𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗤𝗔 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗤𝗔 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲

I spent 6 years in QA automation. I saw senior engineers make the same mistakes. These errors slow teams down. I made them too.

Here is how to fix them.

Wrong Automation Focus Many skip the plan. They write too many E2E tests. These tests are slow and flaky.

• Use a test pyramid.
• Put more tests at the unit level.
• Map tests to business risks.

Ignoring Test Rot Some teams skip failing tests. They say they will fix them later. This never happens. Trust in the suite dies.

• Set a flakiness limit.
• Quarantine tests after 3 failures.
• Clean up test debt every month.

Hardcoded Data Putting URLs and passwords in code is a security risk. It stops tests from running in different environments.

• Use .env files.
• Use secret managers.

Static Sleeps Sleep timers kill speed. They make tests fail on slow machines.

• Use explicit waits.
• Wait for a specific element or API response.

Measuring Volume Instead of Value More tests do not mean better quality. You need data. Track these KPIs:

• Code coverage %
• Feature coverage
• Flakiness rate (keep it under 2%)
• Average run time

The Blocker Mindset Do not be the final person who stops a release. This creates friction.

• Be a quality coach.
• Join planning and design.
• Help developers write testable code.

Source: https://dev.to/sshhfaiz/common-mistakes-senior-qa-engineers-make-and-how-to-fix-them-4bm6