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Ten Steps to Building Software Test Automation That Works

Step 6: Identifying, Hiring and Training Automation Professionals

The Most Critical Components Of Success

What background produces the most proficient developer of test automation? Good question. By determining the results you are looking for from test automation up front, it becomes easier to determine the skill sets and background required. You may be surprised by the differences.

Although software development background is important, the results may be less than expected without the proper methodology and training.

MYTH:
Send the entire QA department for tool training and you will have test automation in no time!
REALITY:

Having a good tool and people that know it inside and out is just one of the components of success. However, if other aspects such as designing for maintainability are forgotten, in 6 months you may find yourself looking for another "better" tool. The first tool could become "shelfware."

According to the tool vendors, about 80% of automated tools sold are not being used. The complexity of maintenance becomes overwhelming and the automation is slowed or eliminated.

This paper is designed to help you become one of the 20% of organizations who achieve its objectives.

Find a unique combination of skills and attitudes when you look at potential test automation resources.

QA automation skills required:

  • Technical proficiency - Writing test scripts is essentially a development task and all code development practices and standards are more than applicable here. The script code has to be easily managed, maintained, and well commented. There should be a number of established processes and procedures in place, such as - name conventions, code reviews, design meetings, source / version control, scripts, and back-up. If your test automation specialist is also responsible to set up all the above, then that person should have a significant technical background. A bachelor's degree in computer science with business skills is recommended.
  • QA engineer mentality - Quite frankly, not many developers are eager to take on the load of being responsible for a QA automation effort. A good QA person focuses on finding the most efficient coverage of the test and is tasked with locating hidden problems. Developers, in general, are more inclined to think in terms of code efficiency (in this case, the test script code efficiency). When it comes to automated testing, the goal is to develop test scripts that will be very easily modified to quickly accommodate changes in the application under test. It is not the goal to test the efficiency of the script code itself.

Hiring outside vs. training internal candidates

Based on the suggested skill requirements you will make the determination of whether to hire an outside vendor or train internal resources. In either case, adherence to and the training on an automation development methodology is crucial to long-term viability of the automation.

Training - The importance of a Development Methodology

The importance of an automation development methodology cannot be understated. It is recommended that developers of automation are proficient in the capabilities of the tool set being deployed. Training on the tools is a pre-requisite to the training to follow. The tool vendors do a good job of training on the use of tool sets but lack in the training necessary to build efficient and maintainable automation and development architecture. The architecture needs to support development efficiency but, more importantly, must be efficient to maintain.

MYTH:
Send the entire QA department for tool training and you will have test automation in no time!
REALITY:
Having a good tool and people that know it inside and out is one of the components of success. However, if other aspects such as maintainability are forgotten, in 6 months you might find yourself looking for another "better" tool. The first tool may never be implemented and become "shelfware". According to the tool vendors, about 80% of automated tools sold are never implemented. This paper is designed to help you become one of the 20% of organizations who succeed.

Training on the Development of Test Automation

The student should learn to create test scripts that are more robust, durable, and easy to maintain. In addition, they should be trained extensively to interpret the results.

Automation Essentials Course Outline

Pre-requisite: Tool Overview Training includes:

  1. Automation architecture
  2. Approach and development methodology
  3. Essentials of automation
  4. Execution of automation scripts
  5. Interpret the results

On The Job Training

On the job training should begin after Tool Overview Training and the Automation Methodology Essentials class. The training should start off with mentoring sessions and evolve into one-on-one assistance. This schedule will allow the user to develop automation while utilizing the support of experienced developers for on the job assistance.

Please e-mail your comments to cblaylock@qasignature.com or call 617 510-6545.

Click here for a PDF copy of the complete white paper.

Proof of Concept Service

To Companies Who Want To Build Test Automation - But Don't Have The Time Or Resources To Get Started...

Take qaSignature For A Test Drive.

An effective approach to getting started with test automation is the qaSignature Proof of Concept Service. Standard test automation produces limited results and is difficult and costly to maintain. The qaSignature methodology is different. We'll prove it. Give us your most difficult automation challenge. We will:

  • Recommend the optimal automation tool (or use yours)
  • Build the automation as a proof of concept and show you how our methodology works
  • Let you change the code, we will update the test and rerun
  • Show you the results in our easy to follow test logs
  • Prioritize areas for automation based on results from a cost benefit analysis
  • Give you a fixed price estimate for a fast start program

Here's what our clients had to say.

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"The proof of concept demonstrated the applicability of applying the qaSignature QA Automation Methodology to our Agile Development Process."
Keith Hillyard, Custom Engineering SQA Manager, Kronos

"I was impressed by qaSignature's objectivity. They recommended the right tool for the job even though it wasn't their standard offering. They really know QA Automation."
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Call us now @ 617 510-6545

Click on the link below for details:

Proof of Concept

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