„To Automate Or Not To Automate” That Is The Question – So When Is It Worth Automating An IT Project – Advice In A Nutshell – Epic Digital Guy

Hi,

Today I will introduce you to the topic of automation of the software you create, in a short and concise way, to show you the advantages and disadvantages of this procedure.

Let’s start:

The first rule that I consider the most important is to define the goal and plan of automation. So you have to consider what exactly you want to automate, why and what benefits do you want to achieve from this process, e.g. within the next year.

Currently, hardly any organization knows why it automates, and if it can describe it, then such a defined goal cannot be achieved.

If you decide to do this, you should know that it is best to automate the regression tests, as it is repeatable.

Also, remember that it takes 10 to XX times longer to write automated scripts than to write manual tests but…

Maintaining automated scripts is much more expensive than maintaining manual tests. Automation, at least in the short term of implementation, generates more costs than profits (so think always long term).

Automatic testing is not geared toward finding failures. The machines are mainly used to confirm that the quality of the developed software has not regressed.

Another limitation -> you can’t automate without coding skills so you need to know at least one programming language to do simple automation, and in more advanced cases you will also have to use https://stackoverflow.com/

Summary:

IT project automation is advisable for complex repetitive activities in large and long-term IT projects. Before starting the automation, always use the „Jeff Bezos technique” in your mind, try to think from the perspective of several years ahead and ask yourself questions whether additional functionalities will be created in these areas, as well as try to predict: how much you can gain (money, resources, time or customer trust) in the case of automation.