Software Testing is getting more and more complex with the increasing complexity of the software and applications. Today you have software applications with numerous advanced features and not just that, there is also the need to test the applications on multiple browsers and environments. Add to it the numerable versions of operating systems and browsers, and the process of testing can become really time consuming.

When it comes to web test automation with Selenium, the popular web testing platform Selenium tackles this issue with the Selenium Grid. The Selenium Grid is designed to help QA teams execute multiple test cases simultaneously in different environments. So, for example, if you are testing the 'Contact Us' form on your web app, you need to test it on multiple browsers one by one. This needs to be repeated for all the forms on the web page, followed by other functionality. This gives us an idea about the amount of time this entire exercise can take to be completed.

However, when we talk about Selenium grid, the most important factor is that Selenium Grid facilitates simultaneous execution or parallel execution of test cases. In other words, it enables you to test a functionality on, say for example, 10 browsers in 1/10th of the time you’d need to test all of it one after the other. This is the biggest reason QA teams are implementing grid or parallel testing.

QARA Enterprise is a good example of a test management tool that enables the QA professionals to execute simultaneous testing or parallel test execution which saves time and efforts of the QA team.

Benefits of Parallel Test Execution

The following are the benefits of parallel test execution.

• Faster Time to Market as simultaneous execution reduces the overall testing time and the product can reach the market faster.
• Facilitates continuous testing which is a significant component of Agile methodology.
• Enhanced test coverage as it enables the QA team to execute more test cases within a stipulated time.
• Assured software quality as higher test execution speed ensures higher test coverage, making it possible to test the application more thoroughly.
• Reduced cost of testing due to less time and efforts required for testing an application.
• Reduction in testing time as all the required test cases can be executed in a much shorter timeframe because of simultaneous execution.

Best Practices for Parallel Test Execution

Now that we have looked into the benefits of parallel test execution, let us have a quick look at the best practices to follow.

Best Practices for Parallel Test Execution

• Choose to execute test cases on the Cloud platform. The Selenium Grid offers a Cloud version which enables you to execute seamless parallel test execution across all possible environments and also supports unlimited scalability. Also, testing on the Cloud will eliminate the hassles of managing multiple systems for an On-Premise test execution.
• Another important practice when it comes to parallel execution is to stay away from hard code values in your test cases when you want to execute them simultaneously. The reason is that inclusion of hard code results in the test cases becoming interdependent on one another, which can be a roadblock to simultaneous execution.
• For parallel testing, focus on creating independent test cases that are self-contained. In other words, the test cases for the individual functionalities of your app should not be interdependent. This way, even if there is an issue in any one of the test cases, there will be no adverse effects on the parallel execution of the other test cases.
• Manage the test case data in a manner that facilitates simultaneous execution of test cases.
• Invest in a complete test management tool like QARA Enterprise to ensure every aspect of the test case execution, including parallel testing, is taken care of, without you having to worry about anything.

Want to witness what makes QARA Enterprise the test automation platform your QA team will ever need? Visit www.qaratest.com or drop an email on info@qaratest.com and our team will get in touch with you.