apps, banking apps, and e-commerce apps. This is one of the major reasons why many market experts recommend that developers repeat regression testing after every update in the app. In this process, the developers have to re-run the functional test cases and the non-functional test cases present in the app development process.

Integrating Test Automation with Regression Testing

Since regression testing is a repetitive process, it can take a lot of time in the application development life cycle. So, the developers can improve the efficiency of this testing process by integrating test automation. With the help of automation testing, the developers can automatically initiate and run regression test cases without any human involvement. For this process, the system will use a text file consisting of all the required parameters and data that will help to interact with the application like a normal user. This interaction will help understand the user interactivity, stability, and functioning of the application. Developers and testers can later understand and analyze this report to verify whether the application is ready for the open world. It is also possible to make significant changes to the test file to make the report suitable according to the project’s requirements.

The application developers and testers can also store and reuse the test cases in future app projects. Moreover, the extra time the developers can save with the integration of automation testing can be reinvested for adding more features in the future update of the application. However, automation testing comes with the initial investment that covers the charges for multiple frameworks, libraries, and tools. So, the developers must have a clear view of their business perspectives and possible returns on investment. These parameters will help them justify the integration and transition.

Best Tools and Frameworks for Streamlining Regression Testing

Tools and platforms can play a significant role in not only improving the simplicity of the test cases but also increasing the overall quality of the application undergoing the development process. We can consider the context of cloud platforms that improve the quality of the apps with the introduction of remote servers. These servers remove the dependency on on-site device labs. Companies typically use these labs to verify the performance of applications on physical devices. However, these labs are very expensive and hectic to maintain. On the other hand, remote servers provide similar test reports with the help of their servers consisting of hundreds of different devices. With these servers, the developers can also start the test cases from anywhere in the world.

Remote servers are also extremely useful while verifying the performance of applications on certain devices that are very old and no longer available on the market. We can understand the influence of remote servers in the modern application development industry by bringing in LambdaTest as our benchmark point:

For a general understanding, we can introduce LambdaTest, a unified intelligent digital experience testing platform that enables developers and testers to test their mobile and web applications over a wide range of browsers and real device environments. LambdaTest also improves the efficiency of the testing process with the help of parallel test execution. It can conduct test cases from not only Selenium but also other popular frameworks like Playwright and Appium. It is noteworthy to mention that the Selenium test cases can be run on more than three thousand following modern browsers.

LambdaTest

LambdaTest is also a good choice for developers who are working on web pages that have local test servers, so these web pages are used by a company for its internal operations. Finally, the integration of hundreds of real devices with thousands of existing emulation software helps the developers to improve the accuracy of the test reports.

Currently, there are various frameworks and tools easily available in the market that help app developers to streamline their regression test cases. However, in some cases, the tools often fail to stand up to the expectations of the developers. So, to prevent any unwanted surprises in the app development process, we have analyzed some of the most popular names in this segment. Based on our understanding and research, the most promising names are as follows:

1. Selenium WebDriver

Selenium WebDriver is one of the most popular frameworks to introduce automated regression testing on modern web applications. It has maintained one of the top positions for over 10 years in the current market. The Selenium web driver not only helps the developers to run the test cases but also helps them to allocate the test cases to all the target elements of a web application. Many market experts consider Selenium WebDriver as an upgraded version of the previously present remote controller. This is because the Selenium WebDriver can natively interact with the elements of the web application. While working with Selenium WebDriver, developers can write test cases in any of their preferred programming languages like Python, Java, JavaScript, and many others.  

2. Cypress

Cypress is often known as one of the best options to introduce JavaScript-based test cases on modern applications. With this framework, developers can easily write and execute reliable test cases on modern web apps. It also provides multiple APIs that allow the app developers to interact with the application with various features like auto wait, real-time reloading, and advanced debugging capabilities. Cypress is also one of the most popular choices when developers are looking for an alternative that will help them to streamline their regression test cases efficiently. It also provides an efficient process for maintaining an activity log for the application.

3. JUnit

It is one of the most popular frameworks for executing unit testing on web applications. For the simplicity of the testing process, all the elements in an application are divided into more small segments, often referred to as units. Experts also believe that unit testing is one of the most important test cases that can benefit a lot from the introduction of automated regression testing. It also helps the developers to group the test cases according to their priorities and similarities. This is an important process to improve the stability and functionality of the application testing process. It is also possible to run the test cases in a parallel format on different machines with the help of this framework.

4. TestNG

This is yet another framework for properly verifying the performance of Java-based applications. Some of the features TestNG offers are highly advanced and unavailable with JUnit. For example, while working with TestNG, the developers can initiate test cases like data-driven testing, parallel test execution, and multiple test configurations with XML. It also has advanced test reporting features that help the developers to keep a live activity log for all the test cases that have been completed and those that are currently undergoing the execution process. It is also possible for the developers to integrate the test cases with CI/CD pipeline to improve the effective coordination between a company’s development and testing teams.

5. Jest

Jest is a popular open-source framework to verify the proper functioning of React applications. However, the developers can also use this framework for applications based on the JavaScript programming language. It provides various useful tools for writing and executing test cases. Some of the most important features present in Jest include snapshot testing, test mocking, code coverage, and parallel test execution. Moreover, it is also straightforward to initiate and execute the automation test cases with Jest. It is also one of the great frameworks developers can use to streamline their regression test cases on modern applications. The open-source nature ensures that the developers and testers can access its features without worrying about license fees.

All the tools and frameworks we discussed in this segment allow the developers to streamline the test cases with the help of multiple features like automation capabilities, test reporting, and test organization. 

Conclusion

In this article, we discussed some of the best tools and frameworks that will help developers streamline their regression test cases. We also looked into the possible benefits that the developers can achieve by integrating automation testing with regression test cases. And we are moving towards an app development market that will be completely dominated by automation testing trends.

We would suggest all the developers and testers continuously update their knowledge regarding all the innovations and additions in this market. Regarding innovations, app development companies also have a critical role in spreading the required knowledge and awareness through various campaigns and seminars. It is also important for developers to choose the correct tool that can complement their requirements and development practices.

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