With ReTestBash UK 2023 on the horizon, our journey of exploration and discovery continues.
This week, we turn our lenses to three pivotal areas of software testing, and in this post, we’ll look at automation. Drawing from the enlightening sessions of @ikar, @jaswanth, @tally and @thephilwells at TestBash UK, we’re excited to present five challenges designed to push boundaries, spark discussions, and advance our collective understanding of automation.
Let’s dive in, learn, and push the boundaries of what’s possible in automation.
Five Automation Challenges for the Week :
Pick and choose which challenges you’d like to engage in, post your findings in reply to this post.
- Rewatch and Reflect:
- Building from Scratch: Revisit “Building Test Automation Framework from Scratch: The Essential Things” with Ivan Karaman. Discuss the considerations and mindset required to embark on creating a new framework, especially in the context of Cypress & JavaScript.
- Hermetic Testing: Dive back into “Breakdown Your Costly E2e Tests into Efficient Low-Level Tests Through Hermetic Testing” by Jaswanth Manigundan. Reflect on the journey of breaking down complex e2e tests and the strategy behind hermetic testing.
- WebDriver in Journalism: Rewatch “WebDriver For Journalists: Scraping the Web To Report the Truth” with Phil Wells. Contemplate the unconventional uses of WebDriver beyond typical application testing, especially in data aggregation for critical events like the COVID pandemic.
- UI Component Testing : Reimmerse in “To Test a Component - Testing UI Components in 2023” with Tally Barak. Contemplate the evolving landscape of component testing, its distinctiveness from e2e testing, and the need for a holistic testing strategy that encompasses it.
- Poll :
Given the rise of automation in testing, which of these automation strategies or tools are you keen on exploring or implementing in your team?
[Multiple Choice - Choose all that apply]
- Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines.
- Behavior Driven Development (BDD) tools.
- Mobile test automation frameworks.
- Cloud-based automation solutions.
- AI-driven test automation.
- Open-source automation tools.
- Reflections on Automation in Your Workplace:
- How has your organization leveraged automation frameworks in its testing strategy?
- What challenges does your team face when transitioning from e2e tests to more efficient low-level tests?
- How might tools like WebDriver be employed beyond standard testing, perhaps in data gathering or analytics in your organization?
- How does your team incorporate UI component testing? Is it given the same emphasis as e2e or other forms of testing?
- Team Activities:
- Framework Workshop: Drawing inspiration from Ivan Karaman’s session, work on outlining the foundational elements of a new test automation framework for a sample project. Share potential hurdles and solutions.
- Hermetic Testing Scenarios: Using Jaswanth Manigundan’s insights, brainstorm scenarios where hermetic testing could be beneficial in your projects. How would you go about implementing it?
- Data Scraping Challenge: Based on Phil Wells’ talk, pick a public dataset or website and use WebDriver or similar tools to extract meaningful data. Discuss the ethical considerations and potential applications of such data.
- Deep Dive Challenge
Automation Deep Dive Challenge: Enhanced Component-Based Testing
Building upon your understanding from the “Testing UI Component in Isolation” activity by Tally Barak, let’s take a deeper dive into the world of component-based testing, focusing on the mechanics of isolating components and leveraging frameworks and tools that assist in this process.
Objective: Dive deeper into the practice of isolating components for testing and leverage tools to automate and maintain component tests.
Instructions:
Understanding the Environment for Isolation (10 minutes):
- Explore tools/frameworks like Storybook, which are designed to showcase components in isolation.
- Discuss the advantages of using such tools and their role in testing UI components.
Creating a Component Story (20 minutes):
- Using the conduit real-world example app from the original activity (Conduit), select a UI component that you’d like to test.
- Develop a “story” for this component using a tool like Storybook. This means setting it up in isolation with different inputs and states.
Developing Isolated Tests (30 minutes):
- Define the different states and behaviours that the chosen component can have.
- Write automated tests for each state and behaviour, using tools/frameworks such as Jest or Testing Library.
- Consider edge cases. For example, what happens if a button component is supposed to fetch data when clicked, but the backend service is down?
Comparing Component Tests with E2E Tests (20 minutes):
- Reflect on the tests you’ve written for the component. How do they differ from an end-to-end test scenario for the same functionality?
- Discuss the pros and cons of both testing methodologies. For instance, component tests may be quicker and less flaky, but might not catch integration issues that an E2E test would.
Share Your Story (10 minutes)
Share your component story and tests with the community by replying to this post. Discuss the challenges you faced, the decisions you made about what to test, and how you felt this approach compared to more traditional E2E testing. Encourage feedback and collaboration to further refine your tests.
Wrap-up:
The isolation of UI components for testing purposes can streamline the testing process, improve accuracy, and provide a clearer understanding of each component’s behaviour and constraints. Tools like Storybook can aid in visualizing components in different states and are incredibly beneficial for developers and testers alike.
Key Takeaways:
- Isolated component testing, when combined with the right tools, can provide a more efficient and reliable testing strategy than just relying on E2E tests.
- Using tools like Storybook not only helps in testing but also in understanding and documenting the component’s behaviours and different states.
- While component-based testing has its merits, it’s crucial to understand its limitations and complement it with other testing strategies for holistic test coverage.
Why Take Part?
- Deepen Your Understanding: Dive into these automation challenges to enrich both theoretical knowledge and practical application.
- Engage with Experts: Gear up for ReTestBash UK and get a head start for the ‘Automation Best Practices and Innovations Discussion’. Engage in valuable interactions with [Speaker Names] during Ask Me Anything sessions.
- Shape Conversations: Your participation paves the way for meaningful dialogues. Arm yourself with queries, insights, and ideas to actively contribute during the event.
- Empower Your Professional Growth: Through these challenges, bolster your testing toolkit with the latest in automation.
- Prepare for ReTestBash UK: Align with the latest trends, challenges, and innovations in automation, ensuring you maximize your event experience. All 4 automation experts will guest at ReTestBash.
Join us on the 2nd of November for ReTestBash UK and be at the forefront of automation in testing!