Mobile and Web-based applications have revolutionized services offered by companies and organizations all over the world. Customers are enjoying the luxury of finding and obtaining all the services and products they require online delivered directly to their homes. Automation is finding use in all sectors and fields with engineers developing means to reduce the workload allowing us to focus on more productive aspects. The automation of API testing has revolutionized the field of API testing improving the yield rate and performance of API designers significantly. It has decreased the amount of time and resources spent on API testing significantly producing great ROI’s for API designing companies. Let’s look into how automation can enhance the performance of API designers.
API Testing
API testing is an essential part of application launching and development. Companies and organizations assign designated teams to test API systems and evaluate the functioning of applications. The advent of automated testing of API has divided the testing community into manual testers and automation dependent testers. Survey reports suggest that 50%of most API designing firms have incorporated a formal API testing and Application Process Management system equipping themselves to produce better quality API systems.
Automation aided testing has significantly reduced the technical coding expertise required in the field. Automation has greatly reduced the workload for API testers especially in cases of large applications which regularly add new features and update them for better customer experience.
Automated Testing
Automated testing is a rapidly growing sector in API testing that is gaining huge popularity with a wide range of tools developed for the same. Work processes are greatly simplified by the development of test suites that store previously designed tests for future use in applications during upgrades. It also reduces human errors and standardizes work processes to ensure consistency and performance. Survey reports reveal that limited time due to workload (52%) and increasing demands for speed of delivery (45%) are the two most significant factors that affect that API quality of organizations and both of these can be addressed efficiently by Automated testing processes.
Automated tests are categorized into different types based on what they assess and evaluate. They are divided into technology-facing and business-facing tests that support the designing teams and help in critiquing the product’s performance. Technology facing tests that support the team aim at maximizing the efficiency of the products using proper code management without modifying its functionality. Business facing tests engage in understanding customer reviews and expectations from the application and work at modifying the application to make it captivating and attractive. Behaviour-driven development tools are of great use in business-facing tests and companies evaluate the response to their applications by using demos, feedback and checking actual user experience.
API Performance Indicators
The efficiency of API systems is measured by Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) designed by the teams during the development of applications. It is essential to define KPI’s properly to assess the performance of applications and the impact it has on your services, users and partners. A few commonly used KPIs are as follows:
- Pass rate
- Median latency
- DNS lookup
- Outlier rate
- Effective pass rate
- CASC score
These tests assess various parameters that influence the performance such as the speed of delivery of services, accuracy in the delivery of appropriate services, the influence of network latency on API systems, variations with geographical locations etc.
Statistical analysis of the data obtained from the functioning of API systems and their interactions with customers helps identify crucial issues with the applications.
Security testing is an essential component in automation testing of API systems. It is very useful in identifying vulnerabilities in the systems and ensuring the protection of data and resources from prying intruders. Security testing systems have to be assessed meticulously to recognize susceptible areas and possible liabilities.
Automation systems should be incorporated with DevOps to find errors and software releases continuously. Identification of the right tool for the implementation of automation systems that work well with your test automation framework to suit your objective and goals are of major importance.
Functional Flows in API
API systems allow applications to piggyback on other applications by collaborating with them to combine services. Reaching this level of integrations requires mapping the functional flow of API’s keeping in mind the integration of different layers of API. Visual models of the API should be constructed after designing flowcharts of the functional flows to retain clarity in the workflow. Various computer tools assist in visualizing complex software products. UML diagram tools can be used for this purpose and they can plot the relationships between objects, analyzing the attributes or code snippets associated with them. They can also be utilized to plan and evaluate the behavioral functions of the software.
Automated testing is a great advancement in the field of API testing helping testing teams optimize the performance of applications and ensuring their proper functioning under heavy workloads. There is a significant reduction in workloads for design teams and it is easier to launch new updates and features in applications with their support. They instill a strong sense of confidence and serve as support systems for struggling design teams.
The acceptance of automated testing has grown in the community depicting the efficiency of these systems. This meteoric rise has also come to face contradicting opinions where professionals feel the neglect of technical skills in automated testing has affected the performance of automated testing processes. It is essential to find the right balance between manual and automated testing systems to optimize your API testing process and develop applications of maximum efficiency and performance.
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