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Test Automation Strategy

I've published a free course on Test Automation University that walks you through how to define a successful test automation strategy and the many considerations you need to make to do so. This course is great for those who are starting a new test automation...

I've published a free course ...

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Test Automation Utility to Verify Email

With JavaMail API, I've been able to not only verify that an email was received, but also verify its contents, open links within the email, extract data sent (temp passwords, verification codes, etc). Someone recently asked me about email verification within automation, so I decided...

With JavaMail API, I've been a...

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Keynote: Owning Our Narrative

The concept of shifting left suggests that testing be done earlier in the software development process. The notion of this is admirable and, when done properly, can enable teams to be very successful with their quality initiatives. However, the implementation of this practice is often...

The concept of shifting left s...

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Acing the Technical Interview for SDETs

Test Automation Engineers are in high demand, but that doesn’t mean companies are willing to lower the bar in hiring for these roles. With test automation projects failing left and right, flaky tests crippling continuous integration pipelines, and automated tests causing maintenance nightmares, managers feel...

Test Automation Engineers are ...

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Test Automation 101

Mike Horn, a writer for Smartsheet, reached out to me and several other test automation practitioners for a piece he was writing on the basics of test automation. Mike, not being an automation engineer himself, didn't know what he was getting into when he opened...

Mike Horn, a writer for Smarts...

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5 ways to drive your automation engineers away

As someone who regularly interviews candidates for test automation roles, there are common mistakes I see companies making that drive their automation engineers away. On TechBeacon, I've written about the top five actions that may cause your automation engineers to bail. Review your practices and see if...

As someone who regularly inter...

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How to Create a Test Automation Framework from Scratch

As quality initiatives shift left in an agile world, software testing teams realize that they must rely on the fast feedback of automated scenarios for continuous integration and deployment. But even when people understand test automation basics, most automation initiatives fail. There are many reasons why test automation initiatives fall short,...

As quality initiatives shift l...

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Adding a Peripheral View to Test Automation

One reason why human testers are far better at finding bugs than automated scenarios is because testers aren't just validating the expected results. They are also able to recognize unexpected surprises and anomalies within the application. For example, take a look at this application and assume...

One reason why human testers a...

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Firebug, You’re Fired

When interviewing candidates for UI automation openings, I like to give them typical automation 'problems' to solve. Most of the problems provide them with a picture of a UI and the corresponding HTML, and ask how they would automate something given a tricky DOM. I'm...

When interviewing candidates f...

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A Day in the Life of an Automation Engineer

TL;DR: taught a workshop and it went great. planned as a Selenium workshop but morphed into a broader automation workshop. presents practical use of automation over simplistic unrealistic intro; raving reviews from attendees. As continuous integration is becoming more of a reality at the company that...

TL;DR: taught a workshop and i...

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Self-Writing Test Cases

Test cases are important. They provide step by step instructions on how to validate a feature. They are essential for cross-training and necessary for auditing. They also take quite a bit of time to write, do not seem to be testers' favorite activity, and instantly become outdated...

Test cases are important. They...

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BDD Believer

I've been in Automation for more than 10 years. I consider myself a hardcore automation engineer, and have always thought that to truly get automation done you need programmers...

I've been in Automation for mo...

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