1.
Automated Software Tests:
The Robots of QA
Larry Cynkin

2.
Have you ever read a news article
about robots being replaced by people
in a factory?
Why not?

3.
Robots are better than people
(sorry, people)
• Robots are faster.
• They are more precise.
• They can do the same repetitive task exactly
the same way, “forever”.
• They can work 24x7. For free.
• They never get sick. Never take vacation.
Never lose focus. Never quit.

4.
We still need people (sometimes)
• Robots can’t execute tasks that require higher-
order thinking (yet).
• You gotta build the robot for the task. Until
you do, a person has to do it.

5.
Automated Software Tests are the
Robots of QA
• Automated tests are faster.
• They are more precise.
• They can do the same repetitive test exactly
the same way, “forever”.
• They can work 24x7. For free.
• They never get sick. Never take vacation.
Never lose focus. Never quit.

6.
Automated Tests are actually better
than robots
• Cheaper to make
• Never wear out

7.
But testing software is a bit different
from the factory floor
• Software is more complicated – need a lot
more “robots”
• Software changes more quickly – need to keep
making new robots or updating the old ones

8.
So we still need people in QA
• Some testing requires higher-order thinking
– “That doesn’t look right”
– The imagination to figure out how to break the
software
• A person needs to test the parts of the
software not (yet) covered by automated tests
• Automated tests don’t (yet) write themselves

9.
Conclusion
• For now, only people can do higher-order,
“imaginative” testing – for everything else
there’s automated tests
• The more automated test coverage, the better
• Treat automated tests as the superior
resource they are – use them in favor of
people whenever/wherever possible

10.
Get in touch
Larry Cynkin, Consulting CTO
Founder, GreenBar
larry@greenbarlc.com
www.greenbarlc.com