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Test Automation Practices in the Software Industry

This survey is part of an academic research project at Universidad de los Andes (Colombia). It takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. Your responses are anonymous and will only be used for educational analysis. By proceeding, you consent to the use of your responses for this purpose.

Section 1 — About You

What is your current role in the software industry?

What is your current role in the software industry?
A
B
C
D
E
F

How many years of experience do you have in software development or testing?

How many years of experience do you have in software development or testing?
A
B
C
D
E

What country are you currently working from?

Section 2 — Before You Answer

Please read the following definitions carefully before continuing. The next questions refer specifically to these two strategies.

Test Automation Pyramid A testing strategy where the majority of tests are unit tests (fast, isolated, cheap to run and maintain), a middle layer consists of integration tests, and only a small number are end-to-end or UI tests (slow, fragile, expensive). The goal is to catch bugs as early and cheaply as possible.

Ice Cream Cone (Anti-Pattern) The inverse of the pyramid. Most of the testing effort is concentrated in manual testing and UI/end-to-end tests, with few or no unit tests at the base. Teams often reach this state unintentionally. The result is slow feedback, high maintenance costs, and bugs caught late.

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Section 3 — Your Preference

Based on the definitions above, which strategy best describes your preferred approach to test automation?

Based on the definitions above, which strategy best describes your preferred approach to test automation?
A
B
C

Why do you prefer that approach? Please explain your reasoning in a few sentences.

Section 4 — Your Current Reality

Which strategy best describes how your current team actually operates, regardless of your personal preference?

Which strategy best describes how your current team actually operates, regardless of your personal preference?
A
B
C

Approximately what percentage of your team's total testing effort is automated?

Approximately what percentage of your team's total testing effort is automated?
A
B
C
D

Section 5 — Optional

Is there anything else you'd like to share about your team's testing practices or challenges?

Thank you for your time. Your response will be used exclusively for academic research at Universidad de los Andes.