This article provides insights into the challenges faced in managing manual and automated test cases across multiple tools and platforms. It also details how the QA team at Blackhawk Network is innovating to overcome these challenges and enhance testing efficiency.

The existing test management approach at Blackhawk Network (BHN) was highly fragmented. Manual test cases and results were managed in the Blackhawk Test Management tool, while automation test scripts were stored in GBAS (Global BHN Automation Suite). Automation test scripts were triggered by Jenkins builds and executed on BrowserStack, with the session recordings stored in the BrowserStack Cloud. This setup fragmented the management of manual and automated tests across the Blackhawk Test Management tool, GBAS, and BrowserStack.

Challenges Faced

  • Inconsistent test case management: Manual and automated test cases were housed in different systems, lacking a unified view.
  • Tracking and reporting challenges: Engineers had to navigate multiple tools to track and report results, increasing complexity and the risk of errors.
  • Testing inefficiencies: Manually correlating test cases and results across all the systems slowed down the review process.

They needed an integrated solution to consolidate manual and automated test cases and their results within a single system, thereby, streamlining test management, enhancing efficiency, and improving workflows.

"The reliability of its results, coupled with detailed session records and device information, significantly aids in debugging issues." – Jeenal Kamdar & Preeti Padalia, Staff Software Engineer, BHN who originated this idea and implemented the same over last year

Solution Approach

Blackhawk Test Management Tool Integration:

  • Establish an API-based communication between the Blackhawk Test Management tool and GBAS to synchronize test cases and results seamlessly.
  • Ensure proper authentication and access control mechanisms are in place to
    maintain data security.

Automation Framework Enhancement:

  • Develop plugins to automate the process of fetching test cases from the
    Blackhawk Test Management tool and updating test results back to it.
  • The plugin supports the execution of the Blackhawk Test Management tool test
    cases, including handling test case parameters and configurations.

    BrowserStack Integration:
  • Implement mechanisms to capture BrowserStack test results and link them to
    the corresponding Blackhawk Test Management tool test cases for centralized
    reporting.

End-to-end Workflow:

  • Define a clear workflow for executing the Blackhawk Test Management tool test
    cases through the automation framework with BrowserStack integration.
  • Ensure smooth integration with existing Jenkins pipelines to automate test
    execution as part of the software delivery process.
"We save many hours and resources by easily incorporating automated tests into our workflow with BrowserStack." - Swarit Agarwal, Sr. Engineering Manager, BHN

Results Achieved
Integrating the Blackhawk Test Management tool, GBAS, BrowserStack, and Jenkins marks a major milestone in Blackhawk Network’s testing infrastructure. This powerful combination enhances efficiency, reliability, and scalability. The end-to-end flow now involves the Jenkins pipeline initiating scheduled automation tests. The GBAS framework triggers BrowserStack devices to execute these tests. Once completed, the framework updates the Blackhawk Test Management tool with the test results and includes the BrowserStack video recording links.


"BrowserStack's reliable and scalable infrastructure has become an indispensable tool in our quality assurance toolkit.” - Bhupendra Jain, Principal Software Engineer, BHN


The Road Ahead

  • Automated Test Case Synchronization: Automating the synchronization of test cases between the Blackhawk Test Management tool and the automation framework to reduce manual effort.
  • Integration with Additional Tools: Investigate integration possibilities with additional testing tools and frameworks to further enhance testing capabilities.
  • Continuous Improvement: Continuously refine the integration to adapt to evolving testing requirements and technologies, incorporating feedback from stakeholders and end-users.
“Browserstack has been an integral part of BHN, easy to integrate, user friendly and a box of surprises always. BHN started using Browserstack from Cross Browser Compatibility testing to Mobile Automate to start exploring Accessibility recognition to Test Mgmt Tool. We also learnt how easy their API integration are from both pull and push mechanism. The Tech, Sales  & Support team is always go above & beyond to provide solutions as if they feel pride in the product features. Kudosss to BHN & Browserstack handshake.” - Om Vikram Thapa, Director of Engineering

(Attributed to Jeenal Kamdar & Preeti Padalia, and the Engineering Team at Blackhawk Network. This article was written at the request of Blackhawk Network. The opinions expressed are those of the author, based on their experience at Blackhawk Network.)