Whats your Automation Framework?

I have seen an umpteen no of posts in every QTP group I visited asking about Test Automation frameworks. Here I would like to collate the useful inputs i received from various QTP groups and discussion forums.

The Keyword Driven framework consists of the basic components given below,

1. Control File
2. Test Case File
3. Startup Script
4. Driver Script
5. Utility Script

1. Control File :

• Consists details of all the Test scenarios to be automated.
• User will be able to select a specific scenario to execute based on turning on or off a flag in the Control File.
• Control File is in the form of an excel worksheet and contains columns for Scenario ID,Execute (Y/N),Object Repository Path, Test Case File Path.

2. Test Case File :

• Contains the detailed steps to be carried out for the execution of a test cases.
• It is also in the form of an excel sheet and contains columns for Keyword, Object Name, Parameter.

3. Startup Script :

• The Starup script is utilised for the initialization and reads the control files.
• It then calls the driver script to execute all the scenarios marked for execution in the control file.

4. Driver Script :

• It Reads the Test Case files. Checks the keywords and calls the appropriate utility script functions based on specific keyword.
• Error Handling is taken care of in the driver script.

5. Utility Scripts :

• Perform generic tasks that can be used across applications. It should not be application dependent Advantage of Framework.

The main advantage of this framework is the low cost for maintenace. If there is change to any test case then only the Test Case File needs to be updated and the Driver Script and Startup script will remain the same.

No need to update the scripts in case of changes to the application.