22 September, 2014

How to Select the Best Automation Tool for Business?

When it comes to selecting business automation tools, there are ample of them to choose from. Each of these tools is good as well as unique in its own way. However, it is imperative to select the one that will not only fit in your budget, but will also solve your purpose in the best possible way. Hence, there is a specific way to find out the best automation tool that will suit your purpose and fit in your budget.

Step1
The first step ostensibly involves taking stock of your requirements and getting together as many testing tools as possible. Once that is done, go through the pros as well as cons of each of them. This will help narrow down the search and concentrate on a few final tools to select from.

Step 2
Once you are done with narrowing of the search, it is time to set up demonstrations with the shortlisted vendors and see whether they can perform up to your expectations within a limited timeframe after they receive the Request For Proposal or RFP responses. This will help you to go for relevant comparisons or find answers to the following questions:
  • How user-friendly are the platforms in question?
  • Are the vendors expert enough to understand the critical parameters of your business, business objectives, or your marketing needs?
  • Do they contain the ‘must have’ features that will be needed to use for the business?
  • Once the answers to these questions are available, it becomes easier to further narrow down the search and select the vendor of your choice.
Step 3
This step mainly involves preparing another set of questions for doing the second round of screening. However, for this it will be better if a meeting with the vendors can be arranged for having a direct conversation regarding their capacity and seek for the answers to the following questions:
  • Will integration of the software with your company or business operation be a seamless as well as an easy process?
  • Is the on-boarding mechanism a time consuming as well as a highly complex one?
  • Whether the vendor is going to provide any after sales/delivery/installation support and will it require any training to use the software? If so, will be vendor provide the training? Know whether there is any need to shell out any extra money for the training, or will it be a free affair. What type training as well as support can be expected from the vendor?
  • How long does the software take to get implemented normally?
  • Is there any provision for a free test run for a limited period of time? If so, for how long?
Step 4
Once you have received satisfactory answers to all these questions from a vendor and it is settled that it is the one you are looking for, go for the final decision. Once you have taken the final decision, then the real tricky part comes.

Step 5
Start negotiating with them for the final contract or agreement. However, before entering the agreement, do not forget to ask for a free demo to get a firsthand experience of its capabilities for which you are looking forward to purchase it.

Here, one thing that needs to be remembered is that not every vendor enters into a yearly contract but there are many that do. Once the final decision is taken regarding vendor, it is important to get into a written agreement. The agreement should include the list of technologies as well as support. Ask categorically about the presence of any hidden fees or any extra fee that might crop up later on. Also, keep an eye on how the platform integrates with the CMS tools that you use for your business.

Step 6
Once you are satisfied, go for the final implementation. Try to have full time personnel who will take care of the glitches and issues. Do not go for implementation by a part time staff as that will be an extremely costly affair.

You can hire testers from top automation testing companies in India who can help you accomplish testing within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide test automation services. If you would like to hire automation testers from us or would just like to speak to one of our expert software testers, please reach out to us at Mindfire Solutions.

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