[Test Engineering Weekly #12] Code coverage at Google, architecture at Netflix, microservices at Spotify, useless unit tests, and levels of automation

Another week - and another selection of fascinating articles.

Today we will discuss careers, code coverage, hexagonal architecture, microservices testing, and unit tests.

Articles

• Testing.  Martin Fowler's blog article on what QA is in production. And also - one about the organization of the testing processes of the warehouse management system.
• Automation. How to get the most value from automation - and what are four levels of evolution in automated testing - Four levels of running test automation.
• Practical advice. Here - you will learn how to send test results to AWS S3 using GitHub Actions. And here - you will see antipatterns and errors in the use of Cypress.
• Microservices. How does Spotify test microservices, and why do they use honeycomb instead of pyramids?
• Code coverage. Great article from Google about their experiences measuring code coverage.
• Unit testing. Unit testing is overrated. The author gives many examples of why unit tests can harm and cause over-engineering. On the other hand - functional end-to-end tests can bring much more benefits than everybody thinks.
• TDD. Did you know that there are two schools of test-driven development: London and Detroit? I didn't, but it was interesting to read.
• Blockchain. What are latency and throughput in blockchain systems, and how to measure them correctly?
• Architecture. What is Hexagonal Architecture, and how does it affect development and testing approaches at Netflix.
• Career. When is it better to buy a tool than to build it "from scratch"? Why is it necessary to think not only about the advantages of choosing one option but also about the consequences of not choosing another? How can the mindset of an investor help the average engineer?
• Public Speaking. A great series of posts on how to find your strength and speak at a conference or meetup. There are also many tips on overcoming the fear of speaking and where to get the topic ideas.
• Presentations. Do you know the "Takahashi Method" when preparing slides (and presentations)?

What am I reading now?

I finished reading "Effective Software Testing" this week. I will not start new books in the next few weeks - because there are a lot of work and courses to learn.

If you have any books on testing and technology that everyone should read - please advise in the comments!