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The Test automation Pyramid series Starts on episode 1 and runs to episode 8.
Riddles of the Sphinx and Answers within the Pyramid:
Sphinx, a mythological creature with the head of a man and the body of a lion, loves to ask questions and demands answers. If you don’t answer the questions correctly, the Sphinx eats you. In IT, the closest to a Sphinx are QA or Release managers, who although may not eat you, will ask questions in order to decide if your product is in good shape.
Thankfully, the automated tests within our unbreakable pyramid exist to answer questions about the quality of the product. Knowing these questions will organize your understanding so when a riddle about software quality is poised, you know how to use the Pyramid to get an answer.
[samurai voice]: First riddle of the Sphinx: Is this feature finished or working? Answer: Macro tests will give you the answer by allowing you to respond with a report from the Acceptance Tests for the feature. This status should be refreshed at least every 24 hours via nightly builds.
[samurai voice]:Second riddle of the Sphinx: Are there any regressions? Answer: if the Macro and Micro tests all pass, then the answer is “no.” You’re pretty safe if all the micro tests are passing and your fast subcutaneous tests are passing.
[samurai voice]:Third riddle of the Sphinx: Can code changes made in the developer environment be committed to source control? Answer: if the micro tests all pass, the answer is “yes.” Fast feedback micro tests are perfect for developers to executed before they check in. If a test is failing, the developer then looks into why it’s failing.
[samurai voice]:The mightiest riddle of the Sphinx is: Can we ship? Answer: if all the Macro and Micro tests are passing, then the answer is “yes.”
Naturally, if you’ve only a shanty of automated tests to evaluate a mountain of product code, the Sphinx is going to knock over your cardboard house with a swat of its paw. But keep at it! For every story, automate it’s acceptance criteria with ATDD or BDD. For every code change in a class or function, write the unit test first using TDD. And in a few months to a year, you’ll have a pretty decent pyramid that can stand up to the Sphinx.
These are the important, big ideas of test automation. If you’d like help in either learning how to develop code using TDD, ATDD, or BDD, and interested in receiving free articles and videos and offers of low cost email courses you can take, visit AgileNoir.biz/AgileThoughts (or http://agilenoir.biz/敏捷理念/) and receive a free test pyramid worksheet today!
