Stage 1 · Lesson 6 of 7
The test pyramid
The is a picture of how to balance automated tests across the . At the wide base sit many fast unit tests. In the middle sit fewer integration and tests.
At the narrow top sit a few UI tests, which drive the product like a user, for the most important journeys. Lower tests run faster, fail for clearer reasons and cost less to maintain. UI tests are slow and more often flaky (they pass and fail on the same code), but they are the only ones that see the product as a user does.
When you automate later, this model decides what you write: a few UI journeys plus many API checks, not hundreds of UI tests.
Common trapthe "", a suite that is mostly UI tests and takes an hour to tell you what a unit test would say in a second.
A question to check yourself, an AI practice session and 2 cheat sheet entries come with the full roadmap. Unlock
Resources for this stage
Start with
- GuideFreeISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL) v4.0
ISTQB · Beginner
The free Foundation syllabus is the clearest single summary of testing vocabulary; read chapters 1 and 2
Keep handy
Also worth your time
The best-known explanation of balancing unit, integration and UI tests, with concrete examples
- Software Engineering at GoogleGo deeper
Free online; the testing chapters explain how a very large company decides what to test and at which size