Module 7 Why and what to automate
Hours 88–103, about 4.5 hours. Reviewed at Gate 1.
Purpose
Testers already know how to find risk. Module 7 turns that skill into automation decisions: which manual tests to automate, at which layer of the testing pyramid, and which to keep manual or retire.
Outcomes
- Learning outcome 1: decide which manual tests to automate, at which layer, and which to keep manual, by risk and cost.
Depth by track
| Module | Band 3 | Band 4 quality assurance | Band 4 test engineering | Band 5 quality assurance | Band 6 quality assurance | Band 6 test engineering | Band 7 test engineering | Band 7 test management |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Module 7 Why and what to automate | Read and discuss | With support | With support | Independent | Lead or coach | Independent | Lead or coach | Lead or coach |
Session plan
| # | Session | Duration | Format | Who |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hours 88–95.5: what automatic testing is and what it is for; the testing pyramid and browser test trade-offs | 1 hour | Core | Cohort |
| 2 | Hours 95.5–103: manual repetition as variation, the Six Sigma view; why exploratory and usability testing stay human | 30 minutes | Core | Cohort |
| 3 | Hours 95.5–103: workshop with a developer: what the team's unit and integration tests already cover | 1 hour | Team | Each person, a developer from their team |
| 4a | Hours 95.5–103: candidate analysis, sample of 10 cases | 1.5 hours | Breakout | Band 3, Band 4 quality assurance, Band 4 test engineering, with mentor |
| 4b | Hours 95.5–103: candidate analysis, own area | 1.5 hours | Breakout | Band 5 quality assurance, Band 6 test engineering |
| 4c | Hours 95.5–103: candidate analysis, whole product or programme: the person leads the decisions, and the team helps with the counting | 1.5 hours | Breakout | Band 6 quality assurance, Band 7 test engineering, Band 7 test management |
| 5 | Hours 95.5–103: share and challenge: each person presents three decisions | 30 minutes | Core | Cohort; Band 6 quality assurance and Band 7 facilitate |
Each person's sessions add up to 4.5 hours: 1 hour in hours 88–95.5 and 3.5 hours in hours 95.5–103.
Activities
- Read the testingexamples Learn articles: automatic testing, purpose, pyramid, browser trade-offs, and CI. Discuss in session 1 and 2.
- Discuss why a person running the same check by hand does not reliably get the same result, and why turning that check into an automated test reduces variation.
- Discuss what stays human: exploratory testing, usability testing, judgement about clinical workflows.
- With a developer, list what the existing unit and integration tests already check, so automation is not duplicated at the browser layer.
- Complete the automation candidate analysis for your track's scope.
Evidence
Evidence 7: an automation candidate analysis of the team's manual regression pack. For each case: keep manual, automate (and at which layer), or retire, with a reason based on risk, frequency, stability, and cost.
| Track | Scope |
|---|---|
| Band 3, Band 4 quality assurance, Band 4 test engineering | A sample of 10 cases, with the mentor |
| Band 5 quality assurance, Band 6 test engineering | The person's own area |
| Band 6 quality assurance, Band 7 test engineering, Band 7 test management | A whole product or programme, reviewed with the team |
Use automation-candidate-analysis.md and automation-candidate-analysis.tsv.
Assessment
Gate 1 (hour 133) reviews Evidence 7 with Evidence 8 and Evidence 9. Evidence 7 is reused in Module 11, Module 16, and the capstone.
Resources
- What is automatic testing?
- What is the purpose of automatic testing?
- What is the automatic testing pyramid?
- What is browser automatic testing?
- What is continuous integration automatic testing?
- How does Six Sigma lead manual testing into automatic testing?
View this document on GitHub materials/modules/module-7-why-and-what-to-automate/index.md