How to Measure Test Automation ROI

Dec 4, 2023 | Test Automation Insights

cost of technology

Adding new software to your tool stack is a significant decision that will impact several layers of your team. You’ll want to be confident before making a selection, and you’ll also need to be able to show other members of your team why you’re making the right choice. Calculating the return on investment (ROI) using your specific team’s data will help you do that.

What Is ROI in Automation Testing?

Test automation software will help your team be more productive and efficient while allowing you to test your code and make improvements faster. But, before you make a purchase, it’s good to know how to calculate the ROI of test automation so that you can show that the benefits will outweigh the costs using hard data.

Test automation ROI is a measure of the efficiency and effectiveness of automation testing in improving the overall software development and testing process. By using a test automation ROI calculator, you can fully understand both the costs and benefits that the software will bring to your team. It will also allow you to create a timeline of when you can start seeing a return on your investment after the initial purchase.

How to Calculate the ROI of Test Automation

A great way to calculate the costs and benefits and represent them in an easily digestible way is to use a test automation ROI template. A simple way of representing ROI is to divide the savings you will get from a software tool by its costs and multiply it by 100. That will show you the percentage of return you expect to receive. As a simple example, if your software will save you $10,000 over the course of a year and will cost $5,000, that’s a 200% ROI.

Costs

Software

The most obvious cost regarding test automation is that of the license to operate the software. Since there are two ways that a company may charge for their license, either for permanent use or a monthly fee, it’s important to account for both when determining the ROI for your test automation software.

A monthly licensing fee may initially seem like the most cost-effective option, but if you are planning to use your software for a long period of time, a permanent license is often the best option. Using a free trial of the software can also help you feel more confident in your purchase, especially if you’re considering a permanent license.

Hardware

If you’re using an on-prem solution, there can be some hardware costs associated with purchasing new software, especially if you’re building a test infrastructure from scratch. In addition to your workstations, you may need mobile devices to run software tests. Although some test automation tools will allow you to run your tests on emulators instead. 

Labor

Labor costs can come in several different forms, including the training and onboarding of new staff and the ongoing implementation and maintenance of the software.

Be sure to check out the educational and support resources that the software offers when estimating your labor costs. Test automation software that supplies a wealth of how-to videos, user guides, webinars, and other training resources can help you save labor costs during the onboarding process. They may also have instructor-led training courses that your staff can attend to better understand the software and make the onboarding process faster and more efficient.

You should also check the built-in integrations of the software and the flexibility of its API. This will help you get a sense of how long it will take to integrate the software with your current software to create a smooth transition.

Benefits

Productivity and Efficiency

A great test automation software will allow you to find problems faster and shorten the time your code spends in QA. It can also empower a smaller QA team to take on bigger projects.

One of the biggest benefits of test automation software is how much time your team will be able to save. Simultaneous tests can be run in parallel across different browsers and devices, and test data can be easily imported for execution and exported for reporting.

As you dive into the different test automation software tools available, you may find that you can delegate tasks so that your most experienced employees are the ones who save the most time in the testing process. Tools like record-and-replay or test creation software can allow less-experienced testers to perform tasks they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to. This allows your most experienced testers to work on higher-level tasks that will have a more significant impact on the software’s development.

Quality

This can be a harder factor to calculate since you may need to make some educated guesses. Having higher quality software will lead to better customer satisfaction and likely increase sales, but it can be tough to put an exact number on how that will benefit your business. You may be able to look at examples from your past releases or from your competitors to see how much a change in quality impacted their sales or customer retention. 

Ranorex Test Automation Software

Ranorex Studio is a powerful test automation software that will help your team save time and money throughout the QA process. According to data collected by TechValidate, 88% of Ranorex customers have seen a 20–40% increase in productivity after using the software.

Ranorex’s tools include:

  • Record-and-replay
  • Full development environment
  • Support for Windows, all popular web browsers, and Android or iOS
  • Machine-trained object detection
  • Test healing
  • Video reporting of test execution
  • PDF validation
  • Customizable test results reporting
  • Data-driven testing
  • A flexible API interface
  • Built-in integration with Jira, TestRail, and other tools

Start a Free Trial Today

Want to see for yourself how test automation software can improve efficiency and productivity for your team? Start a free trial of Ranorex Studio today.

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