STAREAST 2025 - Test Automation Engineer
Customize your STAREAST 2025 experience with sessions covering test automation for engineers.
Sunday, April 27
Fundamentals of AI—ICAgile Certification (ICP-FAI)
Wednesday, April 30
Heuristics to Help You Design, Build, and Choose Test Tools
How well do we design and acquire our tools? Drawing on compelling evidence gathered from a series of interviews, workshops, surveys, and case studies with industry gurus and hands-on practitioners, we’re diving deep into a set of heuristics. Each one is a gateway to discovery, backed by explanations and enriched with engaging exploratory activities based on solid research. As an attendee, you will gain access to resources that can help enable critical thinking and reflection about tools and the problems they solve. We will see how sometimes heuristics can pinpoint when a tool might...
Building a QA Team from the Ground Up
At some point in your career - especially at newer companies and start ups, there might come a time when you are hired onto a development team as the very FIRST QA hire! With such an exciting opportunity, there is so much at stake. Your performance will not only depend on your testing skills, but your ability to add value to the development process AND the product! In this presentation Stephanie will go over her own experience building a QA team, and some important milestones and challenges she hit along the journey. She will talk about how to evaluate the team you are being hired into,...
Is Your Playbook for Generative AI in Test Automation on Point?
Generative AI allows us to create test automation scripts really fast, but how can we be sure the outcome is truly complete? In this talk, Julio will discuss the critical process of how to define your prompts and evaluate if the results from AI-driven test automation creation cover all the necessary bases. He will bring a playbook for GenAI in test automation created based on the results of research that collected advice and feedback from dozens of test automation engineers. In the session, Julio will discuss practical examples of the mindset, a set of steps to be followed when using...
Path to Becoming a Test Automation Engineer Rock Star!
So… you want to become a Test Automation Engineer (or hire and develop one)? While there’s quite a bit of information available about important technical and tool skills to master, there’s not enough discussion around the path to becoming an effective Test Automation Engineer that knows how to add VALUE. This had led to a proliferation of engineers who are proficient with tools and building frameworks but have skill and knowledge gaps, especially in software testing, that reduce the value they deliver with test automation. In this talk, Lee will share his lessons learned from over 30 years...
Revolutionizing Load Testing: Our 5-Year Journey with PewPew
In Paul Burnside's organization, there was a need for a new load testing approach in the age of microservices a few years ago and the decision was made to develop a new free open-sourced tool. Join Paul, as he discusses why "virtual users" are outdated for modern service testing and how endpoint testing is the solution. The session will cover the decision to open-source and the key features and benefits including cost savings on AWS, access to raw data, customizable reports for monitoring and analysis, built with Rust for performance and a user-friendly design. Paul will demonstrate a...
How to Automate Your Desktop Apps with Ruby and Appium
Desktop automation is not easy, and for a while, Augustin Gottlieb Pequeno found automatically testing desktop apps a challenge. In this talk, he will share his automation journey with you so you can avoid the pitfalls and pain points common to desktop automation and properly build an automation framework for your desktop apps that can run on a CI/CD pipeline, while being able to support cross-platform testing. In addition, he will also explore the use of Ruby for test automation and how this often overlooked niche language is perfect for desktop automation testing when combined with...
Panel - Revolutionizing Test Automation: The Impact of Generative AI on Quality Engineering
As Generative AI rapidly reshapes how we work, its impact on quality engineering and more specifically test automation is profound. Join our panel of AI and testing experts as they dive into how Gen AI is transforming testing practices, from creating smarter automation frameworks to redefining manual testing roles. Explore cutting-edge tools, discuss the challenges of integrating AI into test strategies, and debate the ethical implications of AI-driven quality engineering. This thought-provoking session will be driven by your questions and thus provide actionable insights, inspire...
Thursday, May 1
Enhancing Automation Testing with Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) and the Screenplay Pattern
In Esri's quest to improve automation testing, they faced a significant challenge: integrating Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) into the existing framework without discarding established tools. The goal was to maintain a shared business language while simplifying the testing process. To tackle this, Junuen's team adopted the screenplay pattern and rebuilt their XCUITest framework from the ground up. This innovative structure focused on tasks, interactions, and abilities, all elements of the screenplay pattern, enabling them to prioritize what truly mattered in their tests: the end-user...
Navigating the Future: Embracing Automation Testing in a Rapidly Evolving Digital World
In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, quality assurance is undergoing a major transformation. QA professionals must maintain software quality while adapting to the rapid pace of development, accelerated by AI. To keep up, the shift from manual testing to automation and AI-driven solutions is essential. This transition is not just about speed—it’s about fostering innovation, adaptability, and future readiness. However, adopting automation is complex, requiring team-wide processes and long-term maintenance for success. Where do you start? In this session, Amanda will share a five-...
Playwright Tips & Tricks—Why Does Microsoft's Framework Perform So Well in Testing?
This session aims to provide a comprehensive overview of Playwright, Microsoft's powerful framework for test automation. Michal will explore its core functionalities and delve into practical tips and tricks to enhance its usage. The session will begin by defining what Playwright is and highlight its key features that set it apart in the testing landscape. The session will then cover advanced usage techniques, including how to effectively utilize the Trace Viewer for generating detailed test reports and implementing concurrency in tests to boost efficiency. Furthermore, Michal will examine...
Why Testing Needs to Be Part of Your Brand Loyalty Strategy
Every experience counts – In a recent Sauce Labs study, 57% of consumers said they’d consider switching to a competitor after just 3-4 negative interactions with a company’s website, software, or mobile app. With all the options available, consumers are growing less forgiving, putting a bigger emphasis on the need for a clear brand loyalty strategy that takes the execution of the digital experience into bigger consideration. Design and engineering are key to the equation and the culmination of that is implementing a testing strategy – one that makes the rollout and updating of new features...