The Elecsoft Education Series: The trouble with “Test Automation”

The term “test automation”, which is now common in technology parlance, is a misnomer. Testing is an exploratory process where we try to uncover bugs in software. Testing — evaluating a product by learning about it through experiencing it and experimenting with it — by definition requires human creativity and ingenuity. This challenging, intellectual process however does benefit from tools to help testers do their work. Testing can’t be automated, but checking output — which can be a key element in testing — can be. The catch is that checks are often reduced to demonstrations of success, rather than probes for problems.

Understanding the distinction between testing and checking can help to frame useful questions about what we need from our test tools.

• How do you design test plans which clearly differentiate between checking and testing?
• What criteria do you use in choosing your testing tools?
• Which testing tools should you invest in to accelerate and intensify your testing?

Join Michael Bolton from DevelopSense and Raman Lehal from Elecsoft as we discuss these and other important topics in software testing at our upcoming Software Testing Webinar.