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.

Engineering an environment that helps teams do their best work can be difficult. When the team works well, it can deliver better, and helping teams deliver more effectively is what being a team lead is all about. However, this role also comes with some responsibilities and challenges that aren't always clear.

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.