There's a pattern that we keep seeing in "agile" projects again and again.
We work together as a team to implement a feature. We automate tests for that feature as part of its definition of done. As end result, we have some more tests than before, on all layers of tests. We get the tests run blue and we make a release.
We work together to implement a feature. The previously added tests make our tests run in all lights of a christmas tree, and in addition to adding the new tests for new functionality, we clean up the previous tests.
The longer we continue, the worse the christmas tree lights get. The more time we spend on fixing the past tests, the less time we have on the new tests. And we take shortcuts on our past tests fixing, just removing the ones we deemed so necessary before.
And no one talks about it. It is a ritual that we must go through. Like a rite of passage.
Over time no one cares about how well the automation tests things. All we care for is that it passes for us to get through the gate.
I've seen so many people trapped in the cycle of being too busy to think about *why the tests exists* and *what value are they really giving us*. These people have no time for manual testing, because - very honestly - automation eats up all their time. And they might not even see that the approach is not really working out for them.
The test automation trap creates testing zombies. Ones that make the moves, but that stopped learning on what they're doing.
The best way I know out of the trap is to start caring about testing again. Put testing, not the scripts, into the center. It's time to talk about risk and strategies again. It's time to build up a test automation asset that supports whatever strategies you're going for. Stop moving through the motions, and think. Learn. Look at where your time goes. Experiment your way out of the trap of magical moves that feel better idea than they are.
We work together as a team to implement a feature. We automate tests for that feature as part of its definition of done. As end result, we have some more tests than before, on all layers of tests. We get the tests run blue and we make a release.
We work together to implement a feature. The previously added tests make our tests run in all lights of a christmas tree, and in addition to adding the new tests for new functionality, we clean up the previous tests.
The longer we continue, the worse the christmas tree lights get. The more time we spend on fixing the past tests, the less time we have on the new tests. And we take shortcuts on our past tests fixing, just removing the ones we deemed so necessary before.
And no one talks about it. It is a ritual that we must go through. Like a rite of passage.
Over time no one cares about how well the automation tests things. All we care for is that it passes for us to get through the gate.
I've seen so many people trapped in the cycle of being too busy to think about *why the tests exists* and *what value are they really giving us*. These people have no time for manual testing, because - very honestly - automation eats up all their time. And they might not even see that the approach is not really working out for them.
The test automation trap creates testing zombies. Ones that make the moves, but that stopped learning on what they're doing.
The best way I know out of the trap is to start caring about testing again. Put testing, not the scripts, into the center. It's time to talk about risk and strategies again. It's time to build up a test automation asset that supports whatever strategies you're going for. Stop moving through the motions, and think. Learn. Look at where your time goes. Experiment your way out of the trap of magical moves that feel better idea than they are.
