4. Step 1: Understand What Should Be Automated
Don’t start by learning 100 automation commands.
First understand:
What should actually be automated?
Not every test case needs automation.
Good candidates for automation are usually:
- Repetitive tests
- Regression tests
- Smoke tests
- Stable functionality
- Data-driven scenarios
- Tests executed frequently
- Tests with predictable results
For example:
Suppose every release requires you to test:
Login
Logout
Search
Add Product
Remove Product
CheckoutDoing this manually after every release takes time.
These scenarios can be excellent candidates for automation.
Simple rule:
Automate tests that you need to execute repeatedly.
5. Step 2: Learn Basic Programming
This is where many manual testers become nervous.
They see code and think:
“I am a manual tester. I cannot become a programmer.”
Don’t think that way.
You don’t need to become a software developer.
You need to learn enough programming to write and maintain automation scripts.
For example, start with:
Variables
let username = "testuser";Conditions
if (loginSuccessful) {
console.log("Login successful");
}Functions
function login() {
// login steps
}Arrays
let browsers = ["Chrome", "Firefox", "Edge"];Loops
for (let browser of browsers) {
console.log(browser);
}These fundamentals will make automation much easier.
6. Step 3: Choose One Automation Tool
Don’t try to learn everything together.
A common mistake is:
Selenium + Playwright + Cypress + Appium + Python + Java + JavaScript + TypeScript
This creates confusion.
Instead:
Choose one tool and become comfortable with it.
For example:
Option 1 — Playwright + TypeScript
Good choice if you want to learn modern web automation.
If you choose Playwright, start with its official documentation and learn the basic browser automation concepts.
Option 2 — Selenium + Java
Selenium’s official documentation is another useful resource for testers learning web automation.
Still widely used in many organizations.
Option 3 — Selenium + Python
Useful if you already know Python.
The important thing is not:
“Which tool is the best?”
The important question is:
“Which tool can I learn and actually use?”