Verifications in automation testing

Verification is a process of determining if the software is designed and developed as per the requirements that we have.

When the task of automating testing arises, you can make a bunch of clicks and enter information in all the fields, but to be sure that there are no bugs, you need to add test verification. You can also enhance your understanding of automated regression testing by reading our article.

Verification testing in software engineering plays a key role. Basically, we can't talk about software automated testing if there is no verification in the test case. We have to check all the key points in the test. If it is a page check, then check whether the title, favicon, and page description are displayed. If this is a check of the functionality of the hamburger menu, then see whether there are clickable buttons in it and whether these buttons lead to the expected sections. Texts of error messages and pop-ups are also frequently checked.

Verification activities in software testing should be implemented because, for example, the locator on the pages may be repeated. In this case, we can't be sure that the click was on the page we wanted.

After all, if the test passes and we get a ready result after software debugging testing and verification, for example, it can be a new order or a created questionnaire, then it can be considered that the test has been passed. But in this case, we have to check the data of that order or questionnaire to be certain.

There are many test verification methods and tools for testing. We can check by comparing pictures (screenshot check or golden picture method). Compare files with each other.

But the simplest and standard software automated testing verification method is text verification. For this, there are many tools built into Node JS or provided by frameworks.

In general, three types of checks are used: assert, expect, and should.

There assert and assert.ok() methods in Node.js and asserts that are provided by Chai framework.

This style allows you to include an optional message as the last parameter in the assert statement. These will be included in the error messages should your assertion not pass. However, if you need to see the expected statement and the actual statement in the terminal, this style will not show both results, unlike expect.

We can find expect methods in the Chai framework and also in Webdriver IO or Playwright (based on the Jest framework).

expect allows you to include arbitrary messages to prepend to any failed assertions that might occur.

This comes in handy when being used with non-descript topics such as booleans or numbers.

There are should methods in Chai framework and in Cypress.

Theshould style in by Chai allows for the same Chainable assertions as the expect interface, however it extends each object with a should property to start your Chain. This style has some issues when used with Internet Explorer, so be aware of browser compatibility.

The assert and expect interfaces do not modify Object.prototype, whereas should does. So they are a better choice in an environment where you cannot or do not want to change Object.prototype.

When a valid method Cypress .should() is executed, it is transformed into certain methods of Chai or Chai-jQuery or Sinon-Chai.

Assertions are automatically retried until they pass or time out.

Verifications are used in automated testing for better bug detection and confidence that the test passed if successful. After all, successful passing of the test only functionally does not temper the absence of defects.

So, the method that can be used to validate an automated test is chosen depending on which framework and tools are used.

Verifications should be present in tests for web applications and desktop applications. Software verification testing for mobile app is also very important.

In general, three types of checks are used: assert, expect, and should. We can combine different methods in one test. Which methods to use also strongly depends on the requirements of the customer and the specifics of the application. Talk to our team for comprehensive automation testing services tailored to your needs. We're here to discuss your requirements and provide you with the best solutions to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of your software testing processes.