The automator wants to get rid of human exploration—they want a robot to cut down a forest and stack the wood. The explorer, on the other hand, sees tools more like a chainsaw—they allow humans to go ten times faster, but a human is still driving the process. Finding a middle ground is the best test strategy.

Once you’ve adopted test automation, you should determine whether it’s actually yielding the expected benefits—and you’ll want to keep these benefits visible to stakeholders to reinforce the value. A metrics dashboard aligned with the organization goals and business objectives shows you're on the right track.

In today’s global economy, staying competitive may be more important than ever. Three ways to contend are by focusing on price, niche (addressing a particular group’s needs), or differentiation (doing things better in some way). Which tactic you choose could make all the difference for your software team.