Is Your Test Automation Actually Automated?

 

Let me share a little story with you. I once visited a customer who was really excited about their automation efforts. “Oh, we have several 10X tests!” they said. Naturally, I was curious and asked, “How do you run them?” Without missing a beat, they pointed to a dusty old computer sitting in the corner of the office. I paused for a second, wondering if I’d heard them right. A computer in the corner? Yep, turns out that’s where they were “running” their tests. If that’s not a sign that your automation might not be as automated as you think, I don’t know what is.

So, how do you know if your test automation is actually working for you, or if it’s still stuck in the past, like that poor computer in the corner? Here are some signs that your automation might need a serious upgrade:

1. Pressing ‘Play’ is Still Part of the Process

We all love the idea of automation running on its own, but if your tests still require someone to manually click “Play” to start them, then that’s a red flag. You know the drill—someone has to press a button, and then you can only hope everything goes as planned. If this sounds familiar, your tests are more “semi-automated” than fully automated. True automation should run on its own—like a car that starts without you needing to push it!

2. Tests Asking for Help During Execution

When your tests can’t run without a little human intervention in the middle of execution, that’s another sign something’s off. If your tests stop because they need someone to click through unpredictable OS popups, handle unexpected inputs, or make manual decisions (like choosing “Yes” on a confirmation dialog), then they’re not fully automated.

3. Hoping the System is in Just the Right State

If your tests rely on a single system state to function properly, you’ve got a problem. Tests should be able to handle their own setup and teardown. When your test runs are starting “hoping” that everything is in exactly the right place, they become fragile and prone to failure when something minor changes. 

4. Hardcoding Tests for Specific Scenarios

If your tests are built for very specific scenarios and can’t adapt to changes in the system, then that’s another big sign they’re not really automated. True automation should be reusable, flexible, and capable of running on various environments. Hardcoding tests for only one situation is like building a robot that can only carry one specific item—what about everything else?

5. Test Reliability who?

Tests that are constantly failing because of changes in the system state aren’t reliable. If your tests can’t be trusted to run consistently, something’s wrong. Before scaling up and rapidly growing your test suite, make sure that your tests are stable. Reliable automation should mean you can run tests with confidence, knowing they’ll give consistent results no matter what. Otherwise, it’s like trying to play a game where the rules keep changing—no one’s going to enjoy that.

6. Are you the only one running the tests?

CI/CD? Without Automation, You’re Missing the Point. Automation is meant to streamline your development process, especially within a CI/CD pipeline. If your team isn’t relying on automation as part of this workflow, you’re missing out on its true power. The real benefit of automation in CI/CD is its ability to catch issues early and often, without requiring manual intervention each time a change is made. And when your automation can be trusted - it will get more focus, recognition and resources allocation.