Breaking the ideas of Test Automation

As Software Quality Engineers we want to break an idea or concept into its most fundamental parts, subject those parts to intense scrutiny, and reassemble the idea before giving it our final approval. We are abstract, pragmatic, directive, and expressive.

• Choose a framework. Define your abstraction. Setup your code patterns. Run your Hello World and make just the right tweaks to be able to run as fast as the agile team delivers new screens. Throw in a nice looking report.

• The most obvious option is not always the best. Most of the time, it's a question of building a team, not individuals. The team may need diversity, even if neither the boss nor the team understand it (yet).

• A project team may want something, but they may need something completely different. The task of a professional software quality engineer is to challenge if there is reason to do so. So don't pout or try to please too much.

• Making your peers aware of a single matter can at best have a radical effect on the success and culture of the entire organization. Old beliefs can be a significant barrier to growth, and once they are overturned, the sky is the limit.

Each time I go through this process of technical and psychological creation at the start of a new project, increment or repository, I am anguished by imposter syndrome - I am letting the fear drive me, not define me. 

Will the project progress fast enough? Will the results be as expected? Will our work add value, or is it another throw away cost sinkhole? Can an idea and a vision be brought to life?

For various reasons there will also be some stakeholder objections and alignment.

I have this now numerous times, and the best experience I can share here with you is to face your daemons, and try to have some fun while doing it. The flow of events will always be different. Change is inevitable and you learn a lot about people during this process.

The author wishes to help the development environment hold the weather and reduce the number of disappointments experienced by millions of people in everyday life.