Is AI coming for your job? You’ve probably heard the worried whispers if you’re a software tester or quality assurance (QA) engineer.
No doubt, the rise of AI has sparked a wave of panic among testers, but before you dust off your resume and sign up to study digital detoxification coaching, let’s take a deep breath and separate fact from fiction.
The world of web automation is riddled with myths and misconceptions, often fueled by fear and a lack of understanding.
So come with us on a myth-busting expedition. We’ll debunk the top 10 most common misconceptions and reveal the truth behind the hype.
By the end of it, you’ll be armed with the knowledge you need to face the future of testing with confidence instead of being held back by the fear of losing your job.
So let’s get busy debunking!
MYTH 1: Set It and Forget It—Automation is a One-Time Thing
Write a script once, and it’ll keep your app running great forever!
Unfortunately, that’s what many teams have believed. Deciding to take a well-deserved nap at the end of a tough development cycle, the unsuspecting group figures everything is handled.
After all, the scripts worked great the first time.
REALITY
The app will evolve, new features will be added, and old ones tweaked. But the neglected test scripts will remain frozen in time, and the bugs will creep in unnoticed, like termites in a wooden house.
Web apps constantly change and evolve.
That means your tests need to keep up the pace. Otherwise, before you know it, your scripts will be as outdated as dial-up, and your app will be as glitchy as a self-driving car.
Regular check-ups and updates are a must if you want your test suite to stay relevant and usable.
MYTH 2: Automation Will Replace Manual Testing
All manual testers better start working toward a career shift because their ship has sailed in a sea of automation.
When a company is seduced by the “money-saving” allure of the myth that automation will replace manual testing, trouble is sure to come.
They fire all the manual testers believing AI automation can handle everything—from squashing bugs to brewing the coffee.
REALITY
Automated tests can miss subtle usability issues and lack a deep understanding of user intent—weaknesses that can (and often do) result in spectacular failure if automated tests are left to their own devices.
Automation and manual testing always go better together.
While automated tests excel at repetitive tasks and regression testing, manual testers bring creativity, intuition, and an unmatched, nuanced understanding of user behavior to the table.
Together, humans and AI automation form an unstoppable force against software bugs. (More on this later.)
MYTH 3: Big Projects Only—Automation Is for Large-Scale Apps
Automating small projects? You might as well throw your money to the wind!
Imagine a tiny startup that’s forced to pinch pennies. Believing automation is outside its scope, it focuses all its energy on manual testing—even as its app starts to grow.
REALITY
Soon, bugs start popping up like mushrooms after the rain. The app’s quality takes a dive, users leave, and revenue goes down the drain.
Incorporating automation could’ve given this startup a fighting chance by giving them more efficient workflows.
Automation is an indispensable tool for software projects, regardless of size. Even small teams can use automated tests to streamline workflows and free up time for initiatives to drive growth.
MYTH 4: No Humans Needed—Automated Tests Run Themselves
This one is related to MYTH #2: Just set up the tests and let them do their thing. Who needs humans when you have automation, right?
So many companies fall prey to this myth. They go all-in on automation, thinking the tests will run perfectly without any human supervision. So they don’t check metrics, assuming everything’s going fine.
REALITY
Soon a rogue bug in the test scripts turns everything upside down, resulting in sky-high damage-control costs.
Automated tests are like pets—they need attention and care. A human being needs to monitor an automated test, analyze the results, and fix the issues regularly to avoid almost certain disaster.
MYTH 5: Budget Buster—Automation Is Too Expensive
Automation is only for big, rich companies. Small businesses and startups are better off sticking to manual testing.
Terrified of the price tag, many smaller and newer companies cling to manual testing like a life raft.
REALITY
The problem is that these companies forget to factor in the long-term costs of manual testing, such as wasted time, human error, and delayed bug discoveries.
Testing becomes a never-ending nightmare when smaller and newer companies insist on a manual-only approach as their apps grow more complex.
Bugs run rampant, customer support is overwhelmed, and revenue takes a hit. Suddenly, the expense of automation starts making a lot more sense.
Automation may cost upfront, but the long-term benefits are well worth it. Think faster testing, fewer errors, and happier customers. Plus, there are plenty of affordable automation options for companies of all sizes.
Explore automation techniques in our free course on Automation with Playwright: Mastering Web Automation with AI.
MYTH 6: Just Scripts—Automation is All About Coding
Automation is for coding wizards only. If you can’t write code, you might as well stick to Minesweeper.
Too many tester teams are deeply afraid of code and dismiss automation as some kind of dark art. They adamantly stick to manual testing, regardless of company or project size.
REALITY
As these teams’ apps expand, management becomes a soul-sucking grind. The team falls behind, missing deadlines and releasing buggy software.
They watch from the sidelines as automation teams zoom past them, enjoying faster testing, better quality, and more free time.
Everybody has got to start somewhere! Plenty of user-friendly and affordable no-code and low-code tools let anyone get started creating and maintaining test scripts without a computer science degree.
For example, Scandium is one of the best free automated testing tools for web applications out there (and did you notice we said it’s free?).
There’s no excuse for getting started, guys!
MYTH 7: Bug Zapper—Automation Catches All the Bugs
Click a button, and say goodbye to bugs. Automation is the superhero of software quality, here to save the day—every time.
Companies will fully trust automated tests, completely discarding manual and exploratory testing, totally convinced that automation will catch everything.
REALITY
It doesn’t work that way.
A sneaky security bug disguised as a harmless line of code can waltz right past an automated test, resulting in things like data breaches capable of shattering reputations to pieces in one fell swoop.
Automated tests are great for repetitive tasks and finding old bugs, but they’re not mind readers (yet). Manual and exploratory testing are still needed to catch those tricky bugs that can still outsmart the machines.
MYTH 8: Tester = Automator—Anyone Can Do It
If you can use a computer, you can automate tests. After all, it’s just a matter of recording clicks and keystrokes.
Every day inexperienced teams are thrust into complex automation projects using advanced automation tools all because unknowing boards of directors were drawn by the lure of efficiency and cost-cutting.
REALITY
The resulting test scripts are brittle, unreliable, and difficult to maintain. They fail intermittently, reporting false positives and negatives, and they break every time the user interface is barely tweaked.
These teams end up spending more time fixing broken tests than they should’ve saved by automating in the first place.
Quality suffers as critical bugs slip through the cracks. Projects are delayed, and costs skyrocket.
Now, we know we said above that you don’t have to be a coder to take on test automation, and that’s true! But here we’re talking about highly complex projects.
Effective test automation for complex projects requires a deep understanding of software development principles, coding languages, and testing frameworks.
It also helps if the test engineer can design strong and maintainable test scripts. SDETs (Software Development Engineers in Test) are in high demand precisely because they possess this specialized skillset.
MYTH 9: Quick and Painless—Automation is a Breeze
Download a tool, point it at your app, and boom, instant bug-free paradise. Who needs planning or maintenance?
Way too many teams, hyped up on automation, jump headfirst into a new tool without even reading the instructions. A few haphazard test scripts later, they kick back and wait for the magic to happen.
REALITY
The tool throws a tantrum, scripts break faster than a pair of gas station headphones, and the team spends more time Googling error messages than actually testing.
Building a solid automation framework takes planning, analysis, and strategy. Regular maintenance is a must unless you want your scripts to go the way of the dinosaurs.
MYTH 10: One Tool to Rule Them All—Any Tool Can Handle Any Scenario
Why spend money on multiple solutions? One automation tool can be used for everything we need!
Unknowingly, many companies today think they can rely on a single tool to do everything—from functional testing to performance testing and even security testing. They think that as long as they have Selenium testing or something like it in the works in some way, they’re good to go.
REALITY
Just like you wouldn’t drive a minivan in a high-speed race, you shouldn’t rely on a single automation tool for all your testing needs.
The rise of specialized tools like Marathon Cloud for scalable and rapid testing on virtual devices, alongside Cypress for end-to-end testing, demonstrates the need for choosing the right tool for the job.
Marathon Cloud’s ability to distribute and retry tests across numerous virtual devices, aiming for a 15-minute completion time, showcases a very specific solution for performance-focused teams. It’s a testament to the idea that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution in the world of web automation.
We hope our myth-debunking efforts have encouraged and empowered you to pursue AI web automation yourself. We even offer a totally free course here at Engenious University to help you do just that!
Master Web Automation with Playwright and AI—for Free (for Real!)
Ready to shatter those myths in real life and thrive in the age of AI-powered automation? Learn Playwright automation in our free course, “Automation with Playwright: Mastering Web Automation with AI.”
Whether you’re a seasoned coder, a Selenium Python or WebdriverIO user, or just starting your automation journey, this course will equip you with the skills to build solid, scalable, and maintainable web tests using Playwright.
With guidance from industry experts Igor Dorovskikh and Vasyl Shpak from Engenious University, and the added power of ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot, you’ll learn:
- How to set up your Playwright environment in Visual Studio Code.
- How to write your first automated test and implement the Page Object Model (POM) for better organization.
- How to leverage AI-driven prompts from ChatGPT to accelerate your test writing.
- And much more!
Don’t let the myths hold you back. Embrace the future of web automation and unlock your full potential with Playwright and AI.
Enhance your automation skills and debunk common myths by enrolling in our free course, Automation with Playwright: Mastering Web Automation with AI.