LAS3007 - Software Test Automation and Continuous Integration

MQF Level

Duration and Credits

Semester 2

4 ECTS

Mode of Study

Part-Time Evening

In an era of highly interactive and responsive software processes, agile teams deliver potentially shippable software at the end of every iteration. It is a huge challenge for any company to continuously maintain and improve the quality and efficiency of software development. This goal is very hard to achieve without automated tests, which is frequently becoming a requirement for software projects.

Test automation refers to the practice of using a software tool to run repeatable tests against the application under test. There are many advantages to test automation. Most are related to the repeatability of the tests and the speed at which the tests can be executed. There are a number of commercial and open source tools available for assisting with the development of test automation.

Software companies today still find it challenging to choose the right test automation tools and find ways how to include automation in their process. Furthermore, maintaining tests over a period of time during which the system under test is continually evolving presents its own set of challenges.

This Unit provides hands-on training using some of the best tools and practices available today to build a custom automation framework that could be used to test different types of software applications.

Main Reading List

The following are just recommended books to help you delve deeper into these subjects. Before buying any texts, keep in mind that you will find most of the answers about this unit and more in the largest library in the world - the Internet.

BDD:
- Specification by Example: How Successful Teams Deliver the Right Software - Gojko Adzic
- BDD in Action: Behavior-driven development for the whole software lifecycle - John Ferguson Smart
Cucumber & Gherkin:

The Cucumber for Java Book: Behaviour-Driven Development for Testers and Developers - Seb Rose, Matt Wynne, Aslak Hellesoy
http://behat.readthedocs.org/en/v2.5/guides/1.gherkin.html

Selenium WebDriver in Java:
- Test Automation using Selenium WebDriver with Java: Step by Step Guide - Navneesh Garg
- Selenium WebDriver Practical Guide - Satya Avasarala
General Information:
- How Google Tests Software - James A. Whittaker, Jason Arbon, Jeff Carollo

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This micro-credential is offered as part of the programme for the Liberal Arts and Sciences and will only be offered subject to a minimum number of applications received. More information can be found on the PLAS website.

Information for International applicants

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Study-unit Aims

The Unit will aim to cover these subjects:

Overview of test automation and why it is essential in software projects.
Comparison of some of the top automation tools that are used in the industry.
Benefits of Behaviour-Driven Development (BDD).
Building a BDD test automation framework in Java.
Writing of tests to drive web applications.
Retrieving data from a database for asserting test outcome.
Design patterns for test data creation and management.
Build Pipeline management for Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery.

Learning Outcomes: Knowledge and Understanding

By the end of the Unit the student will be able to:

Describe of test automation design patterns aimed at long-term stability.
Describe other tools to drive tests for mobile native applications and other non-HTML applications.
Discuss and solve typical problems that practitioners of test automation face in the industry.

Learning Outcomes: Skills

By the end of the Unit the student will be able to:

Create a custom test automation framework in Java.
Write test cases in Gherkin for Cucumber.
Write web based tests in Selenium WebDriver.
Locate specific web elements on a website using different methods.
Create and manage test data.
Basics of source code management through GitHub.
Configure Jenkins CI.

Non EU Applicants:

EUR340

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