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Plan test automation strategies including ROI analysis, automation candidate selection, framework evaluation, and maintainable automation architecture.
| name | automation-strategy |
| description | Plan test automation strategies including ROI analysis, automation candidate selection, framework evaluation, and maintainable automation architecture. |
| allowed-tools | Read, Write, Glob, Grep, Task, WebSearch, WebFetch |
Use this skill when:
A well-planned test automation strategy maximizes ROI by automating the right tests at the right level. Poor automation choices lead to maintenance burden, flaky tests, and wasted effort.
High Business Value
│
┌──────────────────┼──────────────────┐
│ AUTOMATE │ AUTOMATE │
│ FIRST │ (careful ROI) │
│ (High ROI) │ │
Low ├──────────────────┼──────────────────┤ High
Effort │ AUTOMATE │ CONSIDER │ Effort
│ (Low effort) │ MANUAL │
│ │ (Low ROI) │
└──────────────────┼──────────────────┘
Low Business Value
| Criterion | Weight | Score (1-5) |
|---|---|---|
| Execution Frequency | 25% | 5 = Daily, 1 = Quarterly |
| Business Criticality | 25% | 5 = Revenue-critical, 1 = Rarely used |
| Stability (low change) | 20% | 5 = Never changes, 1 = Weekly |
| Complexity to Automate | 15% | 5 = Trivial, 1 = Very complex |
| Data Availability | 15% | 5 = Static, 1 = Unavailable |
Decision: Score ≥ 4.0: Prioritize | 3.0-3.9: Defer | < 3.0: Keep manual
| Good Candidates | Poor Candidates |
|---|---|
| Smoke/sanity tests | Exploratory testing |
| Regression tests | Usability testing |
| Data-driven tests | One-time tests |
| API contract tests | Rapidly changing features |
| Performance baselines | Visual design validation |
| Security scans | Edge cases rarely executed |
| Factor | Multiply Manual Time By |
|---|---|
| Simple UI automation | 3-5x |
| Complex UI automation | 8-15x |
| API automation | 1-2x |
| Database automation | 2-3x |
| Performance tests | 5-10x |
Example: 30 min manual × 1.5 = 45 min API automation. 52 weekly runs = 26 hrs saved. ROI = 3,367%
| Anti-Pattern | Problem | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Sleep/Wait hardcoding | Flaky, slow | Use explicit waits |
| XPath over data-testid | Brittle | Use stable selectors |
| Test interdependence | Order-dependent failures | Isolated test setup |
| Shared mutable state | Race conditions | Fresh state per test |
| Too many E2E tests | Slow pipeline | Push to lower pyramid |
| Metric | Healthy | Warning | Critical |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pass rate | > 98% | 95-98% | < 95% |
| Flaky test rate | < 2% | 2-5% | > 5% |
| Avg execution time | < 10 min | 10-30 min | > 30 min |
| Maintenance hours/week | < 4 hrs | 4-8 hrs | > 8 hrs |
| Reference | Content | When to Load |
|---|---|---|
| automation-strategy-template.md | Full strategy template, framework selection, roadmap | Creating automation strategy |
| automation-patterns.md | Page Object Model, Fluent Builder, Test Fixture | Implementing .NET Playwright tests |
Inputs from:
test-strategy-planning skill → Overall strategytest-pyramid-design skill → Pyramid ratiosOutputs to:
test-case-design skill → Automatable test designsQuery: "Help me plan a test automation strategy for our e-commerce platform"
Expected: Skill activates, provides strategy template, guides through assessment
Query: "Should I automate this checkout flow test?"
Expected: Skill activates, provides selection criteria matrix, helps calculate ROI
Query: "Show me the Page Object Model pattern in Playwright"
Expected: Skill activates, loads automation-patterns.md reference, provides code examples
Last Updated: 2025-12-28
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