The goal of functional testing is simply to ensure that an application works as it should from the end user's perspective. Manual functional testing calls upon business analysts and testers to capture user requirements, prepare test plans, and document their interactions with the application in order to validate the software's operations. Through test automation, functional test scripts that have already been validated can be quickly applied to every application that uses that particular component of software, so more tests can be done in less time.

There are many myths about both manual and automated functional testing. Many people believe that test automation is too expensive relative to its value; therefore it should be used rarely if at all. Others (such as agile developers) insist that automation of 100 percent of all tests is the ultimate objective.

This paper is not intended as a primer on implementation best practices, but here are a few "lessons learned" and considerations for the companies considering the move to Mercury Business Process Testing.

• Start with Mercury Business Process Testing for Manual Testing
• Don't jump to the keyword-driven model prematurely
• Don't scrimp on training
• Give Mercury your feedback