Creating Effective and Maintainable Test Scripts

In my career as a tester to test manager, mastering the art of writing maintainable test scripts has been crucial for ensuring long-term project success. When developing a test plan, it’s essential to consider various types of tests, including functional testing, integration testing, and performance testing, to ensure comprehensive test coverage.

Collaborating with testers and developers, we create detailed test cases and test scenarios, using relevant test data to validate expected results. Effective regression testing in different testing environments helps identify any issues early, while clear communication with the project manager and team members ensures that testing objectives align with the overall software development goals.

By focusing on these aspects, we can deliver reliable test results that support the project’s success. This blog will take you through some of the processes I consider when creating maintainable test scripts and helping deliver projects.

Before We Start

In preparation, before I even begin writing my first line in the test script, I review the available business requirements, use cases, and any technical specifications. The systems under test can be vast, especially when testing ERP systems with modules ranging from finance to human resources, inventory to sales. If I do not grasp how each module fits into the larger system, my test scripts might miss critical integration points.

I also devote some time to setting up meetings with stakeholders to ask questions and clarify assumptions. After all, a missed requirement that is not included in a test script could impact the overall understanding of whether the system is delivering what is expected.

When I am on an ERP project testing, everything is ideal, the scenario that many testers dream of, but in the real-world, time and resources are finite. Therefore, I start identifying the critical paths, the core processes that the business depends on, and ensure these are covered first.

Finance reconciliation, order management, payroll processing, these need to work flawlessly. With high-priority scenarios in mind, I plan my approach and structure of the tests, keeping in mind that after the test scripts are written, I may not be the person executing them.

Naming Conventions

After drafting out my approach to test scripting, I move on to listing out the names of tests that can bring clarity to the person executing the test. A script, at its core, is a story, a narrative of functions and validations. "Test1" indicates it's the first test of many.

But if I am reviewing or executing tests, the title may as well be "Have a guess at what I'm going to achieve."

Rather than making it simple, try something that gives the reader an idea of what the test is trying to prove. "VerifyLoginFunctionalityUnderLoad" is precise, demonstrates purpose and intent. The names of your tests are not just labels; consider them like chapter headings in a book that provide understanding for your scripts, ensuring that another tester in a week, year, or month picks up that script; they will know the intention.

Modularity

Ah, modularity! A question that is often asked, and I give a slightly different answer on what type of project we are working on and what phase of the project. Making a test script modular will avoid issues around readability, avoid overheads when it comes to maintenance, and avoid redundancy in later stages.

For example, I was on a project where I had written a test script; unfortunately (for me), there had been a change in the use case, so the change needed to apply to all the scripts affected. If I had considered breaking the script down to be more modular, it would have been one change that could have been reflected across all the places where it had been used. This is a far better approach than making changes at every place in a non-modular scenario.

The underlying principle is that your script should be self-contained in manageable units, having a start and a defined endpoint. If correctly done, these modular test scripts can be grouped together and re-used to create a 'master' test script that tests different scenarios. Reusability is not just efficient; it's essential that these modular test scripts can be used repeatedly in different arrangements, saving time and reducing redundancy.

Simplicity

When I started testing, I would be told, 'anyone picking up your test script should be able to execute'. While I think that statement is a bit of a stretch, as they would need to know the system under test, the idea is valid and should be considered as part of the approach to writing good test scripts.

I do my best to keep the test script as simple as possible, focusing on a singular scenario, a lone function, to avoid overcomplication. I'm thinking about that 'anyone tester' that has to interpret what I mean, and if they have to interpret what I mean, what I've written is probably ambiguous and can lead to confusion and ultimately, failure. Keeping it simple also means that when changes come because they will, the script remains easy to update.

Documentation

Even the most skilled tester may need some form of documentation to assist them. Without it, the carefully crafted test scripts I have spent hours creating could be read in a foreign language, understood only by their creator, and lost to those who might end up having to maintain them. I often add summary notes at the beginning, or add a comment here, a note there at specific points that might help the tester executing the script.

Version Control & Review

I have now completed my test scripts, I have done the best job I could, and I've made sure that they are under version control, ensuring each draft is recorded and recoverable. Depending on the test software I am using, this is usually a manual process, but a simple update the status from draft to review. Now that the test scripts are version controlled and ready for review, sign-off, and eventual execution.

To ensure test scripts are still fit for purpose, reviews should be scheduled to ensure that the test script still meets the system's current requirements. Without review, scripts can sit in their folder or repository, slowly getting stale or outdated to the point it's easier to do it again, wasting all the effort initially put in to create them. Test scripts need to be re-visited, corrected, and re-factored in line with the business requirements and conditions to ensure they continue to be useful test assets.

Automation

Automation of testing is usually a long-term strategy for maintaining quality in an ERP or any other software development project. I have done my best to ensure that the test scripts are modular, allowing them to scale automation if required. The test scripts selected can be automated and integrated into the continuous testing process, or the CI/CD pipeline.

As I review each test script, I ask myself, is this test ready for automation? Test cases with clear, repeatable steps can be picked up by the development teams SDETs, as they will be prime candidates for automation. Making the conversion of a manual test script into an automated test helps reduce the future manual regression burden during future releases or updates.

Final Thoughts

Writing maintainable test scripts is crucial for ensuring long-term project success. When I was tasked with writing test scripts, the importance of clarity, coverage, and collaboration was at the forefront of my mind.

There is an art in writing maintainable test scripts, and it is not just a necessity but an essential part of the success of the project. A test professional loves to see a test be executed meeting its objectives and knowing that through their actions they have helped move the project one step closer to a successful conclusion.

As a test script writer, I have one goal: delivering a test script that supports the provision of crucial evidence that the ERP system or any other system under test has met the requirements and meets the needs of the business. By focusing on clear communication and coverage, the writing of quality, maintainable test scripts that can be future-proofed through automation, ensuring that the delivered systems and testing process are strong, adaptable, and ready for whatever challenges may arrive.