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Discussion on: Anatomy of test automation

 
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Ben Dowen

It starts to get a bit complicated to talk in general terms at this point without discussing teams I've worked with and their problems. And I to want to avoid naming names.

As a general trend, Docker is making my life steadily easier in terms of setting up isolated test environments that have controlled test data.

But, if I hit something that cannot easily live in Docker for licensing or technical reasons, then I'm back to hosted environments I'm not in control of.

I test a lot of APIs so mocks fill in some of these gaps.

But now I've got a problem that my Integration Tests are not always triggered by builds or before merged and reporting and monitoring isn't trivial. And if something goes wrong, debugging is harder.

So you make gains in some areas, but end up with gaps. That with static environments were solved problems. Like the SUT staying around to debug.

All the new problems are solvable. It just all comes down to time, and sometimes licensing or infrastructure costs.

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alanmbarr profile image
Alan Barr • Edited

Most of the software problems stem from human communication issues. Conway's law. It is a belabored topic but ever-present and essential.

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alanmbarr profile image
Alan Barr

Anything related to server setup, repeatability, scalability. I wouldn't spend a lot of time unless I'm aware of non-functional requirements depending on your environment. I think that in a large enough business with shifting business models it might be nice to have someone thinking through and telling me: "This concept doesn't make sense anymore". That's fanciful, I'm also bored to death with UI automation ;)

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dowenb profile image
Ben Dowen

As our microservices architecture matures and working with skilled developers, I find fewer straight code bugs.

Problems with configuration and deployment remain plentiful as do bigger picture issues.

Being able to explore, learn and exercise the full stack end to end, from concept to production is privilege I enjoy as a quality expert.

I test and automate very few UIs. So there is that at least.

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jessekphillips profile image
Jesse Phillips

I love the repeatability of containers. Having the ability to stand up something for testing and each tester having their own. So many manual install fails.

I am definitely still very busy though.