The Key to Effective Test Automation: Start with Why, Not How

10 years of test automation: What should you do and why should you do it?

Key insight

Software engineering teams should approach automated UI testing with specific goals rather than consider it a solution for every testing challenge. It's essential to focus on the purpose of automation, such as improving observable behaviours and addressing actual problems, rather than simply automating for the sake of automation. There are many misconceptions and misuses of automated UI testing, which teams must recognise and proactively work towards reducing to extract as much value from UI automation as possible.

Three key takeaways

1. Start with the why and what: Instead of focusing on who and how to automate, it's important first to understand why you are automating and what you hope to achieve. The why and the what can help limit the impact of automated UI test bloat by allowing you to assess what should and shouldn't be automated.

2. Focus on observable behaviours and improvement: When deciding the purpose of automation, teams should focus on observable behaviours such as incr…