Code refactoring is the process of editing and cleaning previously written code without changing its functionality.
The primary goal is to make the code more efficient and easier to maintain, avoiding "code rot," such as code duplication, numerous fixes, and inconsistent styles caused by different developers’ coding preferences.
How Does Code Refactoring Affect QAs Work?
Let’s examine its impact on manual and automation QA engineers.
Manual QA Engineers
Since the core logic of the software remains unchanged, manual testers focus on:
In-depth testing: Testing the product as an end user.
Regression testing: Ensuring updates haven’t broken or changed existing functionality.
Automation QA Engineers
For automation testers, refactoring is more challenging because it can break test scripts due to changes like:
Change in Element Locators: Old identifiers for elements may no longer exist, leading to test failures.
Technical changes in the codebase: Updates to the underlying application code, such as changes in APIs, DOM structures, or logic, can cause automated tests to fail. This requires testers to adapt scripts to align with the new system architecture.
Pros and Cons of Refactoring
When Should You Refactor Code?
The best time to refactor code is before adding updates or new features to the existing code. This makes future developers’ work easier.
The Rule of Three:
The first time you do something, you just do it.
The second time, you feel annoyed but repeat the process.
The third time, you begin refactoring.
Overdoing refactoring is as bad as not doing it at all. It’s crucial to find a balance and dedicate a few hours or days at the beginning or end of each sprint for incremental refactoring. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by its positive impact.
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