Defining a Scalable Test Automation Strategy for a Higher Education Admission Service
To meet a strategic goal of processing one million student applications within two years, the client needed to significantly improve its test automation capability. Already working with TXP for Test Management Services, the client engaged us to lead aย Test Automation Discoveryย phase. The objective was to assess the current state, identify gaps, and define a scalable automation strategy aligned with their preferred tooling, Cypress, and a Behaviour-Driven Development (BDD) approach.
The Client
An independent UK charity operating as the shared admissions service for higher education. Supporting over 1.5 million students annually, the organisation helps individuals explore and access university, employment, and apprenticeships. As part of its digital transformation programme, the client is modernising its legacy applications.
The Challenge
- The client needed to scale test automation to support high-volume application processing.
- Existing regression packs were extensive but lacked structure and automation readiness.
- There was no unified automation framework in place.
- The client required alignment with its strategic direction to adopt Cypress and BDD.
- A clear implementation plan was needed to guide future automation efforts.
The Solution
TXP conducted a detailed discovery phase across 14 core applications. This included technical reviews of APIs, databases, and over 2,000 existing test scripts. We analysed regression packs, assessed automation potential, and held deep-dive sessions with subject matter experts to clarify application behaviour and test requirements.
The focus was on converting existing scripts into BDD format, defining the process for test creation, and identifying the data requirements to support automation. All findings were consolidated into a comprehensive report and implementation plan.
The Benefits
- A detailed report outlining:
- Application readiness for automation
- Script conversion strategy to BDD
- Data management and temporal test handling
- Framework delivery approach
- Identification of gaps in existing regression packs.
- A clear implementation roadmap for automation framework rollout.
- Increased test coverage across critical applications.
- Consolidation and optimisation of test scripts for better maintainability.
- Continued engagement with TXP to implement the BDD strategy and deliver the automation framework.