The output should be easy to understand and interpret.
QA needs to make the decision as to whether something has passed or failed quickly and act accordingly. To allow this to happen, it is important that the automation being used creates an output that is easy to understand and interpret. It is quite common for automation to be run overnight, so the results can be reviewed in the morning. Initially, a simple high-level pass/fail is needed. After this, though, it is important to see exactly where the error has occurred and the steps to reproduce to see if this is a real software defect or another issue.
This is an extract from a whitepaper titled “Top Ten Factors for a Successful Regression Test”, which takes you through the key factors that will ensure the best outcome – if all is as it should be and no defects have found their way through – then you have conducted a successful regression test.
Jonathan Pearson is a Customer Success Manager at Original Software.
