Many testing organizations mistakenly declare success when they first introduce test automation into an application or system. However, the true measure of success is sustaining and growing the automation suite over time. You need to develop and implement a flexible process, and engage knowledgeable testers and automation engineers. Kiran Pyneni describes Aetna’s two-team automation structure, the functions that each group performs, and how their collaborative efforts provide for the most efficient test automation. Kiran explains how to seamlessly integrate your test automation lifecycle with your software development lifecycle. He shares specific details on how Aetna’s automation lifecycle benefits their entire IT department and organization, and the measurements they use to track and report progress.

As you embark on implementing or improving automation within your testing process, you'll want to avoid the "Just Do It" attitude some have taken. Perhaps you've heard the term "test automation framework" and wondered what it means, what it does for testing, and if you need one. Andrew Pollner, who has developed automated testing frameworks for more than fifteen years, outlines how frameworks have grown up around test automation tools. Regardless of which automation tool you use, the concepts of a framework are similar. Andrew answers many of your questions: Why build a framework? What benefit does it provide? What does it cost to build a framework? What ROI can I expect when using a framework? Explore the different approaches to framework development and identify problems to watch out for to ensure the approach you take will provide years of productivity.

Experience has shown that many organizations attempt to automate their testing processes without effective vision, planning, and follow through. As a result, within a year or two, test automation efforts are declared worthless and the tools are moved to the shelf. By creating a centralized team with domain expertise and identifying specific test automation needs, Intuit is able to build, deploy, and test products using a common set of tools, processes, and methodologies they call Autolab. Shoba Raj describes how the Small Business Group at Intuit maximizes its return on investment by utilizing the Autolab. She explores the benefits of time savings, capital cost savings, quality improvements, product health checks, and tool license fee aggregation. Learn how to build a centralized testing team and create your own Autolab that can leverage your services with standard tools, test environments, and processes.

In many organizations, test automation is becoming a specialized career path. Mukesh Mulchandani and Krishna Iyer identify seven habits of highly effective automation specialists and compare them with Stephen Covey’s classic "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." Mukesh and Krishna not only describe behavior patterns of effective automation testers, but also discuss how to internalize these patterns so that you use them instinctively. Drawing on their experience of managing large test automation projects for financial applications, they describe obvious habits such as saving and reusing tests. They then describe the uncommon but essential habits of strategizing, seeking, simplifying, selling, and communicating. Learn how to avoid the bad habits that automation test novices-and even experts-may subconsciously adopt.