This transcript below has been edited lightly for clarity and brevity.

Emma: Hello listeners, I’m so happy to introduce our guest, Simona Domazetoska, Tricentis Tosca Marketing Manager at Tricentis.

Simona, you’ve been at Tricentis for three and a half years, beginning in the Academy team, so you have a really great understanding of not just the tools themselves, but the aspect of solid education to assist tool adoption. Tricentis Tosca was Tricentis’ key focus when Tricentis began, with its conception going right back to the 1990s. You are at the center of many discussions around the product and its evolution, so you’re just the person to share the latest and greatest in this area.

Let’s set the scene: why is test automation critical for organizations looking to deliver quality software?

Simona: I’ve learned that in my life that questions can be answered with more questions. One question we get a lot from our customers releasing once a year is: ‘How do we get to five times a year? Our testing is really slowing us down, and we want to run our regression tests a lot faster. How can we deploy software a lot faster, like weekly?’

From a business perspective, one thing is really clear with these questions, and that’s the need for speed. Organizations are really under a lot of pressure to release new software and new functionality, and put them in the hands of their customers as fast as possible; faster than their competitor.

“Test automation is a critical part of that business need. If you have a group of, say, 25 to 30 manual testers who are going through your application, testing it to see if it’s behaving as intended, it’s really slow. It’s impeding your business agility, but also, it’s not the best use of your team’s human potential and their strengths and capabilities, right?”

Simona: You need test automation to accelerate testing. You need it to deploy software much faster, but also to improve the process in which you catch costly errors and defects that can jeopardize and harm your business.

Some people tell me, ‘Test automation is a bit overrated. It’s becoming a bit of a commodity.’ But I would say here that test automation is a skill set. It is a skill set that is really very much needed in the industry. Here’s the thing: it’s one thing to automate, but it’s quite another to design a long-term test automation strategy.

This is where we need highly skilled people. We need test automation experts. We need test case design experts to help us elevate that process and evangelize that process. I think test automation is here to stay.

Emma: Yes, I love that point about test automation done properly needs longevity to have that long-term plan behind it—the right teams and the right processes—and when done properly, it’s completely worth it.

I’m looking forward to your upcoming Tricentis Virtual Summit Session, which is going to give our audience five must-dos for better, faster, and smarter test automation. What main points are you going to hit on in that session?

Simona: It’s got a lot to do with how to design a long-term test automation strategy. And that has a lot to do with incorporating one secret ingredient: risk.

“I want to highlight our Tricentis Founder, Wolfgang Platz. He’s been one person that’s been really inspirational for me and for many others. He asks, ‘if you want to increase your testing efficiency, what do you need? Do you need automation, or do you need risk?’ He says it’s risk.”

Simona: That’s what we see with our customers a lot. We see that those who put a risk design into their strategy are the ones who automate faster, and they get a lot more business gains. That’s what my session is going to be about: how do we make speed and risk the best friends that they ought to be in the world of software testing and delivery?

Emma: Excellent! So, you’re really zooming in on that risk-based analysis. I love the insight from Wolfgang that to succeed, risk is always necessary, but you have got to assess that risk.

In your session abstract, you look at the need for smarter end-to-end test automation with more organizations moving to the cloud. That’s not just a choice; it’s a given now. Given that’s the state of the market, having that plan in place is becoming an integral part of business needs.

Simona: Absolutely.

Emma: I really can’t wait for your session! The session you ran on mastering end-to-end test automation was one of our most loved sessions at last year’s Tricentis Virtual Summit, rated by our viewers.

That’s not the only thing you have your hands on at the Summit. I had the pleasure of connecting you with Ernie Lam who has been on the podcast, and he is the Senior Manager of Digital Products & Applications at Sydney Trains.

In another upcoming Virtual Summit session, you’re going to look at how DevOps and safety fuel passion and quality at Sydney Trains. Can you expand on what you will touch on there?

Simona: Ernie Lam is a professional who’s worked in the transport industry for over 20 years, so he’s got immense know-how. He will share with us a lot of practical advice on how he’s incorporated the Agile processes into his teams to deliver and test software much faster.

He will also highlight some new innovations that are part of the transport system of New South Wales that they’re launching, like augmented reality applications and audio communication systems.

I encourage everyone to check it out; I find the transport industry personally fascinating. If you think about it, there’s really no room for error in this industry. Because transport systems are interconnecting people, technology, systems, and communication in a large ecosystem. These apps need to be running, they need to be tested, and they need to be working flawlessly each time. Ernie provides a really great perspective on how their teams have used Tosca to achieve some of those goals.

Emma: Brilliant! The topic of risk is also interesting here, when you’re looking at the safety of passengers for an organization like Sydney Trains. Ernie is such an agent of change for incorporating test automation with his teams with that real DevOps approach.

Especially with Sydney Trains being a governmental organization and not as tied to revenue, I find it really interesting that innovation can breathe in a way that sets itself apart from the more corporate space.

In 10 words or less, what is your best advice for anyone that is looking to succeed when they implement continuous testing?

Simona: I would say to put risk design, codeless, and end-to-end in the heart of your strategy.

Emma: Marvelous!

Why should our listeners be sure to check out the upcoming Tricentis Virtual Summit?

Simona: I think our listeners should check out all the sessions in general at the Virtual Summit, including yours with our customer, Torsten Welp at Mobiliar, who actually visited us in the Vienna office recently.

As for mine, it’s going to be fun. It’s going to be entertaining. And it’s going to be informative. That’s something I try to incorporate in all my presentations.

“Our listeners are going to learn 5 key ingredients that at Tricentis we have seen successful customers adopt in order to accelerate testing and to de-risk their application delivery. I’ll also explain why it’s important to design a risk-centered strategy, because it’s got a lot to do with how businesses survive and thrive. Plus how quickly they can keep up with all the changes that are happening in the digital economy, so that they can release software faster.“

And so, I look at it from a business perspective, but also provide those 5 testing tips. So, please join the session, check it out, and join the other sessions. It’s going to be fun.

Emma: Incredible! I’m on tenterhooks. You recorded your sessions back-to-back, so you really got in the zone; I have to commend you for that.

Simona’s insights don’t stop here. You’re routinely sharing Tosca’s latest news and features on our blog, with series like Feature Friday. You have also delivered many sessions for us, such as How Tricentis Tosca scales your digital initiatives.

Check out the latest podcast episodes for more insights from thought leaders like Simona.