Your partners can make or break critical moments. @Marcus Merrell shares a story about a Black Friday mishap that cost $200,000 due to a partner’s system failure. Customers faced errors with no clear alternatives, leaving them frustrated and the business scrambling. It raises an important question: Are you prepared for when things go wrong, or are you leaving your users stranded without options? It’s not just about the tech—it’s about how you build trust and ensure your users feel supported, no matter what.

Your testing choices impact customer relationships. @Marcus Merrel shares a story about a teammate being unable to pay a simple bridge toll online—Safari, Chrome, incognito mode, nothing worked. No chat support, no phone number. His only option? Wait for a collection letter to arrive in the mail. That’s so frustrating. But what stands out most is the bigger question: Are your users forced to stay because they have no choice, or are you actively earning their loyalty by providing a seamless, supportive experience?

Testers, how can you prepare for Black Friday? @MarcusMerrell suggests running real practice drills. Build an environment as close to production as possible and simulate an outage with your team to see how prepared you really are. These drills help reveal issues in your response process that you might not realize until it’s too late. By practicing in a realistic environment, your teams get more confidence handling real-world outages.

Delivering high-quality digital experiences during the holiday season is crucial, with 30% of annual revenue on the line. Developers need scalable, secure, and compliant infrastructure to ensure smooth releases and easy software testing. However, over 60% of developers admit to releasing untested code to meet deadlines, risking bugs and jeopardizing customer experience and revenue. Listen to the discussion about how to mitigate risk, catch bugs earlier, and test securely at scale in preparation for a busy holiday season.

Is manual testing enough to keep up with the speed of modern development? @Allen Loew from Progressive Leasing explains that while there’s still a place for manual testing in specific cases, automation is becoming a necessity. Automation helps teams maintain the velocity required to meet deadlines. As projects grow in complexity and size, automation is essential to manage large volumes of tests and data efficiently.

In an industry where speed is everything, manual testing alone may not cut it. In this episode, Jason Baum and Marcus Merrell are joined by Allen Loew, Principal Quality Engineer at Progressive Leasing, to discuss the changing roles of testers and why automation is no longer optional. Allen shares his experiences with the transition from manual to automated testing, offering insights on the best balance between the two approaches. You'll also hear about the value of exploratory testing, the impact of automation on scalability, and how QA teams can thrive by embracing new tools and practices.

Testing Frameworks – How to Choose One That Works for You and Your Team Struggling to pick the right testing framework? In this pre-recorded session of Sauce Labs Office Hours, join Diego Molina, Developer Advocate, as he breaks down the key factors to consider when selecting a testing framework for your team. Learn how to evaluate frameworks based on your project needs, team size, and tech stack to make the best choice for efficient and reliable test automation.

Complying with the European Accessibility Act (EAA) isn’t just about meeting regulations—it’s about building better products for everyone. @AmyJune Hineline and @Marcus Merrell offer key tips for achieving EAA compliance: Watch the latest episode of Test Case Scenario for practical tips on making your products accessible and compliant with the EAA.

Office Hours: Intro to Mobile Testing with Emulators and Simulators Want to optimize your mobile testing strategy? Join us for this pre-recorded session of Sauce Labs Open Office Hours, featuring developer advocate Titus Fortner as he takes a deep dive into mobile testing using emulators and simulators on Sauce Labs. Learn the best practices for mobile test automation and how to effectively balance speed, cost, and reliability in your testing workflows.

Accessibility training isn’t an optional add-on—it’s an essential part of professional development. @AmyJuneHineline explains why accessibility should be prioritized just like learning new programming standards: Watch the latest episode of Test Case Scenario to learn why making accessibility training a priority is crucial for all development teams.