Test Automation

I just started a new topic on Test Automation on the testing academy site.

It made think back to when I first started to play with QTP. It seemed so easy with the play and record options during the trial period. It wasn't perfect but I put that down to a lack of training.
A few months later we had a few copies of QTP but not enough time to use it. QTP was fast becoming expensive shelfware for us. We had a few tests but they didn't do a lot and needed constant updates.

I finally found some time after a big release and as I recall I spent about 3 weeks working on it and at the end of it I had a handful of tests automated. I then brought one of my team members onto the project (Adam Arnold). We worked together and started to bounce ideas off one another. Our automation was increasing at break neck speed. But we continuously hit problems with record and play back and third party software our company used. It was frustrating but we stuck with it and eventually got pointed in the right direction by a few old pros in the field.

Record and play is used in the sales pitch and that is about all its good for as we discovered. We found out the hard way that automation is hard work. So I hope to start building this new topic to help everyone else avoid the same headaches.