F13-202: Zero to Eight: Lessons Learned Starting a Test Automation Team from Scratch

Track: Test Automation

How do you build a successful suite of automated tests for your system? One test at a time. With lots of careful thought and a willingness to backtrack and adjust. In this talk the speaker shares his experiences building up a test automation effort for a five year old legacy software product that had zero planned testing, manual or automated, prior to his taking on a job as a tester. You will learn approaches for getting your own test automation effort in place, including making the case for automation, planning out infrastructure needs, and identifying tools to use for your automation. You will also learn how to build up a team to be successful with automation, and discover why it is so critical to treat test automation as a software engineering effort – BECAUSE IT IS ONE! Explore how to deal with fundamental problems common to any automation effort: managing expectations, dealing with technical challenges, and empowering your testers via education. We will discuss the number one factor for failure or success: the organization’s culture toward quality. This session focuses on one specific team’s experience, but draws from the speaker’s years of experience in the field. Attend this session and take away practical advice on what works, what doesn’t, and some frank discussion around areas where the speaker has failed with his teams in the past – and ideas on how to avoid those problems in your own automation efforts!

Session Takeaways:

  • Automated UI testing is a software engineering effort, not just a testing effort.
  • The best successes in automation come from whole-team approaches.
  • Set expectations early: getting successful in automation means focusing on the long haul.
  • Technology is important. The team”s mindset is more important.
  • Leave room ON THE SCHEDULE for learning and process/technology improvement
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Session Speaker:

Jim HolmesJim Holmes – Director of Engineering for Test Studio, Telerik
Jim Holmes: Father. Husband. Geek. Veteran. Around 25 years IT experience. Co-author of “Windows Developer Power Tools.” Coffee Roaster. MVP for C#. Chief Cat Herder of the CodeMash Conference. Diabetic. Runner. Liked 5th grade so much he did it twice. One-time setter, middle blocker, and weakside hitter. Blogger (http://FrazzledDad.com). Evangelist for Telerik’s Test Studio, an awesome set of tools to help teams deliver better software. Big fan of naps.