All tests automation systems have certain common tasks. Different tools tend to focus on some tasks and put less emphasis on other tasks. While examining 11 home-grown test automation tools at F5, we found certain patterns. There were six different tasks that all tools addressed to varying degrees. We found that the tasks emphasized depended on who developed the tool and who the intended users were. Some tools required more work from test-writers and less from the test-framework developers. Others offered more services to the test-writer but required a larger team of framework developers to build and support the tool. We have grouped the tools examined into four different contexts, depending on who would be writing the tests, who would be looking at the results, and how long the tests would be in use. This talk will describe how the intended audience for the tool should inform your design decisions. Talk given by Pete Schneider at the Third Annual Google Test Automation Conference (GTAC), Seattle, WA, Oct. 23rd and 24th.
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