74: Joe Colantonio: 5 Things Your Manager Doesn’t Understand about Test Automation

5 Things Your Manager Doesn’t Understand about Test Automation

I’ve been involved with test automation for over 15 years, and I’m amazed that to this day there are misconceptions about test automation that most managers are not even aware of. In this episode you will discover my top 5 things your boss probably doesn’t understand about test automation, and why you need to educate him or her ASAP.



Quotes & Insights from this Test Talk

• I remember the days when QA testers were treated almost as second-class citizens and developers ruled the software world. But as it recently occurred to me: we’re all testers now.
• With more and more companies making the shift left in their development process, testing and automation are no longer just QA activities—which means that the roles of developers and testers are beginning to blur
• With the current trends in software development practices, as well as the shift in focus toward customer-driven development models, test automation is more important than ever. Agile and DevOps demand more automation, and practices like continuous integration and delivery require automated tests that can be run quickly and reliably.3
• If testers are the only ones responsible for creating an automation framework and writing tests, it’s going to slow down your development process. Distributing testing to developers helps expedite your efforts.
• Before one line of code is written for a new feature, the developers should be planning their solution with automation in mind. Developers should ask themselves, “How can I expose a hook or create a unique ID for this element in order to make it more testable?”
• Regardless of your role on the team, development testing (and ultimately delivering a feature) requires a total team effort. Testing shouldn’t be an activity that is done only at the end of a sprint by a designated tester.6

Resources

• We’re all testers now: 5 steps to get ready to shift left with automation
• 5 Things your Boos Doesn’t understand about Test Automation
• Drive – The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

May I Ask You For a Favor?

Thanks again for listening to the show. If it has helped you in any way, shape or form, please share it using the social media buttons you see on the page.

Additionally, reviews for the podcast on iTunes are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show and I read each and every one of them.

Special offer for TestTalks listeners, get 20 hours of automated testing for free when you sign-up with promo code testtalks14 (more info).