Jay Kishore-Duvere discusses his journey from manual testing to test automation and shares insights on scaling testing with CI/CD in microservices environments. He also emphasizes the importance of adopting an automation mindset and using AI tools to enhance test automation, citing examples with Playwright and other tools.

How To Test This?

interview episodes where Mamadou N’diaye talks with with software testing experts

• https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/spidey1944
• https://www.youtube.com/@HowToTestThis
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/mamadou-ndiaye-consultant/

Episode Details

• Show Notes: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/spidey1944/episodes/How-to-Test-Microservices--Jay-Kishore-Duvvuri-e3eqt01
• Published: 2026-02-09T02:05:26Z
• Duration: 00:52:32
• Author: Mamadou N’diaye

Overview

The podcast focuses on effective testing strategies in microservices environments, underscoring the value of test automation in improving both efficiency and software quality. It outlines the progression of test automation from manual testing practices to more sophisticated and integrated approaches, with an emphasis on the role of quality engineering in modern development. One of the key tools highlighted is Playwright, which is praised for its speed, flexibility, and features such as multi-browser support, auto-waits, and advanced locator strategies that make UI testing more straightforward.

Additionally, the episode examines the impact of AI tools like Bolt and Notebook LM in automating test creation and reducing development time. These tools are particularly noted for their ability to assist in building test frameworks and YAML configurations for CI/CD pipelines. The discussion also addresses common challenges in microservices testing, such as flaky tests, and recommends a strategic approach to test layering, focusing on end-to-end journey tests and contract or API tests. Tips for junior testers and QA professionals are provided to help them grow in areas like automation, CI/CD, and infrastructure. The podcast concludes by encouraging continuous learning, practical experience, and active participation in the QA community to advance one’s career in testing.

What If

• What if you used AI-assisted test generation to automate 80% of your regression suite in Playwright?

  • Move: Use AI tools like Bolt or Notebook LM to record and generate Playwright tests from user interactions with your app. Focus on high-risk UI paths and E2E journeys.
  • Why now: Your apps complexity is growing, but manual regression testing is time-sinking. AI reduces script-writing time from days to minutes and leverages Playwrights auto-waits and locators for stability.
  • Expected upside: Cut regression test maintenance by 50%, freeing time for strategic test design and scaling with CI/CD pipelines.

• What if you prioritized contract testing over UI testing for your microservices architecture?

  • Move: Write contract tests using tools like Pact or OpenAPI Validator to validate API interactions between services. Reduce UI tests to 10% of your suite.
  • Why now: Your app is transitioning to microservices, and UI tests are slow and brittle. Contract tests are faster, isolable, and align with strategic test layering advice.
  • Expected upside: Reduce test runtime by 30% and improve test stability, while ensuring service dependencies are reliably validated pre-deployment.

• What if you refactored your test framework to use Playwrights browser context fixtures for parallel execution?

  • Move: Replace hard-coded login flows with Playwrights browser context fixtures. Run 56 parallel test sessions using Playwrights workers feature for multi-user scenarios.
  • Why now: Your test suite is slowing down as it scales, and manual locator management is error-prone. Fixtures and parallelism are fast-tracked in Playwrights recent updates.
  • Expected upside: Accelerate test execution by 50% and reduce flakiness by isolating sessions, enabling CI/CD integration without significant framework overhauls.

Takeaway

• Implement Playwright’s CodeGen to quickly generate test scripts: Use the built-in code recording feature to translate manual browser actions into automated test code, saving time and reducing the complexity of script creation.
• Leverage AI tools like Bolt or Test Companion: Automate test case generation and framework setup using AI-powered tools to cut development time from days to minutes, though always review and refine AI-generated code for accuracy.
• Scale microservices testing by prioritizing API/contract tests: Focus on end-to-end journey tests (10% UI) and contract/API tests for microservices, reducing regression and smoke testing overhead compared to monolithic architectures.
• Integrate test automation with CI/CD using Playwright’s test runner: Utilize Playwright’s built-in test runner and parallel execution capabilities to accelerate test runs in pipelines, ensuring faster feedback loops and reducing manual intervention.
• Adopt accessibility-based locators to minimize flaky tests: Replace fragile XPaths with Playwrights get by role, get by text, or get by placeholder strategies to stabilize test reliability, especially for dynamic elements like iframes or SVGs.