Six Steps to Master End-to-End Test Automation, Part 4: Practise persistently *

Extensive practice is essential for mastering end-to-end test automation.

Six Steps to Master Test Automation Series:

• Part 1: Witness the real

• Part 2: Get Motivated *

• Part 3: Learn Proactively

• Part 4: Practise persistently *

• Part 5: Apply E2E test automation at work, gradually

• Part 6: Learn by Teaching

• Part 7: FAQ - “How long does it take to learn E2E test automation?” (upcoming)

• Part 8: FAQ - “When I Would Consider Myself Qualified?” (upcoming)

• Part 9: FAQ - Others (upcoming)

My handwriting was terrible (for a long time), and I often got criticized by my teachers in high school.

Since I witnessed the real (Step 1) , got my motivation (Step 2) and found a few books and Chinese Calligraphy tutorial video series “One Topic a day, One Character a Day” (Step 3) by a famous calligrapher (Professor Tian Yunzhang 田蕴章), I started to practise Chinese calligraphy (using a brush, which is much harder than using a ball pen) in ~2012, in my late 30s.

At the beginning of the video tutorial, Master Tian empathized the daily practices.

“The Calligraphy’s shortcut: there is No shortcut” — Master Tian Yunzhang

I practised daily, though nowhere near Master Tian’s level—he wrote 500 characters a day as a child, while I managed maybe 50 at most. After a few years, I made noticeable progress, and my parents were proud to hang my calligraphy in their living room.

The same principle applies to Test Automation.

In E2E test automation, a working test automation script is not equal to high-quality reliable one (but real E2E test automation demands high reliability), far from that. Check out this case study (of my daughter):