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Make Automation Fail by Laura Salazar Automation Testing is undeniably one of the key strategies for any QA Manager, and for good reason: Automation promises faster regressions, high productivity, good quality, and reduced costs. However, many QA managers fail to reach those results. They face late deliveries, acquire expensive tools, and deal with a lot of frustration. But what are the causes?In this article, I will review five of the most common practices that cause automation projects to fail. 1. We do not need an automation plan. “Let’s start scripting ASAP,” says the QA manager. Imagine this: You and your coworker just arrived in the US to perform a knowledge transfer. At the airport, you suggest looking for a road map, but your coworker says, “That’s not necessary. I’ve been herebefore and can find our way around.” You decide to put your concerns aside, get into the car, and start driving. After two hours on the road, you’re hungry, angry, and your gas tank is running on empty. You stop at a gas station to buy a map and ask a clerk for directions. Sound familiar? I can assure you the same happens when you don’t have an automation plan—and you are not going to find one in aconvenience store. An automation plan helps you attain a clear view of your scope, the resources that you need, the roadmap that you have to follow to achieve your objectives, and a way to measure how far you are from your goal, provide focus, and identify risks. 2. Let’s use the best, most powerful automation tool in the market. “This guarantees our success,” says the QA manager. Now, think ofyour dream car. For example, a Ferrari Testarossa—a high-quality piece of engineering with almost 300 horse power and luxurious interiors that costs half-a-million dollars. Now, picture that fine machine parked in front of an elementary school, 300 HP on hold. The mom in the driver’s seat is waiting for her children, trying to put on some make up, and singing to the baby in the back. The baby isspilling milk and passing his sticky fingers over the luxurious seats. The sweaty boys outside in their soccer gear are scratching the car and damaging the

paint job. I do not have anything against SUVs; I just think they are called “mom-mobiles” for a good reason. They are perfect for that kind of use. The same applies to automation tools. The most complete, powerful tool is not necessarily thebest tool for your project. To select a tool, you will need to consider factors such as budget, the application’s technology, the engineer’s skills, the training curve, vendor support, etc. I assume that you would never buy a car without a test drive, would you? The same applies for your automation tool. Once you have your selection, perform a proof of concept (POC) to verify that the toolsatisfies your expectations. If your client or QA organization already has a tool, do a POC anyway, as it will give you information about potential issues with the application technology and help you fine-tune your estimations. 3. We do not need standards nor a framework. “That requires time that we do not have. We need to start scripting right away, and I’ve got experienced people that know whatthey´re doing,” says the QA manager. The recently released movie The Avengers teaches us that having a team of superheroes in a room doesn’t guarantee anything. You may have five automation superheroes, but in the best-case scenario you are going to end with five perfect, innovative superscripts that do the same thing. In other words, you will have used effort and time that probably did not get youcloser to your goal. On the other hand, let´s say that you have a smart, energetic, and proactive team with no experience in automation. How will they know the best way to do it? And, how can they guarantee that their scripts have the same level of quality? One of the biggest automation problems is not figuring out how to finish the scripts but figuring out how to maintain them. To achieve an...