WHY DO people try to make humans do a task that is better suited to computers... WHY DO people try to make computers do a job better suited to humans! Imagine you have a website that you have to test with 5 different web browsers, various logins and passwords. Now you have to do the same thing hundreds of times , every time you release a new version, every 2 weeks. Some people write test scripts and give them to their testers and make them carry them out step by step, click by click . It sounds like a modern-day assembly line, perhaps something out of Fritz-Lang's Metropolis . This is the job for a computer. Conversely, if you have to test a complex web site that is changing every 2 weeks, with lots of new screens, many areas to explore and requirements and specs that are still evolving , some people try and automate the testing of this application. They spend a week writing a test that would only take a human a few hours to test. They miss all of the important edge cases, dead-ends, usability issues and items that a computer cannot spot. This is the job for a skilled human tester. The moral of the story - automate the repetitive tasks so that your human testers are more efficient, don't try and turn your humans into machines or your machines into humans. en-US(C) Copyright 2006-2026 Inflectra Corporation.support@inflectra.com/Computers/Software/Project_Management//Computers/Software/Quality_Assurance/KronoDesksupport@inflectra.comhttp://www.inflectra.com/kronodesk/forums/threads120/Support/Forum/announcements/rants-raves/1600.aspxthreadId=1600David J (adam.sandman+support@inflectra.com)testing automation exploratory testing pet peeve WHY DO people try to make humans do a task that is better suited to computers... WHY DO people try to make computers do a job better suited to humans! Imagine you have a website that you have to test with 5 different web browsers, various logins and passwords. Now you have to do the same thing hundreds of times , every time you release a new version, every 2 weeks. Some people write test scripts and give them to their testers and make them carry them out step by step, click by click . It sounds like a modern-day assembly line, perhaps something out of Fritz-Lang's Metropolis . This is the job for a computer. Conversely, if you have to test a complex web site that is changing every 2 weeks, with lots of new screens, many areas to explore and requirements and specs that are still evolving , some people try and automate the testing of this application. They spend a week writing a test that would only take a human a few hours to test. They miss all of the important edge cases, dead-ends, usability issues and items that a computer cannot spot. This is the job for a skilled human tester. The moral of the story - automate the repetitive tasks so that your human testers are more efficient, don't try and turn your humans into machines or your machines into humans. Tue, 10 Jan 2017 15:55:08 -05002026-03-05T14:33:05-05:00/Support/Forum/announcements/rants-raves/1600.aspxmessageId=2865David J (adam.sandman+support@inflectra.com) Let us know if you agree, disagree or have thoughts!? Tue, 10 Jan 2017 21:23:49 -05002017-01-10T21:23:49-05:00/Support/Forum/announcements/rants-raves/1600.aspx#reply2865messageId=3140Tracey Willis (tchavers@theculturalink.com) I agree with this 100%. I am currently in a situation where management is gung ho on automating testing and we are still deciding functionality. This is a startup that will no doubt change paths many times in the next 6 months. Since Im merely a pion, I will do whats asked, and hopefully, it wont waste too much money. I tried to explain why we should wait but they seem to know more than the person that has been doing this for well over 15 years. Wed, 25 Oct 2017 17:39:29 -04002017-10-25T17:39:29-04:00/Support/Forum/announcements/rants-raves/1600.aspx#reply3140messageId=5656Kanika Vatsyayan (kanika.bugraptors@gmail.com) Great post, mate! Automation is all about simplifying things and cutting down on human effort. The only place where most organizations, especially software testing companies struggle is integrating and sustaining automation into the process. It is important to understand what tasks must be automated and where human creativity must be allowed to jump in. Thanks for the amazing post! Fri, 22 Apr 2022 13:25:48 -04002022-04-22T13:25:48-04:00/Support/Forum/announcements/rants-raves/1600.aspx#reply5656messageId=6569David J (adam.sandman+support@inflectra.com) Thanks for the positive feedback :-) Tue, 02 Jan 2024 22:24:49 -05002024-01-02T22:24:49-05:00/Support/Forum/announcements/rants-raves/1600.aspx#reply6569messageId=6578Shirley Reed (y0ungun1hick@gmail.com) I am really impressed with this article and even more impressed that it was written in 2017. Your vision and way of looking at the problem is very profound and meaningful. Now as you can see, automation has been developed and used much more widely. And I think this is a good sign for the worlds technology industry! mario games Fri, 12 Jan 2024 02:16:23 -05002024-01-12T02:16:23-05:00/Support/Forum/announcements/rants-raves/1600.aspx#reply6578messageId=6586David J (adam.sandman+support@inflectra.com) Thanks so much. With AI it does look like were finally going to have automated testing that will be adaptable and generate positive ROI even in the more challenging use cases that I had outlined. Sun, 21 Jan 2024 22:21:28 -05002024-01-21T22:21:28-05:00/Support/Forum/announcements/rants-raves/1600.aspx#reply6586messageId=7112helen dam (adorable.sole.cnxs@letterguard.net) Youre making an excellent point about the balance between automation and human intuition in testing. The key takeaway is that computers excel at repetitive, structured tasks, while humans are better at exploratory, intuitive thinking-especially when dealing with evolving requirements and complex interactions. Geometry Dash Fri, 21 Feb 2025 01:55:56 -05002025-02-21T01:55:56-05:00/Support/Forum/announcements/rants-raves/1600.aspx#reply7112messageId=7177salim nl (mental.egret.eueo@letterhaven.net) How do you think the line between automated testing and manual testing will change shortly with the development of AI? Should we move towards a deeper human-in-the-loop model? Thats Not My Neighbor Wed, 16 Apr 2025 02:10:12 -04002025-04-16T02:10:12-04:00/Support/Forum/announcements/rants-raves/1600.aspx#reply7177messageId=7178Victoria D (nino.diasamidze@inflectra.com) I think, AI will revolutionize software testing indeed, but it wont replace humans. AI augments human capabilities, and the human-in-the-loop model becomes essential for ensuring quality, trust, and ethical considerations. Wed, 16 Apr 2025 13:17:17 -04002025-04-16T13:17:17-04:00/Support/Forum/announcements/rants-raves/1600.aspx#reply7178