CQAA May 2013 Speaker Program: Secrets of Test Automation

About the Topic

This presentation begins with five common pitfalls initially encountered in test automation, taken directly from a real-life case study. Issues include low stakeholder buy-in, overwhelming code maintenance, and the “100% automation” mandate. Each is presented with its consequences and then balanced with suggestions for remediation.  We follow up with some approaches in framework design that can help resolve issues facing test automation engineers today. This will include ways to make our scripts more robust in Agile environments, such as leveraging Continuous Integration. We will also touch on a few concepts to reduce maintenance. Finally we discuss ways to unlock the hidden ROI of our test automation project. In many cases, these benefits are not always clearly seen. These would include showstopper issues detected by automation that generally go unnoticed by manual testers.    

Key Learning Objectives

• Key success factors in test automation today
• Effective framework design techniques
• Successful script design for agile environments
• Ways of increasing / demonstrating the test automation ROI 

About the Speaker

Paul Grossman has over 12 years experience in Software Test Automation delivering solutions on a variety of technical platforms.  He is experienced in identifying and managing project risks and known for his effective communication skills. He is a five-time Track Speaker at HP Software Universe and Mercury World inclusive. In these presentations, Paul shares his real world experience, technical expertise, and best practices to maximize the test automation investment. Paul was a top ten runner-up in HP’s 2009 White Paper competition with "Automated Testing ROI: Fact or Fiction?" He was an active member of the beta test team for HP Quick Test Professional 9.2 through 11.5. Most recently he developed a keyword framework with dynamic object identification for a leading kiosk-based vendor of entertainment media.