Test Automation Experience

Can you handle these truths about automated testing? 

In this episode, Nikolay Advolodkin reveals the hard-hitting truths he's discovered throughout his 16-year career in software engineering. From the common misuse of Cucumber to selecting the wrong automation tools, he talks about how these mistakes can lead to wasted effort, unnecessary complexity, and lost resources. He also explains why automating everything can backfire and how flaky tests destroy trust in automation.

Tune in so you don’t have to learn the same hard lessons.

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CONNECT WITH NIKOLAY ADVOLODKIN          

🌎 WEBSITE: https://ultimateqa.com         

🐦 X: https://X.com/Nikolay_A00 

💡 LINKEDIN (consider leaving a Recommendation): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikolayadvolodkin/   

👨‍💻 GITHUB: https://github.com/nadvolod 

✨ TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@nikolay.advolodkin/  

📸 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/nikolay.advolodkin/ 

📧 EMAIL: [email protected]


JOIN THE CONVERSATION!              

🎥 Subscribe to our YouTube channel now and get access to the latest exclusive shows, before anyone else!  https://www.youtube.com/@test-automation-experience 

▶ Sauce YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@SauceLabs_Official    

 ‍🤝‍  Community page: https://saucelabs.com/community        

🏠 Home Page: https://saucelabs.com/ 


(00:00) Intro  

(00:20) Stop Using Cucumber  

(01:06) Challenges with Cucumber and BDD  

(04:03) The Right Automation Tool Matters

(05:23) Choosing the Right Tool  

(07:44) Automate the Right Things  

(10:58) The Pitfalls of Flaky Tests  

(12:27) Action Plan for Effective Automation  

(15:59) Automation Tools vs. Strategies  

(18:16) The Importance of Strategy in Automation  

(19:43) Investing in People Over Technology  

(23:52) The Pitfalls of Center of Excellence  

(27:47) A Better Approach to Automation Practices

You don’t want to make these mistakes in software development! 

In this episode, Nikolay shares the six most significant lessons from his 16-year career. From wasting time on over-engineering to relying too much on UI tests, he breaks down real examples that slow down processes and cost companies money. 

Tune in so you don’t fall to the same fate.

CONNECT WITH NIKOLAY ADVOLODKIN          

🌎 WEBSITE: https://ultimateqa.com         

🐦 X: https://X.com/Nikolay_A00 

💡 LINKEDIN (consider leaving a Recommendation): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikolayadvolodkin/   

👨‍💻 GITHUB: https://github.com/nadvolod 

✨ TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@nikolay.advolodkin/  

📸 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/nikolay.advolodkin/ 

📧 EMAIL: [email protected] 

JOIN THE CONVERSATION!              

🎥 Subscribe to our YouTube channel now and get access to the latest exclusive shows, before anyone else!  https://www.youtube.com/@test-automation-experience 

▶ Sauce YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@SauceLabs_Official    

 ‍🤝‍  Community page: https://saucelabs.com/community        

🏠 Home Page: https://saucelabs.com/

(00:00) Intro
(00:30) Mistake #1: Not Working In An Iterative Manner
(01:48) Over-Engineering with Keyword Driven Testing
(03:12) The Pitfall of Premature Optimization
(04:10) Mistake #2: Attempting To Automate Long And Complicated Flows
(05:45) The Benefit of Atomic Tests vs. End-to-End Tests
(07:02) Mistake #3: Attempting To Automate Everything Through The Ui
(08:55) Why API Tests Are Faster and More Stable
(10:12) Mistake #4: Attempting to Automate Everything
(11:44) Focusing on Business Objectives Instead
(13:10) Mistake #5: Not Learning the Technology Stack
(14:35) Why Understanding Your Framework is Crucial
(16:02) Mistake #6: Being Afraid to Ask for Help
(17:20) How Collaboration Improves Automation Outcomes

These automated testing beliefs might be sabotaging your tests!

In this episode, Nikolay debunks the seven biggest myths about automated testing. From the misconception that “more tests mean better quality” to the fallacy of “automation replacing manual testing,” Nikolay shares hands-on experiences and examples from his 16 years of experience. You’ll learn how to optimize your automated tests, avoid costly mistakes, and streamline your testing processes for better efficiency and reliability.

Whether you’re a coding hobbyist or a seasoned pro, this episode is packed with insights for developers and companies alike to save time, money, and headaches – all while delivering smoother code.

00:00) Intro

(00:18) Myth #1: More Tests Mean Better Quality

(01:02) 100,000 Automated Browser Tests and 40% Failure Rate

(02:18) Single Test Strategy for CI Pipeline

(03:53) Myth #2: Automation Replaces Manual Testing

(05:14) Manual and Exploratory Testing

(06:06) Myth #3: Automation is Too Expensive and Time-Consuming

(07:55) Starting with a Single Test in CI

(09:30) Myth #4: Anyone Can Write Automated Tests

(11:40) Importance of Skilled Automation Engineers

(12:46) Myth #5: Automation Tools Solve All Problems

(14:30) Choosing the Right Tools for Salesforce Testing

(16:45) Myth #6: All Tests Should Be Automated

(18:44) Prioritizing Flows for Automation

(19:26) Myth #7: You Can Set It and Forget It

(21:07) Maintaining Automation Systems

CONNECT WITH NIKOLAY ADVOLODKIN          

🌎 WEBSITE: https://ultimateqa.com         

🐦 X: https://X.com/Nikolay_A00 

💡 LINKEDIN (consider leaving a Recommendation): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikolayadvolodkin/   

👨‍💻 GITHUB: https://github.com/nadvolod 

✨ TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@nikolay.advolodkin/  

📸 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/nikolay.advolodkin/ 

📧 EMAIL: [email protected] 

JOIN THE CONVERSATION!              

🎥 Subscribe to our YouTube channel now and get access to the latest exclusive shows, before anyone else!  https://www.youtube.com/@test-automation-experience 

▶ Sauce YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@SauceLabs_Official    

 ‍🤝‍  Community page: https://saucelabs.com/community        

🏠 Home Page: https://saucelabs.com/

Nikolay lost over $75,000 in cryptocurrency after falling victim to one of the most sophisticated scamming operations he’s ever seen.

In this episode, Nikolay breaks down what happened and why he didn’t catch on until it was too late— even as a seasoned software engineer. You’ll learn exactly how the scammers bypassed his two-factor authentication and tricked him into using fake URLs. But more importantly, find out how YOU can avoid falling for the same traps and secure your accounts.

RELEVANT DETAILS OF THE HACK

Phone Numbers + Tokens: 

754 200 1620 

754 282 1617

ETH Transaction: NXT5dgiR47kY0H2TQE4SAmjyy

Wallet: 0x2AC9537e0Ef43dADCeeD10007f6eBa905Ee9F832

TxId: 0x9a8071a44420d8a6a17d3f89f46e89a6d229547aa89832c7f2953bf630e74e9d

BTC: NXT4t2RRnCa7KxqaJ89rqysk2

Wallet: bc1qv26n5c2nk3dklrlx570540ug9fhgaalyp7fnn4

TxID:6f906d250f98c4c3328676d895c16bc9b16b2daa33453a1f422e7ea640e2179b

MALICIOUS URLS (DO NOT VISIT) 

• https://platform-nexo(.)com 
• https://1574755-ledger(.))com

CONNECT WITH NIKOLAY ADVOLODKIN          

🌎 WEBSITE: https://ultimateqa.com         

🐦 X: https://X.com/Nikolay_A00 

💡 LINKEDIN (consider leaving a Recommendation): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikolayadvolodkin/   

👨‍💻 GITHUB: https://github.com/nadvolod 

✨ TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@nikolay.advolodkin/  

📸 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/nikolay.advolodkin/ 

📧 EMAIL: [email protected] 

JOIN THE CONVERSATION!              

🎥 Subscribe to our YouTube channel now and get access to the latest exclusive shows, before anyone else!  https://www.youtube.com/@test-automation-experience 

▶ Sauce YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@SauceLabs_Official    

 ‍🤝‍  Community page: https://saucelabs.com/community        

🏠 Home Page: https://saucelabs.com/

Do security tests and APIs leave you confused? Expert Bas Dijkstra makes API testing look easy and shares the essentials every dev ops professional needs to know.

You’ll learn how to spot and fix common API vulnerabilities, including sneaky JavaScript injections to the all-too-common broken object-level authorization. With hands-on demos and practical advice, you'll discover how to fortify your APIs against real-world threats. But that's not all—Bas also gives us a sneak peek into his upcoming contract testing course, perfect for anyone looking to master integration testing and ensure seamless API communication.

❓What did you think of the show? Leave your anonymous feedback:

https://forms.gle/Df5sDABiNMQn4YSj7

CONNECT WITH BAS DIJKSTRA

💡 LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/basdijkstra/

✅ WEBSITE: https://www.ontestautomation.com/ 

✅ ON TEST AUTOMATION TRAINING: https://www.ontestautomation.com/training/ 

✅ CONTRACT TESTING COURSE: https://www.ontestautomation.com/training/contract-testing/ 

👨‍💻 GITHUB: https://github.com/basdijkstra      

📧EMAIL:  [email protected]  

CONNECT WITH NIKOLAY ADVOLODKIN          

💡 LINKEDIN (consider leaving a Recommendation): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikolayadvolodkin/

✨ TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@nikolay.advolodkin/  

📸 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/nikolay.advolodkin/ 

🌎 WEBSITE: https://ultimateqa.com         

🐦 X: https://X.com/Nikolay_A00 

👨‍💻 GITHUB: https://github.com/nadvolod 

📧 EMAIL: [email protected] 

JOIN THE CONVERSATION!              

🎥 Subscribe to our YouTube channel now and get access to the latest exclusive shows, before anyone else!  https://www.youtube.com/@test-automation-experience 

▶ Sauce YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@SauceLabs_Official    

 ‍🤝‍  Community page: https://saucelabs.com/community        

🏠 Home Page: https://saucelabs.com/

(00:00) Intro

(02:24 ) 60-Second API Security Testing Challenge

(03:06) JavaScript injection and input sanitization

(04:56) The role of AI in API Testing

(05:51) Impactful API Security Bug

(07:56) Starting API Security Testing

(09:26) Ideal API Response to invalid input

(11:58) OWASP API Security Top Ten 

(13:33) Broken object-level authorization

(14:58) Unauthorized access testing

(21:41) Rate Limiting

(23:26) API Security University

(25:31) Exploratory testing techniques

(29:07) On Test Automation Courses

How do you build lightning-fast websites with Astro and React?

In this episode, Nikolay teams up with Cassidy Williams, a developer advocate and educator with a flair for making complex concepts fun and accessible. Watch as Cassidy attempts to build an Astro website in 60 seconds, integrates React for interactivity, and shares tips on optimizing performance. Along the way, she shares her favorite productivity tools, discusses the power of community, and offers invaluable career advice for developers. 

❓What did you think of the show? Leave your anonymous feedback:

https://forms.gle/Df5sDABiNMQn4YSj7

CONNECT WITH CASSIDY WILLIAMS

🐦 X: https://twitter.com/cassidoo

💡 LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassidywilliamspm/

✅ WEBSITE: https://cassidoo.co/

👨‍💻 GITHUB: https://github.com/cassidoo

🔎 BLOG: https://cassidoo.co/blog/

🔎 GETTING PAID IS WEIRD:https://cassidoo.co/post/getting-paid-is-weird/
🔎CASSIDY’S PRODCUTIVITY TOOLShttps://cassidoo.co/post/producivity-apps-2024/     

🤝 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/cassidoo        

♀️ELPHA: https://elpha.com/ 

CONNECT WITH NIKOLAY ADVOLODKIN          

🌎 WEBSITE: https://ultimateqa.com         

🐦 X: https://X.com/Nikolay_A00 

💡 LINKEDIN (consider leaving a Recommendation): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikolayadvolodkin/   

👨‍💻 GITHUB: https://github.com/nadvolod 

✨ TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@nikolay.advolodkin/  

📸 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/nikolay.advolodkin/ 

📧 EMAIL: [email protected] 

JOIN THE CONVERSATION!              

🎥 Subscribe to our YouTube channel now and get access to the latest exclusive shows, before anyone else!  https://www.youtube.com/@test-automation-experience 

▶ Sauce YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@SauceLabs_Official    

 ‍🤝‍  Community page: https://saucelabs.com/community        

🏠 Home Page: https://saucelabs.com/

(00:00) Intro

(01:14) Build an Astro website in 60 seconds

(03:27) What is Astro all about?  

(05:56) Adding React to an Astro website

(09:22) Client-Only and Client-Visible Components

(10:12 ) Biggest fear as a developer

(12:11) Top three career tips for Developers

(17:03) Finding and building a supportive community

(20:04) Making money in Tech is weird

(27:53) Cassidy’s Purpose and content

(32:00) The human touch in content creation

(34:47) Discord and community engagement

(40:29) Productivity tools and practices

(45:16) Advice for aspiring developers

(46:48) Cassidy's word game: Jumbli

(47:42) What's next for Cassidy

Remember to always believe in yourself, never give up, and to conquer every challenge that comes your way. That’s the mantra Nikolay has for himself. 

In this special episode, we're flipping the script. Jason Baum, host of neighboring podcast, Test Case Scenario, takes over as the host to interview Nikolay about his life and career. You’ll learn the motivations that have fueled his journey from a young immigrant in the U.S. to a leading voice in the world of test automation. From the industry expertise and insights, and reflecting about life’s wins and losses, there’s something for everyone. 

CONNECT WITH JASON BAUM         

🌎 WEBSITE: https://saucelabs.com/resources/authors/jason-baum   

🐦 X: https://x.com/jasonebaum1 

💡 LINKEDIN (consider leaving a Recommendation): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonebaum/  

📧Test Case Scenario: https://www.youtube.com/@SauceLabs_Official 

CONNECT WITH NIKOLAY ADVOLODKIN          

🌎 WEBSITE: https://ultimateqa.com         

🐦 X: https://X.com/Nikolay_A00 

💡 LINKEDIN (consider leaving a Recommendation): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikolayadvolodkin/   

👨‍💻 GITHUB: https://github.com/nadvolod 

✨ TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@nikolay.advolodkin/  

📸 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/nikolay.advolodkin/ 

📧 EMAIL: [email protected] 

JOIN THE CONVERSATION!              

🎥 Subscribe to our YouTube channel now and get access to the latest exclusive shows, before anyone else!  https://www.youtube.com/@test-automation-experience 

▶ Sauce YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@SauceLabs_Official    

 ‍🤝‍  Community page: https://saucelabs.com/community        

🏠 Home Page: https://saucelabs.com/

What happened with CrowdStrike and how can we make sure that we avoid another catastrophe?

Nikolay sits down with BJ Muse of Muse Umbrella to understand more. With extensive expertise in cyber liability engineering, BJ is the perfect guest to discuss the infamous CrowdStrike incident that caused the global outage that affected over 8 million Windows machines. Tune in to see how Nikolay and BJ break down what happened and complete an automated testing diagram that could have saved billions of dollars.

💥LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CROWDSTRIKE CATASTROPHE

Overview with CRN:

https://www.crn.com/news/security/2024/crowdstrike-outage-costs-44-million-per-fortune-500-company

ECCouncil - What Happened? https://www.eccouncil.org/cybersecurity-exchange/incident-handling/crowdstrike-incident/ 

Forbes - CrowdStrike Reveals The Bug That Caused Catastrophe:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kateoflahertyuk/2024/07/24/crowdstrike-reveals-new-details-about-what-caused-windows-outage/

CONNECT WITH BJ MUSE:

💡LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bjmuse/ 

🌎Muse Umbrella https://museumbrella.com/ 

📹 “Ex-Google Architect on SRE & Cloud Solutions” https://youtu.be/tmc_nzjjb-U 

CONNECT WITH NIKOLAY ADVOLODKIN          

🌎 WEBSITE: https://ultimateqa.com         

🐦 X: https://X.com/Nikolay_A00 

💡 LINKEDIN (consider leaving a Recommendation): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikolayadvolodkin/   

👨‍💻 GITHUB: https://github.com/nadvolod 

✨ TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@nikolay.advolodkin/  

📸 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/nikolay.advolodkin/ 

📧 EMAIL: [email protected] 

JOIN THE CONVERSATION!              

🎥 Subscribe to our YouTube channel now and get access to the latest exclusive shows, before anyone else!  https://www.youtube.com/@test-automation-experience 

▶ Sauce YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@SauceLabs_Official    

 ‍🤝‍  Community page: https://saucelabs.com/community        

🏠 Home Page: https://saucelabs.com/

👇👇 RESOURCES to Help You with Automation👇👇         

📚 Books              

✅ The Complete Software Tester: Con

Ever wondered how to master mocking in JavaScript and elevate your automated testing skills? 

In this episode of Test Automation Experience, Nikolay sits down with Artem Zakharchenko, a renowned expert with over 3 million downloads of his Mock Service Worker. Artem unveils the secrets behind his success and takes us through his journey at Epic Web Dev, sharing insights from his comprehensive workshops on testing fundamentals and advanced mocking techniques.

CONNECT WITH ARTEM ZAKHARCHENKO:

✅Artem’s GitHub: https://github.com/kettanaito

✅Artem’s Personal Website: https://kettanaito.com/ 

✅Artem’s X: https://twitter.com/kettanaito   
✅EpicWeb Workshop: https://www.epicweb.dev/workshops/testing-fundamentals 

✅Artem’s EpicWeb Contributors Page: https://www.epicweb.dev/contributors/artem-zakharchenko 

CONNECT WITH NIKOLAY ADVOLODKIN          

🌎 WEBSITE: https://ultimateqa.com         

🐦 X: https://X.com/Nikolay_A00 

💡 LINKEDIN (consider leaving a Recommendation): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikolayadvolodkin/   

👨‍💻 GITHUB: https://github.com/nadvolod 

✨ TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@nikolay.advolodkin/  

📸 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/nikolay.advolodkin/ 

📧 EMAIL: [email protected] 

JOIN THE CONVERSATION!              

🎥 Subscribe to our YouTube channel now and get access to the latest exclusive shows, before anyone else!  https://www.youtube.com/@test-automation-experience 

▶ Sauce YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@SauceLabs_Official    

 ‍🤝‍  Community page: https://saucelabs.com/community        

🏠 Home Page: https://saucelabs.com/

00:00 Intro

04:23 Test a React Component in 60 seconds

5:44 One big mistake developers make that effect their carrer

09:33 Unit test mocking  

11:17 Artem's Testing Fundamentals workshop  

16:14 Implementation of beforeAll and afterAll functions  

17:57 Abstracting repetitive test setups  

20:02 Vite's benefits and features  

22:56 Use of Vite Test in conjunction with Vite  

25:20 Explicit and straightforward test assertions  

27:26 Mocking the date and time in tests  

29:17 Setting up controlled date values in tests  

31:05 Mocking nextTick function  

34:23 Context-dependent nature of mocking  &l

What does automated testing look like when paired with AI? 

In this episode of Test Automation Experience, host Nikolay Advolodkin is joined by special guests Daniel Huynh and Paul Palmieri of LaVague.AI, a pioneering web automation tool designed to harness the power of AI and computer vision for test automation.

LaVague leverages Behavior Driven Development (BDD) spec files to generate robust and reusable Selenium test code automatically. Tune in to learn about LaVague's unique ability to take web page screenshots, analyze HTML nodes, and generate instructions that can adapt to interface changes and various screen ratios.

❓What did you think of the show? Leave your anonymous feedback:

https://forms.gle/Df5sDABiNMQn4YSj7

CONNECT WITH DANIEL HUYNH

🐦 X: Daniel Huynh (@dhuynh95) / X

💡 LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhuynh95/ 

CONNECT WITH PAUL PALMIERI

💡 LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-palmieri/ 

CONNECT WITH LAVAGUE.AI

✅ WEBSITE: https://www.lavague.ai/ 

✅ GITHUB.COM: https://github.com/lavague-ai 

CONNECT WITH NIKOLAY ADVOLODKIN          

🌎 WEBSITE: https://ultimateqa.com         

🐦 X: https://X.com/Nikolay_A00 

💡 LINKEDIN (consider leaving a Recommendation): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikolayadvolodkin/   

👨‍💻 GITHUB: https://github.com/nadvolod 

✨ TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@nikolay.advolodkin/  

📸 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/nikolay.advolodkin/ 

📧 EMAIL: [email protected] 

JOIN THE CONVERSATION!              

🎥 Subscribe to our YouTube channel now and get access to the latest exclusive shows, before anyone else!  https://www.youtube.com/@test-automation-experience 

▶ Sauce YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@SauceLabs_Official    

 ‍🤝‍  Community page: https://saucelabs.com/community        

🏠 Home Page: https://saucelabs.com/

00:00 Intro

02:23 LaVague Coding Challenge

07:46 Rapid Fire Questions

13:05 LaVague AI Origins

18:39 Starting Point for Developers

22:32 Evolution of LaVague

29:49 AI With The Human Touch

34:43 Where To Find LaVague