We hear the phrase end-to-end testing in many software companies and businesses. But what does this mean exactly? End-to-end testing refers to the testing of applications and programs from step 1 (ideation) right up to the final stage of the testing. End-to-end testing validates a program’s relevant parts, aiming for a successful user journey. Adding automation into this, customers get all this with zero effort from their side.

Challenges of Automated End-to-End Testing in Large-Scale Enterprise Software

1. Increased Fragility and Maintenance

Large-scale software requires much more attention than software developed on a smaller scale. Owing to this, end-to-end testing on automation becomes even more complex if not handled delicately. Any changes to the data or UI cause vital changes to the testing software. Therefore, companies have to deal with more fragile tests, which require tremendous amounts of maintenance to function smoothly and yield reliable results.

2. Increased Investigation

In the event of an E2E test failing or not performing optimally, software developers have to conduct an intense investigation. Due to the many systems involved in a single test run, developers sometimes take a long time just to figure out where the fault occurred. Therefore, it is vital to conduct a thorough investigation to rule out these issues in earlier stages so as not to cause serious repercussions later on.

3. Handling Secrets –

E2E tests have a lot of age-old and tested secrets that make or break the application. It can get quite cumbersome to manage and ensure there isn’t any security breach. Therefore, one of the challenges of E2E automated testing is to ensure the proper handling of secrets. 

What makes an optimum End-to-End Strategy?

1. Strongly Correlate to the User’s Journey

A company takes the time and effort to conduct an end-to-end test to understand the user journey. Therefore, the first step in every E2E strategy should be to ensure the test mirrors the user’s journey advantageously. Businesses should ensure that the test is aware of user perceptions and preferences and chooses accordingly.

2. Create Maintainable Selectors

UI testing is an incredibly customized process that requires well-created selectors for any testing project. It is always recommended that companies keep the selectors as short as possible in order to ensure maintenance is feasible. Opting for selectors that are static and not as dynamic ensures a sense of order, putting the users at ease in the long run.

3. Minimalism is Key

As established before, automated E2E tests are incredibly fragile, especially for large-scale software. To avoid errors, companies should keep a fixed number of test cases at all times, increasing a sense of structure. While automation is a good thing, too much of it can also cause an increase in maintenance expenses, professional coders (that are expensive), troubleshooting systems, etc. It will hamper the quality of the test. Therefore, less is more.

4. Using General Software Engineering Principles

Have you often wondered where you would finally use those theory principles you learned in college? E2E testing involves a lot of engineering principles that ensure not only smooth functioning but also tried and tested results. By using principles like the Don’t Repeat Yourself (DRY) principle and many more such procedures, software developers can ensure the development of an automated test that is all round compatible. 

Test Execution 

We only know something works if the execution is commenced perfectly. And with E2E tests, the stakes are higher, as execution needs to be carried out on a much larger scale. A few approaches that developers can take, keeping in mind large-scale enterprise software, are – 

1. Run the Tests Together in a Team – 

This approach is especially useful if the project to be tested is small, ideally with less than 100 test cases. The team can execute the test in a single meeting, discuss the outcomes – successes, failures, backups, backups of backups, etc., and immediately plan for additional strategies to tackle such issues. 

2. CI Pipeline Execution – 

If a team requires more than 100 test cases, a single team execution becomes difficult as there are many contingencies to be kept in mind. For larger projects, a CI pipeline is recommended, where the pipeline’s artifacts can be proof of how the test cases are faring along. These artifacts could range from screenshots to video recordings that contain test metrics. 

It is recommended that the pipeline be run every night with the proposed team to check the results every morning. This approach also helps in a long-term situation where the test team can enhance the pipeline as the project requires. 

Conclusion

Automated end-to-end testing has improved run times and the accuracy of programs and applications by a long mile. While it might seem daunting at first, the key is to understand your application’s core, what the user journey looks like, and how the test can be as simple as possible. Once these steps have been accomplished, any test can be successful, including for large-scale enterprise software. 

For end-to-end testing, organizations rely on TestGrid, the scriptless automation testing platform, for websites and web applications. Rich with features to make your testing process efficient, quick, and efficient, TestGrid has an easy-to-understand interface, letting even people with zero coding knowledge easily perform the testing. It offers remote access from anywhere on the globe, cloud infrastructure, robust test data management, and cross-browser testing to support your team 24/7 and much more.