Acceptance testing through the UI layer

This is a subject I have been thinking about for a few weeks now. On a recent project I was working on  we ran an automated test suite that handled all acceptance tests through specflow + webdriver. I'm not sure I would attempt this again but find myself inheriting a system that sounds like it is based on a lot of the same principles. Here are a few challenges I faced that I hope to avoid:

• Asynchronous integration with external systems
• In my previous case, we had an external system that outputted emails that needed to be checked for content. This could take between 1 second and 3 mins to complete and was of extremely high business value. 
• Solved by having an AssertWithRetry that would check every every 500 ms and sleep until it timed out
• Problem: Delayed feedback cycle. Many test runs had multiple waits and could delay the test suite
• Flakiness of Selenium due to Ajax + javascript errors
• Lead to perception that tests could not be trusted by dev team
• "Flaky test" vs. "Legitimate bug" fights with devs. 
• Frequent quarantining of tests without enough investigation. Client + Devs unwilling to accept time it took for debugging.
• Solved with re-run
• Edge Case testing through UI
• Can be solved with high level of parallelization. Not always an option
• Zero Failed test before check-in
• Redundancy in Specflow Steps
• Test IE first vs. Firefox?

QA is like...

I was recently trying to explain my job without making it seem to technical. I was trying to come up with a simple analogy, and this one got some traction. Context: I was discussing it with someone I knew from UBC who I had done my arts degree in.

So it goes like this. Writing software is like writing a book. Lots of writers can vomit on a page and try to sell it. Good writers have a team to support them. In my case, I act as a proof reader. I take a sober second look and point what is obviously wrong, makes no sense or can be reworked. We have the expectation that the writer has used spell check (like unit tests) and they have written complete sentences. We hand back notes on what has to change and what might need a second look. The publisher (business) can push it out the door if they really want.

Or something.

Johannesburg

Arrived in Johannesburg. Am very tired but am attempting to push through and beat the jet lag quickly. Will be on job site tomorrow so will need to get up to speed quickly