How to Add Test Automation to your Quality Assurance Toolbelt
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The document discusses the increasing importance of test automation in quality assurance, highlighting industry trends and recruitment challenges, with a growing demand for candidates possessing automation skills. It provides insights from various recruiters emphasizing the shift from manual to automated testing and the need for software engineers familiar with test frameworks and coding. Additionally, it offers resources and actionable steps for professionals looking to enhance their automation skills and integrate them into their workflow.
How to Add Test Automation to your Quality Assurance Toolbelt
- 1. How to add Test Automation to your Quality Assurance Toolbelt a discussion with Brett A. Tramposh QA Professional, Agile Practitioner
- 2. Today’s Presentation Start with a few General Assumptions Pulse of the Job Market / Demandjobs Sharing some insights Test Automation Continuum Developing your Toolbelt Final Thoughts
- 3. Today’s General Assumptions For the sake of today’s conversation, I am going to assume the following are true; We are talking today about testing and not about Quality Assurance There is still high value in manual testing performed by QA Test Automation is not a silver bullet to improving quality Test Automation is a necessity, and it’s hard to do it well Automation has a cost – it doesn’t just happen Automation can take many forms, it’s not a “one-size fits all” Start small, but start now!
- 4. Gartner Magic Quadrant for Software Test Automation Strategic Planning Assumption By 2020, DevOps initiatives will cause 50% of enterprises to implement continuous testing using frameworks and open-source quality tools. Gartner Report, 2015
- 5. And now, a word from Recruiters… Tony Seminary – I.T. Motives “It is getting increasingly difficult to place candidates who do not have a referenceable test automation skill. I would say 85% (or more) of the job postings are now requiring it.” Andy Brown – Mainz Brady Group “I would say it is almost 100%.. we just don't see requirements without the expectation that QA folks code.” Graham Rath – ServerLogic “The transition from mostly manual testing into mostly automation has been steadily picking up steam since about 2012. Last year, it's a safe bet to say about 80%, at least, of the QA focused searches required strong automation skills and some degree of coding/programming ability. I don't see that trend changing in 2017.” Kylie Brunger – Future State Consulting “100%. The clients that we are working with are now primarily hiring Software Engineers with some exposure building out Test Automated Frameworks to be able to handle that as well as contribute to development on the platform in general. This has been a profound shift for us over the last 12 months and moving forward it is the new standard.” Kendall Carr – InfoGroup Northwest 85% are requiring test automation. Most of our clients are looking for a Java/SDET background and Selenium. Other languages I see: python and ruby.
- 6. Recent job postings… A quick query within 25 mi of PDX There were 57 QA job hits, and 287 hits on Dev Most postings are combining SDET with QA tasks SDET - 5 jobs posted Software Development Engineer in Test - 8 jobs posted QA Automation – 9 jobs posted Test Automation Engineer – 5 jobs posted Software Quality Assurance – 1 job posted Software QA – 5 jobs posted - HP ALM/UFT - 8 QA jobs - IBM Rational Functional Tester – 1 QA job - SmartBear – 3 QA jobs
- 7. Recent job postings… ZoomCare QA Automation Engineer We’re hiring an experienced Sr. Automation Quality Engineer to enhance our delivery! If you’re an experienced Automation Quality Engineer (SDET) with at least five years of experience in Automation and/or Development with testing as the primary role, ZOOM+Care could be right for you. Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related field and 5-7 years of equivalent experience. Experience working in a variety of programming languages and environments including, Java, PHP, PostgreSQL or MySQL, Jenkins, Linux and/or Unix experience. Solid experience with Scripting Languages, Selenium, Cucumber. Experience working with production web applications using Apache or JBoss Experience with TDD/BDD, cloud technologies (*AWS a plus), continuous delivery and automation patterns, agile and iterative development cycles Experience with front-end technologies (AJAX, CSS, GWT). Experience with JIRA, Confluence and Zephyr is a plus.
- 8. Recent job postings… CYLANCE Sr. QA Engineer Build advanced tools for test automation Take ownership of product quality WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR 3 to 5 years of Software Testing experience Experience working with white-box testing methodologies (as well as some Black Box testing) Experience working with CLI (Jenkins) Experience with tools such as JIRA, Selenium, Load Runner, PyTest etc. Proven and demonstrable skill in Python (as well as C#, Ruby or Java
- 9. Recent job postings… Tripwire Sr. QA Engineer Experience with automated test and shell level coding For test automation development, strength in Ruby or Python or a similar high level language is important. We develop in Java, C++, so knowledge of one or both languages is desired. Experience doing scripted deployments of multi-component systems is desired. Chef and Vagrant experience desired. You must be able to design and debug tests that measure performance and functionality under scale and load.
- 10. Intel is raising the bar… Intel Software QA Engineer You must possess a Master degree in Computer Science, Engineering or a related discipline with 7-10 years of work experience or PhD with 2-4 years of experience. Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related field and 5-7 years of equivalent experience. … more and more are not calling them ‘automation’ engineers – the skill set is assumed
- 11. data taken from 2015 survey http://blog.testproject.io/2015/12/03/worlds-most-desirable-automation-skills/ What’s in demand?
- 12. Audience Insights Share your insights with the group: Is anyone in the role of Test/QA Architect? How many of you are developing code/frameworks as an SDET? - If so, are you also writing and executing the tests yourselves? How many of you are using licensed products like SoapUI Pro, SauceLabs, BrowserStack? How many of you are using big $$, off the shelf tools from HP, IBM, Informatica, Oracle, others? How many of you are using open source tools like Selenium, Cucumber, Rails, Appium How many of you are writing test scripts but NOT coding? Where did you learn to code? Self-taught? College CS Degree? Code Camp? How many of you still want/need to add these skills to your resume!?
- 13. QA Test Automation Continuum Scripting •JavaScript •Selenium •Cucumber •jMeter Test Tools •SoapUI Pro •QTP/UFT •BrowserStack (WebDriver) •SauceLabs Platforms •Appium w/Cucumber •Rails, Watir •Selenium •AngularJS, ReactJS and NodeJS SDET •Java •C++, C#, .NET •Ruby, Python •jUnit, TestNG, nUnit Architect
- 14. Developing your Toolbelt There are many “non-coding” skills that you need to develop as your foundation for test automation For example, you should be able to: Identify and checkout an application from source, build it, deploy it into a test environment. Create an AWS cloud environment that you can then deploy a build into Use AWS Device Farm, BrowserStack, or other mobile device emulator platform to run tests Write SQL queries to locate and extract/change data in a database Run performance testing using jMeter, Locust.io or other load test tools Understand how to use Jasmine and AngularJS, or Mocha with ReactJS Understand Continuous Integration practices and how to ‘connect the dots’ Check out code, and then write a unit test that will be run automatically Endless online resources to help educate yourself on the technologies and to understand the strengths of each, and where to apply them. Most sites like AWS and BrowserStack provide free access to get you started.
- 15. Developing your Toolbelt What knowledge do you feel is important? Non-coding skills to develop?
- 16. Free & Low Cost Remote Courses Tons of affordable video led courses for beginners to advanced Web developers site with tutorials and reference materials Simply easy learning, the largest tutorials library on the web Free video tutorials on major topics including SAP, Test Management, Jira and UFT Provides step-by-step instructions and interactive tutorials PDX company with subscription based interactive video learning programs
- 17. Code Camp(ers) Free Code Camp Portland – a Meetup group with nearly 1000 members dedicated to those who want to practice and learn and ‘pay it forward’ to non-profits PDX Code Guild – tuition $8000 (w/discounts available for underrepresented demographics) 12 weeks Offers two versions of their Python based coding boot camps; 12 week 40hrs a week, and a 16 week evening/weekend camp. Learn Python, Django, SQL, JavaScript, HTML5, CSS3 The Tech Academy – tuition about $8000 (w/payment options) 15 weeks The courses are self-paced and students who study 40 hours a week typically complete the program in 15 weeks. To date, over 95% of all graduates have landed tech jobs. Portland residents study in the classroom, but it can be taken as an online only course. Microsoft Visual Studio, TFS, Git, HTML5, CSS3, SQL, RDBMS, JavaScript, Python, .NET, C#, ASP.NET Epicodus – tuition $6000 (w/options) 20 weeks plus a 5 week internship Epicodus offers full-time courses in languages such as C#, PHP, Javascript, .NET, Ruby, Rails, and Drupal. Programming students at Epicodus typically take four five-week classroom courses, complete two weeks of job and internship prep, and finish their studies with a five-week internship. Instead of promoting learning through routine lectures, most of the classroom time is spent 'pair programming'.
- 18. Steps to Getting Started Tomorrow Put 30-60 minutes each day on your calendar to self- study the links provided above Write down your goals - S.M.A.R.T. Find a crazy peer to partner with on this journey Join a Meetup group dedicated to your goal Find a mentor for guidance & accountability
- 19. Final Thoughts YOU are the only one who can make it happen. Don’t expect your “management” to figure it out - or provide for it Prove to yourself that you have not only the aptitude, but the desire It’s a journey and won’t happen overnight “Frameworks get built one day at a time. Start small, iterate, refactor” – J. E. You will become a better tester and more valuable member of your agile team – guaranteed DON’T WAIT!
- 20. Reference Links Who to follow on Twitter https://techbeacon.com/33-test-automation-leaders-follow-twitter Great articles from T.J. Maher on TechBeacon Switching careers in QA: From manual testing to automation development First days as an automation developer? Take my advice on balancing dev, QA Fowler on MicroServices Testing http://martinfowler.com/articles/microservice-testing/#definition Great article on how he switched his skills and career http://techbeacon.com/switching-careers-qa-manual-testing-automation-development good article on how boot campers can get the same salary as a CS degree https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-boot-camp-code-graduate-can-fetch-same-entry- level-cunningham http://www.qatestingtools.com/companies-wallboard-mini http://bovon.org/archives/350 http://blog.testproject.io/2016/09/01/front-end-development-unit-test-automation- trends2/ http://techbeacon.com/dos-donts-testing-automation https://www.coursereport.com/2014-programming-bootcamp-survey.pdf https://www.switchup.org/coding-bootcamps-reviews?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=Portland
Editor's Notes
- #2: how to add test automation to your Quality Assurance Toolbelt. SQA job postings are still in abundance, but it is rare to find one that does not include some form of test automation pedigree. Brett will present the topic and then lead the discussion as we explore the various paths to building your test automation acumen, and learn how to add this valuable skill-set to your resume. If you are already an SQA with test automation experience we encourage you to participate and bring your learning forward and into the discussion where we will compare and contrast Computer Science degrees, Code Camps, licensed automation tools such as HP UFT (QTP), test frameworks and scripting tools such as jMeter and SOAPUI. There is much to explore on this topic and we want everyone to leave with a few key areas they can start building on today.
- #5: CAN YOU FREAKIN BELIEVE 2020 is only 3 years away!!!! Surprising actually that it will only be 50% of enterprises
- #7: I didn’t take the time to clean up the data of dups, but I saw a lot of them so the numbers represent a ratio and not exact count SDET is blurred with QA tasks – no longer pure SDET role Makes it difficult when everyone uses different terms!
- #11: Un apologetic – they are putting their focus on leveling the playing field. We have always complained of lower salaries and ‘second class’ status of QA when compared to Dev. Well, Intel is putting an end to that and putting the “Engineer” stamp on “QA Engineer”
- #12: Do you agree? What is not on here?
- #14: SDET – you want skills that are exactly the same as your development staff ideally The lower half doesn’t require you learn coding skills – the upper half does DEVOPS – while we are not talking about it here, it is a major influence in all of this
- #15: One of the best ways is to read the job descriptions and say – do I have those skills that employers want?
- #18: Once you have proven to yourself that you are serious and that you have an aptitude for coding, you may want to invest your time and money in a crash course boot camp experience.
- #19: Favorite quote from Jim E. – when asked how he knew all ‘this stuff’ his answer was, “I read” Partner up with someone who is committed to this journey with you. Don’t start a big program and invite all QA at your company to participate, they will fizzle out Find mentors and resources nearby that can help you over obstacles
- #20: The 10,000 hours principle discussed in “Outliers” You will find you become a better tester, and more valuable to your agile team with just a little bit of extra knowledge, imagine how much more as you grow
- #21: Not all that I looked at, but the ones I kept track of