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Ten Steps to Building Software Test Automation That Works

Step 7: Internal Sale and Promotion of the Automation Project

The Top Four Misconceptions of Management

Selling an internal software test automation project may be more difficult than you think. Automation tools have been around for more than 2 decades and as a result, senior managers have had varying experiences with automation, some positive and some not so positive. ROI numbers may not be enough.

The most common misconceptions with automation:

  • It will take months of training on the application before you can begin developing and running test automation scripts.
  • Software test automation is exceedingly costly to maintain.
  • Test automation is only effective with Agile Software Development Methods.
  • You can't beat the quality of manual testing.

Don't take the chance of having your project rejected.

You may think it will be easy to convince senior management to approve an automation project if you have solid budget and ROI numbers in hand. The challenge is to get beyond the misconception, some of them are well founded.

What Learning Curve?

I can't even tell you the number of times I have been asked: "How long will it take you to learn our software before you can begin to develop the automation? The answer: There is no need to learn the product if the right methodology is deployed.

Start by automating the "critical path" or the main highway through the product and prioritize by measuring the risk and time. Automate the redundant tests first and give a higher priority to the long test time items because when time deadlines approach, these tests are more likely to be cut short. Begin running the automation early while continuing to expand the coverage.

Maintenance Has Killed More Than One Project.

Maintenance was addressed in last month's newsletter, but is worth discussing again. This is the Achilles Heel of automation. As the product changes or new features are added, the automation needs to be enhanced to reflect the changes. You must be sure your automation development methodology supports these on-going changes cost effectively. Do your research on this one.

"Test automation will not work here, we're not an Agile shop."

The fact is, test automation supports rapid testing and quality feedback no matter what software development methodology is being used. Test automation also supports the transition to shorter build cycles.

Automation vs. Manual Testing Quality

We're not questioning the effectiveness of manual testing. The issue is the time and expense of manual vs. automated. With manual testing it may take weeks to complete a test and you have to repeat the test each for each test cycle. As the product grows in size and complexity, redundant testing becomes too expensive to perform manually.

Regarding quality, automated is more effective than manual because there are no short cuts taken. Also, the test can be repeated as often as necessary, in hours rather than weeks.

Don't Forget To Sell Your QA Team.

The quality assurance team may pose an additional challenge. Their resistance is easily addressed by communicating the changes ahead. Make sure they understand that the redundant manual testing can be traded in for more exciting work. The manual testers can concentrate on new features.

In an automated test environment, once the test is written the computer performs the testing. The manual test requirement is significantly reduced. The test can be run as frequently as necessary with no additional cost. The QA professionals become the Champions of the test process by eliminating the bottleneck.

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...

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  • Prioritize areas for automation based on results from a cost benefit analysis
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Here's what our clients had to say.

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