Best Practices for Automated Testing in 2024

Introduction

Automated testing has become an essential part of modern software development. This comprehensive guide covers the best practices we've learned from implementing test automation across various projects.

Why Automated Testing Matters

Automated testing provides significant benefits to development teams:

Catch bugs early in the development cycle before they reach production
Reduce manual testing effort and free up resources for exploratory testing
Improve code quality and confidence through continuous verification
Enable faster release cycles with reliable automated checks
Provide quick feedback to developers on code changes

Best Practices

1. Start with a Clear Testing Strategy

Before writing any tests, take time to define and document:

What to test (and equally important: what not to test)
Which testing framework to use based on your tech stack
Test data management approach for consistency and maintainability
CI/CD integration plan for automated execution

2. Follow the Testing Pyramid

The testing pyramid provides a strategic approach to test distribution:

        /\
       /  \
      / E2E\
     /______\
    /        \
   /Integration\
  /____________\
 /              \
/  Unit Tests    \
/________________\

Distribution by Type:

Unit Tests: 70% — Fast, isolated, numerous. Test individual functions and methods
Integration Tests: 20% — API and component integration. Verify components work together
E2E Tests: 10% — Critical user journeys. Validate complete workflows end-to-end

This distribution ensures you catch most issues quickly with unit tests while maintaining confidence through integration and E2E testing.

3. Write Maintainable Tests

Clear, descriptive test names make tests self-documenting and easier to maintain.

Good Practice — Clear, descriptive test names:

describe('User Login', () => {
  it('should display error message when password is incorrect', () => {
    // Test implementation
  });
});

Anti-Pattern — Unclear test names:

describe('Login', () => {
  it('test1', () => {
    // What does this test? Unclear!
  });
});

4. Use the Page Object Model (POM)

Separate test logic from page elements to improve maintainability and reduce duplication:

// LoginPage.js
class LoginPage {
  get emailInput() { return $('#email'); }
  get passwordInput() { return $('#password'); }
  get submitButton() { return $('#submit'); }

  async login(email, password) {
    await this.emailInput.setValue(email);
    await this.passwordInput.setValue(password);
    await this.submitButton.click();
  }
}

// login.test.js
it('should login successfully', async () => {
  await loginPage.login('user@example.com', 'password123');
  expect(await dashboardPage.isDisplayed()).toBe(true);
});

5. Implement Proper Test Data Management

Manage test data strategically to ensure consistency and reproducibility:

Use factories or builders for creating test data objects
Reset state between tests to prevent test interdependencies
Avoid dependencies between tests — each test should be independent
Use realistic but anonymized data for testing with real-world scenarios

6. Make Tests Independent and Isolated

Each test should be self-contained and not rely on other tests:

Run independently of others — no shared state or ordering dependencies
Not rely on execution order — tests should pass regardless of order
Clean up after itself — reset state and remove created resources
Have its own test data — use separate fixtures or factories

7. Implement Smart Waits

Use explicit waits instead of hard-coded delays to make tests more reliable:

Good Practice — Explicit waits:

await browser.waitUntil(
  async () => await element.isDisplayed(),
  { timeout: 5000, timeoutMsg: 'Element not visible' }
);

Anti-Pattern — Hard-coded sleeps:

await browser.pause(3000); // Flaky and slow!

8. Handle Flaky Tests Aggressively

Flaky tests erode team confidence in the test suite. When you encounter them:

Investigate immediately — don't ignore or defer
Fix or quarantine — address the root cause
Don't just re-run — understand why the test is unreliable
Look for race conditions — timing issues, dependencies, or external state

CI/CD Integration

Integrate tests into your pipeline for continuous quality assurance:

# Example CI configuration
test:
  stages:
    - unit-tests
    - integration-tests
    - e2e-tests

  rules:
    - on: pull_request
    - on: push to main

Monitoring and Reporting

Implement comprehensive test reporting and monitoring:

Test execution times — track performance and identify bottlenecks
Pass/fail rates — monitor test reliability over time
Flaky test tracking — identify and fix unreliable tests
Code coverage metrics — understand test scope and identify gaps
Historical trends — track quality improvements and regressions

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Be aware of these common mistakes when implementing automated testing:

Over-testing — Don't test framework code or third-party libraries
Testing implementation details — Focus on behavior and user interactions, not internal implementation
Ignoring test maintenance — Tests are code; they require regular maintenance and refactoring
No code review for tests — Test code deserves the same scrutiny as production code
Writing tests after development — Test early and often; ideally follow TDD practices

Tools We Recommend

Unit Testing

Jest — JavaScript testing framework with great DX
pytest — Python testing with fixtures and plugins
JUnit — Java standard testing framework

Integration Testing

Supertest — HTTP assertion library for APIs
Testcontainers — Docker containers for database testing

E2E Testing

Playwright — Cross-browser E2E testing with great API
Cypress — Developer-friendly E2E framework
Selenium WebDriver — Industry standard browser automation

CI/CD Platforms

GitHub Actions — Native GitHub integration
GitLab CI — Comprehensive CI/CD solution
Jenkins — Flexible, self-hosted automation server

Conclusion

Automated testing is an investment that pays dividends through increased confidence, reduced bugs, and faster deployments. Start small with a clear strategy, follow these best practices, and continuously improve your test suite.

Remember: the goal isn't 100% code coverage, but confidence in your software. A well-designed, maintainable test suite is worth far more than achieving arbitrary coverage numbers.

At NorthQA, we help teams implement and maintain robust automated testing strategies. Contact us to learn how we can help improve your testing practices.