Automation Test Scripts are typically programs or applications, which are developed to execute the various test cases required to be performed on the software being tested. Test Scripts thus, are software, which like any other software are developed to address a specific need. Test Scripts are an investment made by the project for which gains will be realized later and hence due importance should be given to it. Test scripts also follow the broad software development life cycle stages as described under:

Phase 1: Requirements
Which tests need to be automated? Requirements for the test scripting process are derived from the test cases of the application that need to be automated. This is done in a form of a traceability matrix. Business Analyst or SME also helps in identifying the test cases.

Phase 2: Design & Coding
Test Script Design involves the building of a model, which describes the functionality or usage of the system in order to facilitate the execution of tests. Each test case is expressed as a sequenc Some of e of actions to be performed in order to execute the test.these actions may be performed repeatedly – this is also called iteration. Usually the number of iterations is known and it does not change during actual testing. Design is an important step in the scripting life cycle as this is where the coverage of the testing to be performed and the expected results are defined.

Coding is conversion of the test case into a test script. This may be done using a tool in conjunction with either an application language or a scripting language. The input for the coding phase is the test case model where the actions to be performed for each step are already defined.

Phase 3: Testing
Testing the test script is one of the most important processes in the life cycle as it ensures that the test script conveys the correct output and does not project a wrong result as the right one. Testing of a script ensures that the software under test is being tested using the correct tools and increases the reliability of scripts and confidence of the project team. Sometimes, testing of scripts is dome by other automation engineers (apart from script designer) as well.

Phase 4: Update the test scripts
Issues found in phase 3 (like – sometimes scripts are not working properly, etc) are fixed in this phase by script designer. Then again these scripts are tested to male sute these will work flawlessly.

Must Read: Automation Testing LifeCycle/Process Simplified