Hey there! As an expert in test automation with over 10 years of experience validating software on thousands of real devices and browsers, I know one question always comes up when making the case for automation: "What‘s the ROI?"
It‘s completely reasonable for stakeholders to ask this. Implementing test automation requires considerable upfront investment – in tools, framework creation, maintenance processes, and more. Convincing decision-makers means providing tangible ROI calculations tied to bottom line impacts.
After quantifying automation ROI many times, I can guide you through simple formulas to project cost/time savings plus efficiency gains. By relating these numbers to business outcomes, we clearly demonstrate automation‘s value.
Here‘s what we‘ll cover in this guide:
- Overview of Test Automation ROI
- ROI Calculation Formulas
- Efficiency ROI Metrics
- Factors That Increase Your Automation ROI
- Common ROI Measurement Mistakes
- Why Testing on Real Devices Boosts ROI
Let‘s dive in and crunch the numbers!
What Exactly is Test Automation ROI?
First, what does ROI mean? ROI calculates your "return on investment" – how much you gain or lose by putting money into something.
ROI (%) = (Gain from Investment – Cost of Investment) / Cost of Investment x 100
Positive ROI means your returns exceeded costs. Your investment pays off.
For test automation ROI specifically:
- "Gains" come from saving testing time/costs by automating manual processes
- "Investment" includes building, maintaining, expanding automated testing
Calculating Your Test Automation ROI
Figuring exact ROI gives proof automation drives efficiencies, saving time and money longer term.
Here are two easy formulas to demonstrate automation ROI:
1. Basic Cost/Time Savings ROI
This measures direct savings over manual testing:
ROI % = (Savings from Automation - Costs of Automation) / Costs x 100- Savings = Hours reduced running tests automatically
- Costs = Hours invested in framework creation, maintenance, test coding
For example:
Manual testing time = 500 hours
With automation:
Initial setup: 80 hours
Test coding: 200 hours
Maintenance: 60 hours (monthly)
Total Automation Costs: 80 + 200 + 60 = 340 hours
Total Savings: 500 - 340 = 160 hours
ROI % = (Savings - Costs) / Costs x 100
= (160 hours - 340 hours) / 340 hours x 100
= -53%
This basic ROI shows -$53 return per $1 spent on automation – not yet breaking even.
But as tests expand over 6 months, picture 10X more test runs:
Manual testing time = 500 hours x 6 months = 3,000 hours
Total Automation Costs: 340 hours x 6 months = 2,040 hours
New ROI % = (3,000 hrs - 2,040 hrs) / 2,040 hrs x 100
= 47% ROINow automation achieves 47% ROI – paying back almost $0.50 per $1 invested!
2. Efficiency Gain ROI
This directly measures improvements in testing velocity:
Efficiency Gain % = (Manual Hours - Automation Hours) / Manual Hours x 100Revisiting the first example:
Manual testing time = 500 hours
Automation testing time = 340 hours
Efficiency Gain % = (500 - 340) / 500 x 100 = 32%So automation boosted testing efficiency by 32% here.
The efficiency formula helps show productivity benefits beyond just cost savings. Leadership loves productivity stats!
What Factors Increase Automation ROI?
Many variables impact achieving positive ROI from test automation:
More Tests & Test Runs
The volume of tests run drives cost savings.
If it takes 5 minutes to manually test a feature but 90 seconds with automation – those 4 saved minutes per test add up quick!
| Tests | Daily Runs | Months | Manual Testing Time | Automation Time | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 1 | 1 | 750 hours | 250 hours | 500 hours |
| 500 | 1 | 1 | 3,750 hours | 1,250 hours | 2,500 hours |
| 1000 | 4 | 6 | 9,000 hours | 3,000 hours | 6,000 hours |
More test cases + frequent test runs make automation way more valuable.
Lower Test Failure Rates
Bugs in test scripts themselves hamper ROI by slowing everything down for troubleshooting.
20% test failure rates from flaky tests or script issues creates tons of unplanned maintenance. Attaining 5% or less failures through solid test design is ideal to maximize ROI.
Coverage Expansion Over Time
The broader your test coverage, the more confident you can release changes with less risk. Prioritizing different test types like security, performance, edge cases proves automation‘s worth.
Plan continual coverage expansion in your ROI projections.
Agility & Feature Release Velocity
The competitive advantage automation testing provides cannot be overstated.
Your team‘s ability to release faster depends on test automation scalability. This speed translates directly into growth and revenue.
Consider ROI in the context of enabling business objectives like agility.
Common Test Automation ROI Mistakes
Based on frequently seeing teams calculate ROI, here are some common missteps:
Not Budgeting Enough for Maintenance
The maintenance costs of automated testing often surprises first-timers. Be comprehensive in assessing needs for failure investigation, script updates, test additions/deletions over 12+ months. This investment is key for long-term returns.
Assuming Full Manual Testing Replacement
It‘s super rare for automation to wholly replace manual efforts. Humans still shine at exploratory testing, spot checks, complex test case design, final verifications.
Calculate automation ROI complementing skilled QA talent rather than replacing them.
Forgetting Infrastructure Costs
All the tools, services and environments needed to run automation require capital and operational expenses.
Cloud platform subscriptions, 3rd party software, test lab costs contribute heavily to overall automation spending.
Isolating ROI from Business Goals
While efficiency metrics matter, also relate automation ROI to customer growth, risk reduction, faster release cycles, improved uptime. Connect testing capacity to business outcomes for maximum buy-in.
Why Real Devices Are Key for Maximizing Automation ROI
Here‘s an ROI consideration I see teams often overlook:
Are you truly testing for the real world with automation?
Simulators and emulators do not reliably replicate the vast device fragmentation and variations real users have.
With over 9000 distinct device configurations globally accessing apps and websites, software has to work properly across countless combinations.
Factors like cellular networks, outdated OS versions, foreign locales all impact application stability and UX. Emulators miss many of these real-world variables.
Without real devices representing user conditions, defects inevitably reach customers, destroying experience perception.
This directly lowers automation ROI – you can run a million automated tests, but if not validating against real devices, ship astonishingly bad software, undermining quality, speed and cost benefits automation should provide.
I cannot stress enough how critical real device testing is for maximizing test automation ROI and outcomes.
Cloud platforms like BrowserStack enable affordable, scalable access to thousands of real mobile devices and browsers for test automation.
Consider ROI calculations assuming real device cloud access vs. simulators – the business justification confirmation becomes abundantly clear.
Let‘s Talk About Your Automation Testing ROI
I hope walking through sample ROI calculations and considerations brings clarity on projecting test automation benefits.
My goal is equipping you with techniques to demonstrate automation‘s value beyond intuition to get stakeholders fully on board.
If you have any other questions on assessing potential test automation ROI in your organization, I‘m always happy to chat more based on my decade-plus of experience. Reach out any time!
Now armed with ROI formulas and a methodology, go forth and build the case for test automation investment – then reap the quality, velocity and cost rewards for years to come. Your customers will thank you!
