Cypress is proud to sponsor Automation Guild 25 (coming up on February 10-14), a 5-day online event intended to keep testers and developers up to speed on the fast-moving test automation space.
The biggest topic of the year is undoubtedly the relationship between AI and test automation, and you’ll find lots of talks on this topic there. If you are looking for our take on this topic you can check out our recent webinar to learn all about AI-powered Test Generation in UI Coverage and Cypress Studio.
Here’s what we’re looking forward to at the event, including presentations from two Cypress Ambassadors!
Anna Patterson: Cypress Quest – Battle Against Test Automation Anti-Patterns
Anna Patterson will teach us all about fighting testing anti-patterns and how to use best practices to achieve reliable and efficient tests. If you’ve been testing for a while, you have probably experienced the pain of implementing a testing pattern that you were sure would solve all your problems, only to discover that the outcome was brittle, or flaky, or hard to maintain. Understanding what patterns to use and which to avoid, and the underlying reasons why, will improve your test automation life, and make you a better reviewer of other people’s tests too!
We reached out to Anna to get some more information about her talk.
Q: Why is this topic important to you?
A: Test automation is meant to be a force multiplier, but when anti-patterns creep into your codebase, it can feel like you're running on a hamster wheel of flaky tests and high maintenance. I’ve been there, and I know the frustration. This topic is important because everyone deserves a test suite they can trust and that actually helps - not hinders - their workflow.
Q: What makes this something you want to share with the Automation Guild audience?
A: Sharing these insights with the Automation Guild community of passionate testers and developers is exciting because I know these lessons can save time, reduce stress, and help people deliver better software. Plus, I love the idea of collectively battling these ‘test automation monsters!’
Q: What do you hope people take away from your presentation?
A: I hope attendees leave with a sense of empowerment - like they’re equipped with a solid game plan to tackle flaky tests, over-engineered scripts, and brittle test setups. I want them to feel confident in building automation frameworks that scale and deliver real value to their teams.
David Ingraham: Gotta Fix 'Em All – Optimize Debugging Automation Tests
In this talk, attendees will learn how to systematically break down failing tests and ask the right diagnostic questions to optimize time and effort. Having a system for when things don’t work as expected is a core professional skill that is often overlooked, but is tremendously valuable in all forms of problem solving and debugging. It can give you the confidence to remain calm in a crisis and find solutions.
Q: Why is this topic important to you?
A: As the saying goes, ‘time is money’. Debugging automation failures is one of the most time-consuming and frustrating aspects of test automation. Over my career, I’ve seen how a lack of structured troubleshooting approaches can lead to wasted time, burnout, and stalled progress in building valuable automation suites. I’m passionate about closing the skill gap between junior and senior engineers in this area so all teams can focus more on innovation instead of maintenance. Your time is valuable - let’s make the most of it.
Q: What makes this something you want to share with the Automation Guild audience?
A: The Automation Guild is comprised of automation engineers with varied backgrounds, skillsets and knowledge. However, debugging failures is a universal pain point regardless of the automation tool or testing type used. I believe this session can provide actionable insights that attendees of all walks of life can immediately apply to their own work.
Q: What do you hope people take away from your presentation?
A: I want attendees to leave with a clear, repeatable process for debugging any automation failure. My hope is that they’ll feel confident, empowered, and equipped to tackle failures more efficiently, reducing both time and stress. If they walk away ready to ‘fix ’em all’ with newfound confidence, I’ll consider this session a success.
Somya Gupta: Building a Global Accessibility Testing Framework – Ensuring Compliance Across Borders
In this session, you will learn about adding accessibility checks throughout the development cycle, using both automated tools and manual validation. This stacked approach combining multiple forms of validation is one we have seen implemented effectively with many Cypress Accessibility customers, running accessibility checks based on their automation pipeline, in addition to things like code-linting or annual audits. We’re looking forward to practical insights from Somya Gupta’s experience with the extra complexity sometimes found in international accessibility efforts.
See you there!
Use the code cypress20 to register here for Automation Guild 25 and get a 20% discount on your ticket!
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