Cast Iron Automation

We just finished automating “all” of our regression test suite. Or, perhaps, we now have 4731 BDD “test scripts” that we run on each deployment. Hooray! T-shirts for everyone! Then it happens…our product changes, our tool version changes, or our infrastructure changes. Our shiny new toy becomes a tarnished, broken, and unusable pile of shattered dreams and wasted effort.

Having automation is reminiscent of owning a cast iron pan. Like cast iron cookware, and like the software for our products, our automation software requires proper care and feeding; typically, we call this maintenance. If cast iron cookware is not properly maintained, especially when it’s new, it will corrode, rust, and deteriorate to the point that it’s no longer fit for purpose. Considerable effort will be expended to restore the cookware’s usability; the same is true for automation.

In this, Paul Grizzaffi will explore some causes of automation deterioration and explain ways we can prevent our automation’s value from rusting away.

Session Takeaways:

• Automation is software and must be treated as such.
• Appropriate maintenance is required to sustain an automation endeavor’s value.
• Maintainability must be deliberate.
• We can anticipate many of the changes to our automation ecosystem.
• Approaches to handle many of these and to not be surprised by the rest.