Automation Stabilisation Case Study: From 35% to 64% Coverage
The project faced long-standing automation challenges that made the test suite unreliable and difficult to maintain. Many test cases were unfinished, inconsistent, or skipped, and there was no clear structure or prioritisation. The goal was to restore stability, improve execution reliability, and create an organised, sustainable automation process.
1. Main Issue - Automation challenges
The team faced significant automation challenges due to a long period of neglect, resulting in unreliable test cases, unfinished automation work, and a lack of clear structure or priority.
2. Actions Taken - Prioritisation & Planning
What we did:
- Conducted meetings to prioritise objectives and determine key tasks.
- Reviewed and refactored existing test cases, fixing formatting, and took steps to improve consistency.
- Prioritised and refactored test cases to ensure proper execution order.
- Resolved all skipped and failing Cypress tests, working towards a 100% success rate.
- Introduced labels, a dedicated Jira board, and documentation to streamline processes and improve organisation.
3. Outcome - Enhanced Coverage
As a result of these actions:
- All test cases now follow a uniform format.
- There are no skipped tests.
- Test failures due to flakiness were fully eliminated.
- The team enhanced their knowledge of automation and Cypress.
- Automated test case coverage increased from approximately 30–40% (including skipped and unfinished tests) to 64%, and it continues to grow.
Conclusion
By prioritising automation, standardising practices, and improving test reliability, the team successfully transformed their testing process into a well-organised, consistent, and highly effective framework, with significant growth in automation coverage and technical capabilities.
