The automated acceptance testing paradox

About this Case Study

There have been times when I have struggled with automated acceptance testing, test driven design (TDD) and acceptance test driven design (ATDD) and how it impacts my role. I've seen other testers struggle too.

Whether it's testers being pushed out of roles in favour of developers automating all their acceptance tests or automators spending hours tearing their hair out maintaining brittle end to end tests, there's no denying it. Automated acceptance tests simply don't work as tests and can have a substantially negative impact on a test strategy. But why don't they work, and why use them at all if they don't?

'The automated acceptance testing paradox' draws on my experiences to help answer these questions by:

• investigating the role of acceptance testing: what is it, and who defines 'acceptable'?
• looking at the misconceptions around the benefits of automated acceptance testing, ATDD and TDD
• exploring the paradox of how the tools used in these approaches cannot completely determine a feature acceptable
• presenting the real benefits of TDD and ATDD and how they can sit alongside your test strategy in harmony to help create a more robust testing strategy

So if you are looking to get your automation out of the rut it is in or avoid it completely, looking to create a robust test automation strategy or find out where and why there is value in automated acceptance tests and other automation in testing activities, come and learn about 'The automated acceptance testing paradox'.

About the Speaker

Mark is a technical tester, testing coach and international speaker, presenting workshops and talks on technical testing techniques. He has worked on award-winning projects across a wide variety of technology sectors ranging from broadcast, digital, financial and public sector working with various web, mobile and desktop technologies.

Mark is an expert in technical testing and test automation and is a passionate advocate of risk-based automation and automation in testing practices, which he regularly blogs about at mwtestconsultancy.co.uk. He is also the co-founder of the Software Testing Clinic in London, a regular workshop for new and junior testers to receive free mentoring and lessons in software testing.

Mark also has a keen interest in various technologies, developing new apps and Internet of Things devices regularly. You can get in touch with him on Twitter.

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