Using Design Patterns to Improve Automated Testing
Test automation architect Greg Sypolt of Gannett | USA Today Network fell into a testing career by accident. As an on-call software engineer who spent many late nights early in his career discovering that many bugs were caused by a lack of test coverage, he developed a passion for optimizing software and building quality into every stage of the continuous integration pipeline.
At the upcoming SauceCon conference, Greg will present on, “Using Design Patterns to Improve Automated Testing.” Attendees will learn how to transform their new or existing automated tests to speed development and reduce maintenance impact.
A self-proclaimed technology geek, Greg is passionate about a few things: DIY projects (he recently finished his basement single-handedly), John Denver songs (one in particular, see below), outdoor sports and speeding up development with design patterns. In Greg’s view, a design pattern is a general reusable solution to reduce commonly occurring problems in software design. A design pattern is not a finished design that can be transformed directly into code. It is a description or template on how to solve a problem that can be used in many different situations.
At Gannett | USA Today Network, Greg is responsible for leading the test automation architecture team to build and maintain testing solutions, evaluate test coverage, and champion continuous integration across 40+ Gannett products. The test automation organization at Gannett | USA Today Network has built a platform that enables teams to move at their desired pace through a balance of autonomy and collaboration. Their goal is to ensure every team is successful when using the self-service model. The vision is clear for test automation: they believe it starts with everyone on the team owning quality. Making this shift requires daily collaboration and planning to build quality into every stage of the pipeline.
Greg grew up in a small town in West Virginia (Take Me Home, Country Roads!) and now calls Northern Virginia home. He is a husband, father of three kids and an avid do-it-yourselfer. Greg enjoys presenting at conferences and blogging about automated testing strategies, testing frameworks, standards and continuous integration.
Join Greg and other presenters at SauceCon, the first-ever Sauce Labs user conference. SauceCon is a three-day event filled with training, workshops, best practices, and visionary content from the leading minds in automated testing. For more on upcoming SauceCon presentations or to register, visit the SauceCon website.
About the Author / Rebecca Cramer
Rebecca Cramer is a writer and communications strategist specializing in technology. With more than 20 years of experience across disciplines including marketing, internal and executive communications at companies such as Dell and Quest Software, Rebecca is passionate about creating and sharing good content of all kinds. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time at the beach and hiking in her native Southern California.