3.1Automate the Right Things for the Right Reasons

Test automation is not a goal. It is a tool. The goal is fast, reliable feedback about software quality. Automation serves that goal when applied strategically and undermines it when applied indiscriminately. Teams that automate everything spend more time maintaining tests than testing software. Teams that automate nothing cannot release fast enough to stay competitive.

The strategic question is not "should we automate?" but "what should we automate, when, and at what cost?"