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World Congress 2026 Europe • Jul 10, 2026 • Session details

SMART Test Automation - the experience of legacy transformation

Leszek Włodarski

Can too many unit tests derail a legacy migration? Discover how one engineering team abandoned the traditional test pyramid to safely modernize 3 million lines of banking code.

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#1 about 3 min

Challenges of managing massive legacy core banking software

The reality of managing decades-old infrastructure alongside shiny new customer-facing applications requires dedicated transformation strategies.

#2 about 2 min

Defining the harsh reality of outdated legacy systems

Aging hardware and obsolete language support force modern engineers to work within severely limited environments.

#3 about 3 min

Managing architecture layers and the legacy butterfly effect

Hidden beneath shiny consumer interfaces, deeply nested legacy architectural layers are easily destabilized by seemingly minor changes elsewhere.

#4 about 2 min

Strategies for modernizing and mitigating legacy system risks

Why discarding outdated architecture often fails, and how continuous structural modernization permits an organized transition sequence.

#5 about 3 min

Rethinking the standard test pyramid for legacy software

Placing varying code components strategically across the unit, integration, and end-to-end layers ensures appropriate and comprehensive automated checks.

#6 about 4 min

Converting implicit manual knowledge into structured test automation

Building a specialized internal application to capture unstructured organizational logic facilitates a major leap in scheduled workflow executions.

#7 about 5 min

Establishing core principles for successful test automation adoption

Committing to virtualized execution environments and absolute pass states validates software quality assurance prior to production implementation.

#8 about 3 min

Migrating legacy source code to testable modern frameworks

Automating the direct translation of three million lines of code enables thorough verification through a distinctly more modern platform.

#9 about 2 min

Core architectural assumptions for expressive and scalable testing

Designing expressive test patterns within abstracted, fully mocked runtime environments keeps feedback loops immediate during complex pull requests.

#10 about 5 min

Accelerating developer productivity by introducing modern platform tooling

Upgrading environments to standardized tooling seamlessly replaces outdated platforms and significantly improves underlying engineering momentum.

#11 about 5 min

Reimagining test automation dynamics as spinning top mechanisms

Treating tests as active elements that demand continuous execution and maintenance prevents system failure instead of relying on a static coverage pyramid.

Matching moments

8:22 min

Navigating legacy systems and unconventional software testing practices

Philipp-Alexander Blum · LIVE

2:31 min

Challenges of applying test automation to legacy code

Gil Zilberfeld · JS Congress

1:18 min

Real-world impact of modernizing automated internal operational tools

Neena Thomas Neena Thomas · WWC Europe 2026

3:05 min

Shifting development challenges towards complex testing and team collaboration

Julia Wilson Julia Wilson +1 · WWC 2025

2:13 min

Uncovering the technical root causes of low developer adoption

Sonja Nesic Sonja Nesic · WWC Europe 2026

4:05 min

Using test automation as a catalyst for team collaboration

Augustin Gottlieb Augustin Gottlieb · WWC 2025

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