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Why do we need to perform an Automation POC before starting test automation?

A Proof of Concept (POC) is conducted to understand the application under test, assess automation feasibility, and identify potential challenges early in the project. This enables more accurate effort estimation, validates the proposed automation approach, and helps avoid costly rework later in the automation lifecycle.

What does a POC help uncover?

Tool Feasibility (especially for UI automation)

A POC validates whether the selected automation tool can effectively automate the application's UI components. It identifies any limitations, determines whether additional tools or libraries are required, and provides an early assessment of the implementation effort and complexity.

Execution Environment Requirements

A POC identifies the execution environment required for automation and validates how it interacts with the application under test. This includes aspects such as:

  • Access to application logs
  • Database setup and teardown
  • Test data preparation and management
  • External system integrations and dependencies
  • CI/CD and execution infrastructure requirements

Which scenarios should be selected for the POC?

  • End-to-End (E2E) scenarios – to validate the feasibility of automating complete business workflows.
  • Frequently executed scenarios (such as smoke or sanity tests) – to evaluate execution stability, repeatability, maintainability, and the potential return on investment (ROI).

POC Deliverables

  • Automation feasibility analysis – identifies what can and cannot be automated, along with any limitations.
  • Identification of complex areas – provides a high-level assessment of application components that may require additional framework design, custom solutions, or workarounds.
  • High-level automation cost model – establishes an estimation model or effort formula to forecast automation development costs for future work.
  • Prioritized automation candidate list – recommends the scenarios that should be automated first to maximize business value and ROI.
  • Required automation skill set – identifies the technical skills and expertise needed within the automation team to successfully implement and maintain the solution.