Smashing My 2022 Automation Goal
At the start of 2022, I set myself a goal. It might seem like a simple goal to some of you. But for me at the time, it was huge.
Write one good quality, working, automation test by the end of the year.
Why?
2017 was probably the last time I was very hands on with automation. I have dabbled in code quite a bit since then to keep my skills up to scratch but 5 years is a long time to be out of the “hands on” space…..according to quite a few companies who interviewed me.
When you get told this on repeat, you start to believe it.
Driving Forward
My new manager and my coach didn’t agree with this train of thought. They believed I could absolutely jump back into automation and make a positive impact quite quickly. They both encouraged me in different ways.
My coach encouraged me to set a goal to write at least one test by the end of the year. If I achieved more, great! If I didn’t achieve more, well that wasn’t the end of the world.
My manager encouraged me to try to get an existing automation test to fail and understand why it failed. Seemed scary at the time, makes sense in hindsight!
Where to Start?
As I worked on testing new features in work, I started to make a list of excellent candidates for new automation. I wasn’t really sure where to start with them though or which one to choose first.
But then (duh duh duhhhhhh) a really critical feature came through our Kanban board. One that if it failed in production, it was going to be a massive fire. So, the opportunity to write my first automation test arrived.
Smashing the Goal
14 days ago, I committed my first automation test. And not just to some dusty repo to be forgotten about. It was added into the pipeline. It’s in the full suite. It’s up there Steve (see Family Fortunes)
Today, I committed my fifth automation test.
I haven’t just achieved my goal, I have smashed it. I have proved the naysayers (myself included) wrong.
I plan to start to writing more technical blog posts again but for now, I’m going to enjoy the win.