You've landed here because you're committed to top quality software and often struggle with testing being done last minute, if at all. On top of that there is the whole automation aspect that mostly slows down testing while it should have speeded it up.

You are probably wondering what "extreme" shift left testing is and how to apply it. If that is not enough, you can always ask the famous “why (should I even care)" 😉

This is why: You'll be to start automating your tests while the only thing you have is hand drawn mock-ups or Figma designs. This makes you the hero that has the automation ready at sprint end, even before the code is finished.

Let's start from the beginning.

Introduction to Shift-Left Testing

Instead of waiting until the last minute to test your code, Shift-Left Testing encourages kicking off the testing process right at the beginning of the development cycle. This proactive approach means spotting and fixing issues early, leading to better software quality and quicker development cycles.

Benefits Of Implementing Shift Left Testing

Early Error Detection: 

Imagine catching bugs when they're just tiny glitches rather than waiting until they've become major headaches. That's the power of starting testing early. It saves you time, money, and a whole lot of frustration.

Accelerated Time-to-Market:

Who doesn't want to get their excellent software out into the world faster? By weaving testing into your development process from the get-go, you'll get feedback quicker, allowing you to launch your product sooner and stay ahead of the competition.

Enhanced Software Quality:

Quality matters, right? Is it difficult to get right? Of course! Early testing ensures that the code you're writing isn't full of bugs right from the start. That means fewer bugs, happier users, and a more stable product overall.

The "Extreme" Shift-Left Concept

It might sound confusing initially, but it can radically change your thoughts about when to start test automation. The focus is on integrating automation as early as the design sketch phase.

Let's break the boundaries of conventional workflows! But why? If you think about testing, we don’t check the technology, we check if a solution solves a problem, right? In essence this means, we don’t need any software to be available for us to start testing. We can design tests based on a description on how the solution addresses the problem.

Automate From The Mock-Up Stage

Our journey through the "extreme shift-left testing" landscape is not confined to theory. Instead, we delve deep into its practical implementation.

You start full automated end-to-end testing before you even have the first version of the software. Again, don’t think in technology. Technology is just today’s mean to deliver solutions to problems. In the end we test the final product, but we can start to define our testing, including automation, once we understand how the solution shall work.

1. Step: Have mock-ups, e.g. Figma designs, MS Paint drawings, etc.
2. Step: Create a simulated environment in TestResults.io. This means you connect the drawings to each other
3. Step: Connect to this simulated environment in TestResults.io and start your automation.
4. Step: Once the product takes shape you replace a few visual cues or texts

You can run the tests you've automated on the handwritten mock-up and the final application.

This allows you to keep your test automation on track with the sprint goal and progress. In 2024 you don’t start automation once the software is delivered and have one day to test; you start the automation once the feature is defined.

Therefore, you no longer need to automate everything at the last minute under time pressure. 

Check out this example of the Swiss railway system on how this looks applied to a real scenario:

00:00 Capturing the user interface and naming the screen elements based on a sketch

00:49 Capturing the timetable sketch 

01:30 Creating the test steps

02:42 Run the fully automated test against the mock-up stage 

03:00 Adjusting to the final user interface

See how smooth the transition from initial sketch to final product is? Are you ready to automate your applications even in the mock-up stage?

With TestResults.io, you can start automating your mock-ups and join the community of extreme shift lefters. Stop reading, start doing 😉

Start today and get your free TestResults.io membership. Join us in the test automation zone! 🚀