This conversation tends to be quite unproductive when it becomes "is or isn't test automation useful." It's a lot like "Are books useful?" Books won't solve any problems on their own. There are plenty of problems that books will not help with a bit. There are /some/ problems where /the right/ books /well applied/ might add tremendous value.
Similarly with testing, I like to look at what are the problems that need to be solved. Then I like to think about each of them, and consider solutions. Is one of your problems basic functionality breaking when code is changed? Unit tests /might/ be a great solution to your problem. Do you suspect intermittent production failures are the result of concurrency issues? Likewise, computer-assisted tests might be your best bet in reproducing the problem in house. I think discussing the relative costs/benefits of automated browser-based regression testing is a good idea, and getting real experience reports helps a lot. Even within this specific area, there may be some problems that're helped through automated browser-based tests and others where the cost is too high. By the way, I wrote a bit about some of the most compelling cases where I've used watir over the past five years here: http://testingjeff.wordpress.com/2008/04/15/why-do-you-use-watir/ Getting time added into the schedule for test automation is a different question, but one that /might/ become easier if you're able to focus the conversation around solutions to particular problems. Cheers, Jeff On Sat, Apr 4, 2009 at 11:14 AM, George <[email protected]> wrote: > > It seems that I've been encountering more people within my workplace > (and, alas, even within my own QA team!) that are not sold on test > automation. From what I've learned so far, there seems that automation > will never cover 100% of what needs to be tested, but this doesn't > negate the need. > > Another frustration is that I've been tasked to write automation > scripts as part of my year-end goals. However, I haven't been assigned > hours in my work week to do them! All of my script development has > been after-hours and weekends (notice I'm posting this on a > Saturday!). > > Has anyone else run into naysayers? How can I convince the decision- > makers that this is a worthwhile effort? > > > -- Jeff Fry http://testingjeff.wordpress.com http://associationforsoftwaretesting.org --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Watir General" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] Before posting, please read the following guidelines: http://wiki.openqa.org/display/WTR/Support To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/watir-general -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
