Test automation generally means automated execution of test cases including automated verification of the test results. However, this is a rather narrow view. This term is more usefully taken to refer to any type of tool support of a testing activity. Tools that support testing activities are almost all computer programs that are generally referred to as test tools. The different types of test tools are outlined.
Almost any testing activity can be tool‐supported in some way, but this is not to say that the activity can be performed entirely by the tool or automatically. In most cases tool‐supported activities require some manual intervention. The main role of a testing tool is usually to support, not replace, a person's efforts.
This article discusses issues associated with most types of tool support for testing, but much of the later sections deal with issues that are most applicable to tool support for test execution automation, the most popular type of test automation.