Automation, the Cold Equation

One of my passions is reading science fiction, and I remember a story called The Cold Equations. In this rather sad tale, no matter how much the characters want to change the way things are, they can’t, the inevitable outcome is dictated by the hard, cold facts of space travel.

I was in a meeting about test automation that reminded me of this story. One of the attendees had engaged our group of specialists to “create automation”. He had very high hopes about how it would expand test coverage, compress deadlines, and ultimately make a great impression on the management that funded his projects.

Although I really didn’t want to harsh his buzz, as a seasoned yet humble professional I had to point out that automation is simply a method of executing tests that had already been created by QA analysts working with application requirements. A group such as ours was indeed committed to and capable of “creating automation”, but it can not be done ex nihilo in some god-like fashion. We needed a solid starting point, at the very least some verified test cases, since we were not subject matter experts in the application. This was a simple fact — the Cold Equation.

There was a stunned silence on the phone, as if the fellow had indeed been ejected into outer space despite his deepest wishes. I assured him that we all actually wanted the same things from automation, but it doesn’t replace QA processes — it enhances them. We are simply dependent on his group’s delivery of the test cases — their side of the Cold Equation.

He looked again at the telltale white hand, then rose to his feet. What he must do would be unpleasant for both of them; the sooner it was over, the better.- from The Cold Equations, by Tom Godwin

They don’t call it Computer Science for nothin’!

Engage!