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World Congress 2024 • Aug 20, 2024 • Session details

Why I Love End-2-End Tests and How To Get Them Right

Johannes Stern

Outsourcing end-to-end tests to separate QA teams guarantees failure. Shift ownership directly to developers and adopt embarrassment-driven testing to build a lean, ten-minute suite that actually catches bugs.

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#1 about 3 min

Struggling with manual testing in large software systems

Monthly releases bottlenecked by tedious manual spreadsheet testing create the need for test automation.

#2 about 4 min

Failing at test automation with slow and complex suites

Outsourcing test automation can result in unmaintainable suites that take hours to run and require extensive local setup.

#3 about 2 min

Overcoming the sunk cost fallacy to delete broken tests

Discarding expensive but useless test suites is necessary to maintain release velocity and system reliability.

#4 about 2 min

Justifying software testing through internal quality and economic cost

High internal quality significantly lowers long-term development costs and accelerates feature delivery compared to skipping tests.

#5 about 2 min

Assigning end-to-end tests to stream-aligned feature teams

Accountability and reliability improve when the same team builds the features and owns the corresponding end-to-end tests.

#6 about 2 min

Integrating end-to-end tests into the definition of done

Making tests an integrated part of feature deployment ensures they are accounted for in estimations and executed continuously.

#7 about 2 min

Managing instability and execution time in end-to-end tests

Complex dependencies cause fragile test runs that require strict execution time limits and high stability targets to remain valuable.

#8 about 3 min

Moving beyond the traditional test pyramid for microservices

Modern architectures prioritize integration and end-to-end checks over unit tests due to the complexity of service interactions.

#9 about 4 min

Optimizing test return on investment with targeted strategies

Techniques like embarrassment-driven testing and removing redundant checks maximize the practical value of automated suites.

#10 about 3 min

Reducing developer stress and burnout through reliable software testing

Dependable testing frameworks directly reduce deployment anxiety and improve overall job satisfaction as highlighted in industry research.

#11 about 2 min

Core principles for successful end-to-end test implementation

Integrating tests with every feature, sharing ownership, monitoring closely, and focusing on value guarantees continuous delivery success.

Matching moments

3:04 min

Rethinking the testing pyramid and deleting risk-free tests

Luise Freese Luise Freese · WWC 2025

4:05 min

Using test automation as a catalyst for team collaboration

Augustin Gottlieb Augustin Gottlieb · WWC 2025

1:18 min

Reflecting on the core motivations for writing tests

Daniel Afonso Daniel Afonso · WWC 2025

1:55 min

Adopting a pragmatic approach to reasonable software engineering tests

Golo Roden · WWC 2021

3:54 min

Weighing the benefits and tradeoffs of test-driven development

Alex Banul · LIVE

3:05 min

Shifting development challenges towards complex testing and team collaboration

Julia Wilson Julia Wilson +1 · WWC 2025

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