Mobile Test Automation at the BBC: Then, Now and Next
summary
BBC moves from flaky UI automation to a component strategy that speeds releases by testing at two levels and deploying real APKs to devices. The team wraps Google ExoPlayer behind a narrowed ExoPlayer interface and a decoder interface, writes fast unit‑like JUnit4 tests that run hundreds in seconds against mocked adapters, and runs WireMock‑driven instrumentation tests on Hive CI to verify audio actually plays on devices. Result is fewer flaky UI tests (they keep one UI smoke test), clearer ownership, and quicker feedback.
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chapters (6)
- 0:00Introduction to BBC mobile apps
- 4:44Lessons from early automation attempts
- 10:15Current team collaboration improvements
- 19:38Fast and slow test strategy
- 26:17Contract testing and next steps
- 29:04Summary and future plans
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