Test automation is often seen as a silver bullet to solve many problems in software development: It is supposed to speed up test execution, find more bugs than manual testing, decrease release time and increase test coverage, just to name a few.
But why do a lot of test automation initiatives fail or don’t deliver these expected benefits?
Reasons for that are manifold, still it’s often due to the same or similar causes: Not having the right strategy, for example trying to automate as much as possible, not considering risks or potential benefits. Automating everything, even if return on investment will never be met. Not applying good programming principles to test automation code, resulting in an unmaintainable “big ball of mud”. Buying a tool that should enable all testers to automate, regardless of their skillset.
During this talk, I will show common pitfalls, explain why they are problematic and present solutions that I have seen working in praxis, e.g. treating test automation code with the same care as production code.
If you’re involved in test automation or you’re interested in the topic, then this talk is for you!
Key takeaways
- Recognize common mistakes in test automation processes
- Understand the misconceptions about automation capabilities
- Learn the repeatedly occurring technical implementation issues
- Acquire good practices on how to avoid test automation pitfalls