Lately I've been looking into automated testing with an eye towards "better, cheaper, faster".

According to a recent <a href="http://www.qanews.com/pollBooth.php?op=results&pollID=2">QANews.com survey</a>, WinRunner is the most popular automated testing tool. Now, the last time I called Mercury up, they said they would sell me a license for $6500. I've heard similar prices for most testing suites.

And that's just the beginning. Few testers have the skills to write automated scripts, although I suspect that many could if they applied themselves. This means companies have to hire an automation specialist, and they have to keep them on board so that the test code can be maintained.

Let's face it: companies would rather reduce product quality than pay for a tool and a new skilled employee, especially when the QA department advises against it (read "fears it") and no one knows how much benefit automation will bring.

But cheap, planned automation could also be the answer to many problems faced by software development today. In fact, it may become essential in order to counter such trends as:

1) Maintaining quality as software continues to become more and more complicated.

2) Increasingly necessary as the highly abstract programming methods and languages emerge (e.g. development using UML-based tools.)

3) Shorter schedules for development,

4) More maintenance releases rather than new software projects, and

5) Fewer local developers available as development jobs are transplanted to India and China.