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As AI accelerates coding and fuels hype to “automate everything,” the hidden costs of test automation are becoming painfully clear. This talk helps leaders evaluate ROI, avoid common pitfalls, and build smarter, more sustainable strategies.
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Test automation is often pitched as the answer to faster releases, fewer bugs, and happier developers. But what’s left out of that pitch are the hidden costs: maintenance overhead, brittle frameworks, misaligned tooling, and automation that looks impressive but delivers little real value. Too often, leaders approve automation efforts without a clear strategy, or the wrong one altogether.
In this talk, I’ll break down what engineering leaders need to know before investing in test automation at scale. I’ll share stories from organizations where automation efforts failed quietly or spectacularly – and what we did to turn things around. We’ll look beyond tool choices to the organizational patterns, architectural decisions, and incentive structures that make or break automation ROI.
Whether you’re assessing a current framework or planning a new investment, this talk will help you ask better questions: What does success look like? Who owns it? Is the automation solving real problems, or just creating a false sense of coverage? You’ll walk away with a sharper understanding of how to evaluate automation strategically, so you can build confidence without burning your team or your budget. Automation can absolutely accelerate delivery – but only when it’s paired with clarity, alignment, and the right level of investment. This talk gives you the playbook to get there.
Key takeaways
- How to spot the hidden cotsts of poorly planned automation initiatives
- Key questions to ask before scaling or pivoting your automation strategy
- How to align automation goals with business and team maturity
- Common failure modes (and success signals) of test automation at scale
- How to avoid “automation theater” and focus on meaningful outcomes
