Building Scalable Robot Framework Test Automation: Benefits and Challenges

A unique perspective can be expected by internal testers about the transition to test automation. As they play a unique role, thereby supporting both operational and development teams. The business requirements can be witnessed being translated into code. The Robot framework is one such important framework that makes the most out of test automation. It is considered to have low maintenance costs and is easier to set up. In this article, you will get to know how to build a scalable robot framework along with its benefits and challenges.

What is a Robot framework?

It is an open-source, Python-based Robotic Process Automation (RPA) tool used for teams that work on ATDD (Acceptance Test Driven Development). Test cases (scripts) can be easily automated using this tool. It comes with a set of standard test libraries so that the interaction with the operating system can be eased, thereby providing common assertions etc. As it is built using Python, it can be further extended using Java or Python. 

Following are the two key steps required to build a scalable robot framework:

1. Implementation: Setting up a robot framework is considered to be a time-consuming process, hence developers need to plan accordingly. There is quite a bit of installation work required to sort out the driver version, browser version and so on. Once the Robot framework has been installed successfully, then a test automation strategy needs to be defined. Following are two key points that need to be pondered and worked upon:

·       Library development should be accomplished for non-supported functionalities.

·       The necessity to perform manual testing in parallel, based upon the requirement. 

2. The test automation process needs to be strategized: Automating those test cases that are easy are considered to be web application tests that can run against different browsers. There are more number of regression tests involved in these tests, many of which may involve repetitive, similar tasks.

A test automation solution that is built on the Robot framework has the capability to append its functionality with additional libraries. A proper development process needs to be established in order to implement a library so that all the functionality needs can be properly addressed. The library can be owned by the tester, but, a skilled developer should peer-review the code.

Following are a few challenges in test automation that can be tactically solved by the Robot framework:

1 Handling files: As an application under test involve features such as downloading and uploading files, file handling becomes necessary. The values need to be read from external files using the data-driven scripts. A set of keywords are provided by the Robot framework for handling file in the operating system library. 

2. Email Assertions: Based on certain scenarios, there might be a requirement for test cases to be automated, in order to validate the email content that is being received or sent in the emails. In order to streamline the execution, the Robot framework provides a solution by leveraging IMAPLibrary. The emails are accessed by IMAPLibrary from the mailbox, then emails are read, and then the links or contents of the email are fetched and asserted. There are basically three key steps involved in this process, which is written down:

·       IMAPLibrary is installed

·       IMAP access is allowed from the email account

·       The Script is written for the purpose of reading emails. 

Benefits of Robot framework:

·       It is keyword-driven and can easily be installed

·       It can work effectively for both web and mobile applications

·       It uses a low-code approach

·       It is easily compatible with operating systems such as macOS, Windows, Unix and Linux

·       It works well with Selenium and Appium libraries. 

Conclusion: If you are looking forward to implementing the Robot framework for your specific project, then do get connected with a premium software testing services company that will provide you with a tactical testing roadmap that is precisely in line with your project specific requirements.

Location: Canada

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