Best Practices for Automated Testing

Posted on by uplatzblog

Best Practices for Automated Testing

  • As part of the “Best Practices” series by Uplatz

 

Welcome to a quality-first edition of the Uplatz Best Practices series — where software doesn’t just ship fast, it ships with confidence.
 Today’s focus: Automated Testing — the foundation for continuous delivery, stable systems, and developer peace of mind.

🧪 What is Automated Testing?

Automated Testing is the practice of writing scripts or using tools to validate that software behaves as expected — without manual intervention.
 It includes multiple types:

  • Unit Testing

  • Integration Testing

  • UI Testing

  • API Testing

  • Regression Testing

  • Performance Testing

Automated testing enables speed, repeatability, and reliability in modern software development pipelines.

✅ Best Practices for Automated Testing

Well-written automated tests reduce bugs, improve velocity, and increase team confidence. Here’s how to implement them effectively:

1. Follow the Test Pyramid

🔺 Write More Unit Tests, Fewer Integration, and Minimal UI Tests
 🧱 Keep Lower Layers Fast and Isolated
 📊 Avoid an Inverted Pyramid (too much slow UI testing)

2. Automate Early and Continuously

⚙️ Start Testing in Dev Branches, Not Just in CI/CD
 🧪 Run Tests Automatically on Every Commit or Pull Request
 📦 Integrate With Build Pipelines (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI)

3. Write Maintainable and Readable Tests

📘 Use Descriptive Test Names: should_fail_login_with_wrong_password()
 🔄 Avoid Over-Mocking or Tight Coupling to Implementation
 🧹 Refactor Tests Along With Production Code

4. Ensure High Coverage (But Not Blindly)

🎯 Aim for >80% Coverage on Business-Critical Logic
 ❌ Don’t chase 100% — focus on quality over quantity
 🧪 Measure With Tools Like Istanbul, Jacoco, Coveralls

5. Test Across Environments

🌍 Run Tests on Local, Staging, and Pre-Prod
 🔄 Test With Realistic Data and Configurations
 📱 Use Emulators/Simulators for Cross-Platform Testing (esp. Mobile)

6. Mock Only What You Control

🧩 Mock External Services (APIs, DBs), Not Internal Business Logic
 📦 Use Tools Like WireMock, Mockito, or Nock for Reliable Stubs
 ⚠️ Avoid Over-Mocking — Real Behavior Beats Fake Success

7. Use Tags and Parallel Execution

🏷️ Tag Tests by Type or Module (@smoke, @login, @e2e)
 ⚡ Run Critical Tests in Every Commit; Full Suite in Nightly Builds
 🔀 Leverage Parallelization to Speed Up Suites

8. Make Tests Fast and Deterministic

⏱️ Keep Unit Tests <100ms and E2E <2s Where Possible
 🔁 Avoid Random Failures, External Dependencies, and Race Conditions
 🧪 Use In-Memory DBs, Local Fixtures, or Snapshot Testing

9. Capture Logs, Screenshots, and Videos on Failures

📸 Enable Better Debugging With Visual or CLI Artifacts
 🔍 Attach Output to CI/CD Reports or Slack Alerts
 📋 Use Tools Like Cypress, Playwright, or Allure Reports

10. Review and Refactor Test Code Like Production Code

🧹 Run Linters, Code Reviews, and Static Analysis on Test Code
 🔁 Refactor Tests for Clarity and DRYness
 📦 Store Tests Close to the Code They Validate

💡 Bonus Tip by Uplatz

Fast releases aren’t risky if your tests are fast, reliable, and visible.
 Automate like your uptime depends on it — because it does.

🔁 Follow Uplatz to get more best practices in upcoming posts:

  • Test-Driven Development (TDD)

  • Continuous Testing in CI/CD

  • Performance Testing with k6 & JMeter

  • API Testing with Postman and RestAssured

  • Visual Regression Testing for Frontend QA
     …and 10+ more across quality engineering, DevOps, and test strategy.