Regression and Functional tests are meaningless
I have a major pet peeve with any test strategy that includes something called “regression tests”. I recently saw someone ask, “Do we need to run regression tests on a project where the CI/CD pipeline runs all tests on any git commit?” On a different project, someone asked, “Now that we run this new test… Read more
Lumpers and Splitters in Testing
I find myself getting frustrated a lot with the online discourse around testing. Often, it comes down to what language we choose to use to describe what we do as testers. I have a running list of “debates I no longer care about” in my notes app, but this post isn’t about airing those grievances…. Read more
Creating a Job DSL seed job with JCasC
I spent a good amount of time trying to figure this out today and thought it would be worth putting out in case it helps others. I’ve been exploring different ways of automating Jenkins administration lately, which has led me to trying both Jenkins Configuration as Code (JCasC) and the Job DSL plugins. I’ll write… Read more
Scaling visual testing with BackstopJS (Part 2)
In Part 1, I wrote about how I break up the monolithic BackstopJS config file. We were able to organize multiple test files in folders any way we liked while at the same time reducing duplication between scenarios. This dealt with the first of two related limitations of BackstopJS: one giant flat configuration file. Now,… Read more
Don’t “check” or “verify” in your tests
Clearly communicating intent is an underrated skill in writing tests. In automated tests especially it is tempting to think that since the code defines what gets checked, the human-readable parts of the test — the description or the method names — aren’t as important to get right. I often see people define custom assertion functions… Read more