How to Choose the Right Test Cases to Automate

What Test Cases Should I Automate?

Automation can be powerful, but automating everything isn’t smart (or sustainable). The real value lies in knowing what to automate, and just as importantly, what not to.

A bloated test suite slows you down. A smart, focused one speeds everything up.

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Start With the Right Questions

Before automating a test, ask yourself:

• Is this test repetitive?

• Does it run frequently?

• Is it critical to product stability?

• Will automation save significant manual effort here?

If it’s a YES to most, you’re likely on the right track.

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Tests You Should Automate

These bring the most return on automation investment:

✓ Regression Tests - Run them often? Automate them.

✓ Smoke & Sanity Tests - Quickly check basic stability before deep dives.

✓ Data-Driven Tests - When the same logic needs testing with multiple inputs.

✓ Performance Tests - You can’t measure speed manually.

✓ Cross-Platform UI Tests - Consistency across web, mobile, desktop = crucial.

✓ API Tests - Perfect for automation due to their speed and repeatability.

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Tests You Shouldn't Automate (Yet)

Not all tests are automation-friendly.

⚠️ Exploratory Testing - Requires creativity and intuition.

⚠️ One-Time Tests - Rare or short-lived features don't need automation.

⚠️ Tests Without Stable Requirements - Changing logic = flaky scripts.

⚠️ Visual & UX Checks - Can be subjective and hard to validate automatically

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Not Everything Should Be Automated

Automate What Matters. Skip the Rest.

Test automation isn’t about doing everything, it’s about doing the right things at the right time. Start small, scale smart, and keep refining your strategy as your product evolves.

Explore Testnut. We built the platform to support smart test case selection.

• Prioritize by frequency, risk, and ROI

• Run web, API, mobile, and desktop tests together

• Keep your test suite lean and impactful

Let’s make your testing smarter, not just automated.