Test execution automation is often seen as a technical challenge-a matter of applying the right technology, tools, and smart programming talent. However, such efforts and projects often fail to meet expectations with results that are difficult to manage and maintain-especially for large and complex systems. Hans Buwalda describes how the choices you make for designing tests can make-or break-a test automation project. Join Hans to discover why good automated tests are not the same as the automation of good manual tests and how to break down tests into modules-building blocks-in which each has a clear scope and purpose. See how to design test cases within each module to reflect that module's scope and nothing more. Hans explains how to tie modules together with a keyword-based test automation framework that separates the automation details from the test itself to enhance maintainability and improve ROI.

The cloud is penetrating every technology organization and almost every software product or service. The cloud affects everything inside development, bringing profound changes to how engineers build, test, release, and maintain software and systems. Sharing his experiences at Microsoft working on the Bing search engine, Ken Johnston reveals how they devised and implemented a test-oriented architecture (TOA) at every layer within their product solution. He explores what stayed the same and what changed when their test organization moved to state-of-the-art cloud testing. Learn how the cloud is driving broader adoption of agile development and driving organizations toward accelerated release rates. Find out how the Bing team shifted to a “continuous testing in production” model for testing web services and eliminated the surprises that came from the old approach of big-at-the-end testing.

Test-driven development (TDD) is a skill that takes patience to master-you can’t learn it reading a book. As with learning any new language, to gain fluency you need to practice TDD with competent coaching and lots of hard work. Many well-intentioned programmers try and finally give up on TDD because they never develop the fluency it requires. On stage, Llewellyn Falco leads a live TDD demonstration, talking through the process and microsteps of: (1) studying a feature, (2) creating an initial test, and (3) iteratively developing the related test code and feature code until the feature is completely programmed. Watch how to iteratively write a test, see it fail, and then write the feature code to make it pass. After explaining the theory behind the particular TDD technique used, Llewellyn leads participants in testing progressively more complex objects and scenarios.

Almost daily, we see reports of software failures that harm enterprises and impact the brand, putting testing organizations and their efforts in the spotlight. Fortunately, testers are now in one of the most exciting times in the software industry’s history!