This document discusses implementing automation in the Definition of Done (DoD) as a team effort. It outlines some challenges, like passing tickets to the next sprint if automation is incomplete or only automating new features. It proposes having the team collectively work on automation by having QA automate new features, business analysts automate backlog items using scriptless tools, and developers support maintenance. With a team approach, more automation can be achieved to include in the DoD compared to relying only on QA efforts.

1. Implementing Automation in
Definition of Done is Team
Work
By Anand Shirkande
Software Developer in Test at Telegraph Media Group

2. Pain :
1. Passing ticket to next sprint (not signing off)if automation is not completed.
2. Automating backlog features as well as new features.

3. Passing ticket to next sprint :
- Consider scenario where development work is completed, manual testing is
successfully done and QA have not completed the automation for that ticket
till release cut date.
- It is a decision point to include automation in definition of done or not. Team is
not able to release that ticket and team has to wait till next release.

4. Passing ticket to next sprint :
Team has to take decision based on certain parameters like
- If ticket is related to new feature then team has to push ticket to next sprint.
- If ticket is related to priority bug then team has to release that ticket.

5. Automating backlog and new features:
- Automation is not only QA responsibility. Team has to support this activity if
we want to include automation in DOD.

6. Workload During Sprint.

7. Tester in Sprint :
- Usually we have two weeks sprint and after each sprint we have release.
- First two days of new sprint QA has low workload as team is busy in
sprint planning, three amigos and no ticket to test.
- Next two days tester is busy in release testing.
- Next three days tester focus on automation.
- Last threes days tester is busy in manual testing of new features.

8. Developer in Sprint :
- First two days of new sprint developer has medium workload as team is busy
in sprint planning, three amigos and understanding the tickets.
- Next 5-6 days developer has high workload as developer to write code for all
assigned tickets and execute unit testing.
- Last two days developer has low workload as all assigned tickets are
moved to ready for testing.

9. Business Analyst in Sprint:
- For initial three days BA has high work load as BA has to explain
requirements to developer/tester, update acceptance criterion.
- Next few days BA has low workload as development tasks are in
progress.
- Last two days BA gets busy in discussing priorities with product owners,
writing acceptance criterion etc.

10. Utilise Bandwidth:
- Team has to utilise developer and BA’s bandwidth to support automation.
- Developers have technical capacity to support automation activities.

11. Does BA have technical capacity to
support automation?
- Answer is ‘May be NO”
How to utilise non technical resources to support automation?

12. Script Less Automation
- In this case team will have two test suites with slightly different frameworks.
- First test suite will have test cases which are scripted by automation
tester/developer.
- Second test suite will have test cases which are automated using scriptless
automation tools by manual tester/non technical resources.

13. Script Less Automation:
- There are number of scriptless automation tools available in market which
support BDD, Selenium.
- Team has to select proper tool based on your requirement and matching with
another scripting framework
- Another main concern is to select correct automation candidate for scriptless
automation.

14. Types of Automation Candidates:
Candidates require coding intelligence:
These includes test cases which require flexible test data or require unique data
for each execution, verification points which are achieved by advanced coding or
may require combination of multiple loops and assertions.

15. Types of Automation Candidates:
Candidates require no coding intelligence:
These test cases will include test cases having user navigation, clicking objects,
verifying text, verifying pop ups, no advanced coding or no unique data required.
These candidates are best for scriptless automation and can be automated by non
technical resources (having business knowledge).

16. Team Responsibility:
- It become difficult to automate backlog as well as new features with only QA
efforts.
- It become more harder when maintenance come into picture.
- If team collectively work to automate then becomes easy and smooth.

17. Approach:
1. QA will automate new features in sprint which require coding intelligence.
2. BA/Manual QA will work on clearing backlog using scriptless automation.
3. Developer will support maintenance activity before end of sprint to make
release smooth.

18. Automation achievements with Only QA
efforts:

19. Automation Efforts with Team
Responsibility:

20. Collective Automation Efforts: