Automation Testability Issues

• Jamie L. Mitchell
       Benchmark QA

About the Presentation:

Everyone who has ever used an automation tool has run up against the same problem: Windows controls in the system under test that are not recognized by the automation tool. Many do not understand why this happens, or what you can do to prevent it. Typically, automators spend inordinate amounts of time building programmatic workarounds to try to solve the problem. There is an alternate strategy to expensive work-arounds: engineering testability into the system before testing starts. This presentation will deal with what steps the automation team can make early in the cycle to prevent the dreaded “control not identified” problem.

Understanding why controls are not seen correctly by an automation tool requires an understanding of how tools identify and work with Windows controls; this will be discussed. We will look at the many reasons why some controls are not understood. Then we will look at the options we have for dealing with the problem. The concept of testability engineering will be advanced; working with developers to solve testability issues before they become problems. Solving the unique political problems that testability raises will be presented.

Learning Objectives:

•  Understand why controls are not recognized 
•  Discuss the needed properties of all controls for automation
•  Visibility
•  Controllability
•  Discovering early what problems will be coming
•  Techniques for adding testability during coding phase
•  Negotiating with developers and leveraging management
•  Costs and benefits of testability engineering

Presentation PowerPoint

About the Presenter:

Jamie L. Mitchell is a Principal QA Consultant at BenchmarkQA. in Minneapolis, MN.  He is a contributing editor and columnist for “The Journal of Software Test Professionals.”  He previously was a Senior Consultant at CornerStone Consulting, and the Lead Automation Engineer for Distributed Integration Testing / Global for American Express Technologies Organization.  He has long been involved in test automation as automator, designer, architect, and mentor.  He has worked in test automation since the first automation tools were released in Windows 3.0, including stints with Prudential Insurance, IBM AS/400 division, and ShowCase Corporation.  He earned the Master of Computer Science degree in 1992 from Lehigh University and is a QAI Certified Software Test Engineer.  He resides in Farmington, MN, and is an active member of the Twin Cities Quality Assurance Association.

c/o BenchmarkQA
3800 West 80^th Street, Suite 1580
Minneapolis, MN 55431
jamie.mitchell@benchmarkQA.com

 

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