Linda G. Hayes is a founder of Worksoft, Inc., developer of next-generation test automation solutions. Linda is a regular columnist and contributor to StickyMinds.com and Better Software magazine, a columnist for Computerworld and Datamation, author of The Automated Testing Handbook, and co-editor (with Alka Jarvis) of Dare To Be Excellent. Contact Linda at [email protected].
Recent observations about QA analyst job opportunities declining while automation engineer opportunities are increasing has many wondering whether QA analysts being replaced by automation.
Years after industry articles by reputable experts proclaimed the death of capture/playback as a viable test automation approach, it has apparently arisen from the dead to suck the life out of another generation of hapless, would-be automators.
The stock market has a messy relationship with software. It operates on automation software, but that same software recently made the news for triggering stock plunges. If financial firms aren't scrimping on testing, then what or who gets the blame? Is there a place for testing in production?
Southwest Airlines, a company known for its fun-loving ways, recently tried to thank its 3 million Facebook friends with half-price fares for flights booked last Friday. But their plan backfired when a “technical glitch” caused customers to be billed as many as twenty times for a single ticket.
Talk about a costly testing “oops.” Microsoft is facing a potential fine of up to 10 percent of its revenue, or about $7 billion, over its failing to verify that one of its Windows upgrades didn’t meet the terms of an antitrust settlement with the European Union.
