At the Test Management Summit in London on the 29th April 2015 we discussed "Successful Test Automation for Managers" These slides were designed to support a 15 minute introduction and a 60 minute discussion. The initial slides provided food for thought and the remainder were designed to support a discussion in the event that the manager's present had no questions or issues. Fortunately we didn't need the mindmap slides as the discussion was active and lively. Main Discussion points: * Do you need to be technical to manage automation? * How do you recruit staff? * What do you automate? * How do you know if things are going well?

1. Test Management
Summit
April 2015
“Test Automation for Managers”
Alan Richardson
www.compendiumdev.co.uk

2. Basic Agenda
● Logistics intro (75 minute session)
● I talk for 15 minutes
○ but you can interrupt and start a discussion
immediately
● We all discuss for 60 minutes
○ I have material if we need it to start discussions
○ We will be flexible and adjust direction based on
what you want to discuss.

3. Demographics
● Managers, Consultants, Doers
● Technical? Not Technical?
● Automating?

4. What do you want out of this
session?

5. Today we will discuss
Automation

6. What is Automation?
● Use of tools?
● Programming?
● No manual intervention?

7. How does automation work?
● Does it work?
● Magic?
● How do you know it works?

8. Who can use automation?
● Can you program?
● Can you push a button?
● We automate the automation!

9. What is automation for?
● Build a better CV and get a better job?
● Reduce headcount?
● Save money?
● Allow focus elsewhere?

10. On the question of
“Do you need to be technical, to
manage automation?”

11. “New technology is exposing management to
ideas that were not dealt with in the textbooks
and the classroom of ten or fifteen years ago…
The executive who does not keep his ideas
modern by constant, aggressive learning from
every available source will increasingly often be
called on to make decision on problems he
cannot grasp…”
Automation, by Carl Dreher, 1957, pg 15

12. “He must, as in the past, be so complete a
master of the technical aspects of his profession
that his subordinates will recognise his master,
and be prepared to learn from him. This
postulates the need to keep abreast of the
changes and advances which lie within his own
special field through the period of his service
during which he is concerned with such matters.”
The Art of Leadership, Captain S.W. Roskill, 1964, pg 30

13. There is a difference between
management and leadership.

14. How can manager’s help?
● Experience
● Coaching
● Questioning
● Removing obstacles
● Learning
● Defining Needs & Constraints
● Recruitment

15. How can managers hinder?
● Mandates & Edicts
● Metrics
● Meetings
● Process
● Lack of Understanding

16. Initial Discussion points?
● Managing without technical skills?
● Managing with technical skills?
● How do you know automation is working?
● How to recruit?
● How do you start automating?
● Questions?
● Risks?
● Issues?

17. Mindmaps of discussion points
… if needed to trigger discussion

27. What Tools?
Future Challenges?
Current Issues, Questions, Risks?
Experiences of what can go wrong?
Experiences of what can go right?

28. Controversies
● Should automation be a programmer
responsibility?
● All testers should learn to code?
● You can’t automate testing, only checking

29. Alan Richardson
uk.linkedin.com/in/eviltester
Independent Test Consultant based in the UK. He
offers training and consultancy in Selenium
WebDriver, Exploratory and Technical web testing.
Contact Alan for training and
consultancy tailored to your needs:
http://compendiumdev.co.uk/contact
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● CompendiumDev.co.uk
● SeleniumSimplified.com
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