Lee Barnes - Path to Becoming an Effective Test Automation Engineer.pdf
- 1. Path to Becoming an Effective Test Automation Engineer Lee Barnes Chief Quality Officer, Forte Group
- 2. About Me… • Chief Quality Officer of Forte Group • Involved in software quality and testing for over 30 years • Most of that time focused on test automation and performance testing • Passionate about helping organizations build quality into their applications Email: lee.barnes@fortegrp.com Twitter: @USI_LeeBarnes LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/leebarnes @USI_LeeBarnes 2
- 3. Current State of Test Automation Image Source: 2022-23 World Quality Report Three most important factors in determining test automation approach @USI_LeeBarnes 3
- 4. What Does Effective Test Automation Look Like? • Supports software development and business objectives • Includes high value activities / tests • Reliable and provides fast feedback • Continuous improvement • Allows testers to focus on high-value testing tasks finding problems @USI_LeeBarnes 4
- 5. Testing Techniques | Test Design | Domain Knowledge | Application Knowledge Programming | Design Techniques | Automated Test Design | General Tech Skills Test Automation Technology / Tooling What is an Effective Test Automation Engineer? @USI_LeeBarnes 5 “Show me an effective SDET and I’ll show you a developer with the heart of a tester” – Scott Moore Curious | Analytical | Intuition Effective Communicator | Love of Learning Foundational Characteristics & Skills Software Testing Skills Technical Skills Tooling
- 6. Programming | Design Techniques | Automated Test Design | General Tech Skills Test Automation Technology / Tooling What’s the Reality? @USI_LeeBarnes 6 Tooling Technical Skills
- 7. 7 How Do We Get There from Here? @USI_LeeBarnes
- 8. Finding Your Starting Point @USI_LeeBarnes 8 Self Assessment Mind Map Test Automation Skills Automated Test Design Tooling Landscape UI Automation API Automation General Tech Skills CI/CD Technologies Web Technologies Test Data Management Database Basics Operating Systems Programming Skills Version Control Object Oriented Programming Software Design Patterns Software Testing Skills Risk Assessment Test Types Test Design Techniques Value Assessment
- 9. Plotting Your Path @USI_LeeBarnes 9 Start at YOUR beginning Keep Focus on the Northstar… Adding Value! Software Testing Skills General Tech Skills Programming Skills Test Automation Skills
- 10. 10 How Do We Get There from Here? @USI_LeeBarnes Software Testing Skills
- 11. Typical Approach to Software Testing @USI_LeeBarnes 11 Requirements Tests Execution • Created in a vacuum • Missing acceptance criteria • Incomplete • Ambiguous • Scripted test steps • Shallow verification • UI heavy • Executed / automated by someone other than the test author • Shallow results analysis Maximum Work and Minimum Value
- 12. Learn the Craft of Software Testing • Understand the importance of viewing testing as a craft that requires specialized skills • Learn the levels of testing (unit, integration, etc.) and how they complement each other • Learn a variety of testing techniques and when to use them • Understand how to add value throughout the software delivery cycle • Learn how to communicate the value of testing to product stakeholders @USI_LeeBarnes 12
- 13. Software Testing Learning Path @USI_LeeBarnes 13 Books • Software Testing Techniques (Beizer) • The Craft of Software Testing (Marick) • Software Testing: A Craftsman’s Approach (Jorgensen) • Testing Computer Software (Kaner) • Perfect Software and Other Illusions About Testing (Weinberg) • Pragmatic Unit Testing (Langr, Hunt and Thomas) • Testing Object Oriented Systems (Binder) Software Testing Fundamentals and Techniques Online • Ministry of Testing (testing community) • Thinking Tester (testing focused blog) • Visible Quality (testing & QA focused blog) • Developsense Blog (testing focused blog) • Satisfice Blog (testing focused blog) • Google Testing Blog (testing focused blog)
- 14. Software Testing Learning Path @USI_LeeBarnes 14 Books • Practical Guide to Testing in DevOps (Clokie) • Agile Testing: A Practical Guide for Testers in Agile Teams (Crispin and Gregory) • More Agile Testing (Crispin and Gregory) Software Testing in Modern Software Development Online • Lisa Crispin blog (Agile testing focused blog) • Katrina the Tester (DevOps testing focused blog) • Continuous Testing and DevOps (DevOps testing focused blog) • Agile Testing Fellowship (Agile testing focused community with blog & training courses)
- 15. 15 How Do We Get There from Here? @USI_LeeBarnes Test Automation Skills
- 16. Typical Approach to Test Automation @USI_LeeBarnes 16 Tool / Framework Automate Tests Execution • Start with tool / framework focus • Over engineer • Ignore important foundational factors for success • Automate existing scripted test steps verbatim • Scope limited to executing tests • UI heavy • Executed late in the sprint (or next sprint) • Flaky execution / irrelevant failures • Inefficient results triage Maximum Work and Minimum Value
- 17. Learn the Craft of Test Automation • Understand that test automation is a process, NOT a tool or framework • Automate testing activities to further software development goals, not for the sake of automation • Learn how to assess your readiness to succeed with test automation • Learn test automation design techniques to ensure reliability and maintainability • Learn how to communicate the value of test automation to product stakeholders @USI_LeeBarnes 17
- 18. Are You Ready to Succeed? Purpose Dependencies Constraints Pipeline / Execution Environment / Data What business goal does this test suite support? What business risk does this test suite mitigate? What systems or tools must be in place for this test suite to run successfully? What can prevent us from implementing this test suite in an ideal way? Will this test suite be part of a pipeline? When will it be triggered? How often will it run? What environment will the test suite run in? How will test data be managed? Ownership and Response Maintainability Effectiveness Who will create the test suite? Who should own it? Who will address test failures and how? What will the process be to review code? What documentation needs to exist? How will we know the test suite is effective? Test Suite Canvas – questions to help you think critically about test automation readiness - Ashley Hunsberger (adapted from original concept by Katrina Clokie) @USI_LeeBarnes 18
- 19. Automated Test Design • Interact with the application in the most direct way • UI level for testing UI mechanics • API / component level for testing variations on the backend components • Consider contract style tests vs. end-to-end automation across systems • Avoid automating existing test steps verbatim – find the most efficient way satisfy test objectives with automation • Provide actionable feedback to facilitate test failure analysis @USI_LeeBarnes 19
- 20. Take a Context-Driven Approach • Don’t let your current tools / knowledge be your hammer and make every automation opportunity look like a nail • Consider all testing activities for automation – not just scripted test steps • Broaden your definition of what a test automation “tool” is – use the right tool for the job • Think critically about your automation scope – focus on high-value tests @USI_LeeBarnes 20
- 21. Test Automation Learning Path @USI_LeeBarnes 21 Online • Automation In Testing (test automation focused site with training, practice site, and blog) • On Test Automation (test automation focused site with training, free workshops and blog) • Test Automation University (site with a wide variety of free test automation courses) • Test Guild (online community dedicated to test automation) • Evil Tester (testing and test automation focused site with many resources) Test Automation Fundamentals and Techniques • Automation Panda (a software development, testing and test automation focused site – includes a current list of sites to practice your test automation skills)
- 22. Key Takeaways • There is not a single path to becoming an Effective Test Automation Engineer • Effective test automation is built on a foundation of software testing expertise • Keep focused on adding value as you progress down your path • Continuously improve! • Understand that test automation (and software testing!) is much more than executing scripted test steps @USI_LeeBarnes 22
- 23. Continuing the Conversation Lee Barnes Chief Quality Officer Forte Group Email: lee.barnes@fortegrp.com Twitter: @USI_LeeBarnes LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/leebarnes @USI_LeeBarnes 23