REVOLUTION 9MEANINGFUL AND MINDFUL TEST AUTOMATION

INTRODUCTION TO ME

• Test Automation Architect

• IBM Watson Health

• Support for V1 and in-development V2 Clinical Development applications

• Started in UAT

• >13 years in SQA

• >8 years in test automation

• Strong proponent of BDD methodology

• Working towards the lofty goal of test automation with ZERO specification

• Laugh...

• Laugh more...

RYAN L. BEDINO

INTRODUCTION TO ME

How the world sees me How I see myself How my wife sees me

MEANINGFUL AND MINDFUL TEST AUTOMATION

REVOLUTION 9 - THE PLAN

• PART I - Common misconceptions of, and challenges encountered while being a test automation team member

• PART II - An overview of the 9 Tenets

• PART III - A better understanding of the history and deeper meaning behind each of the 9 Tenets

• Solutions, in the context of the 9 Tenets, for integrating better with both development and manual testing teams

• SUMMARY

• QUESTIONS

VS

PART I : MISCONCEPTIONS AND CHALLENGES

• No manual testers know anything about coding

• Software developers know nothing about testing software

• Test automation teams are neither testers, nor developers

• Test automation teams typically have a "Wild West" mentality regarding the SDLC

• Test automation is arbitrary and not necessary

MISCONCEPTIONS

• Assessing the level of understanding of the roles of the team members

• Communication across teams

• Expressing the role of test automation

• Maintaining transparency and accountability as part of a test automation team

CHALLENGES

"...THOSE TESTERS WHO THINK THEY'RE DEVELOPERS..."

...on Test Automation team members...

"...THOSE FANCY SQA PEOPLE WHO KNOW HOW TO CODE..."

...on Test Automation team members...

WITHOUT FURTHER ADIEU...

PART II - OVERVIEW OF THE 9 TENETS

REVOLUTION 9 - THE TENETS• Background

• In Short -

• ELI5

• READABLE code

• Mitigating the FUTURE

• ABSTRACT layers

• PAIR exercises

• COMPLIANT process and results

• COMMUNICATE

• REASONABLE estimates, resolution, etc.

• Be a CREATIVE team member

PART III - DEEPER MEANING AND SOLUTIONS

REVOLUTION 9 - TENET I

If I can't understand your explanation, we just won't jive...Explain Like I'm 5 [ELI5]

If you simplify what you are presenting, you establish a base context between you and your audience. This helps them to better

relate to, understand, retain, and build upon those concepts!

PART III - DEEPER MEANING AND SOLUTIONS

REVOLUTION 9 - TENET II

If the code is clean, it's unbeatable...make sure you develop code that's READABLE

If you can present a narrative from within your code, simply by it's construction, naming, and

logical structure, then the next engineer to look at the code will have no problem

understanding what it is there for!

PART III - DEEPER MEANING AND SOLUTIONS

REVOLUTION 9 - TENET III

Code for the FUTURE, for what we will or might do...otherwise the past WILL catch up to you

If you write what is needed now, with a keen eye on the SCOPE of what is to come, you can build out your architecture to be dynamic, and fluid enough to contain changes to the system under test, without cumbersome refactoring!

PART III - DEEPER MEANING AND SOLUTIONS

REVOLUTION 9 - TENET IV

If it can be abstracted efficiently...ABSTRACT it most definitely

If it makes sense to abstract it, do so. Abstraction makes developing and

maintenance easier and more logical.

PART III - DEEPER MEANING AND SOLUTIONS

REVOLUTION 9 - TENET V

If you're not getting anywhere...try a PAIR

If you don't know something, and can't find a way to solve the problem easily, PLEASE

collaborate with someone...pair with them and use their assistance to learn and extend

your abilities.

PART III - DEEPER MEANING AND SOLUTIONS

REVOLUTION 9 - TENET VI

As a hat-tip to rules and organizational buy-in...if it's not obvious, it's not COMPLIANT

If we can clarify our efforts within our code, and develop to provide transparency, we are being as obvious as possible, and therefore

compliant to our business and end user needs.

PART III - DEEPER MEANING AND SOLUTIONS

REVOLUTION 9 - TENET VII

For all that we have done...COMMUNICATE to everyone

If we communicate, we show our value...we provide an ongoing way to provide

accountability and transparency for all of our efforts.

PART III - DEEPER MEANING AND SOLUTIONS

REVOLUTION 9 - TENET VIII

Loose ends will always trail behind...tie them up in a REASONABLE amount of time

If there are resources available, and time, be sure to clean up your tech debt. Always track

these outliers, and ensure that you MAKE time to include them in your workflow.

PART III - DEEPER MEANING AND SOLUTIONS

REVOLUTION 9 - TENET IX

You are not in a bubble, or alone in the dark...you are all CREATORS, so go and MAKE your mark!

If you express yourself, challenge yourself to do better, and educate yourself, as a productive

member of a team, you WILL be simultaneously expressing your creativity...this is how we extend

our capabilities, learn new things, and find ways to use what we've learned.

MEANINGFUL AND MINDFUL TEST AUTOMATION

REVOLUTION 9 - SUMMARY

• Strive to understand any pain points that exist between the teams

• Many of these are rooted in common misconceptions

• Use the tenets as a guide, and adapt to fit your particular needs

• Common challenges are often addressed directly

• New challenges will require flexibility

• Determine a path forward for mitigating issues encountered

• Letting things fester never fixes the problem

MEANINGFUL AND MINDFUL TEST AUTOMATION

REVOLUTION 9 - SUMMARY

• By being MINDFUL of your part...

• ...as a translator

• ...as an advocate for (________)

• ...as a member of a larger team

...you will contribute to a more MEANINGFUL experience overall...

QUESTIONS ???

THANK YOU !!!