Not all the testcases need to be automated. At the same time, there is no standard practice on what can be automated. The decision varies with the project size and complexity.
Some points to consider before automation :
- Are we performing the test case multiple times?
- Does it have multiple data set?
- Does the test case involve complex business logic?
- Does the test case works fine under all the environments?
- Execute the testcases on Cross Browsers?
- Can we afford the time it takes to automate a test case?
- Does it deserve the efforts it takes to automate it?
If we answer ‘yes’ to above questions, we can consider automating those test cases. However, if it is to be executed only once and it takes less time in executing the same test case manually, better we don’t automate it. We always need to consider if we can afford the time and money involved in automating it. ROI- Return on Investment is to be considered before making automation decision.