Back to Automation BlogAutomation Testing

What to automate first

A simple scoring approach for choosing the tests that repay their build cost fastest.

4 min read2 April 2026Tech Vista Global

Score, do not argue

Rate each candidate scenario from one to five on business risk, execution frequency, stability of the feature, and manual effort. Automate the highest totals first. The scoring turns an opinion debate into a two-hour workshop with an ordered backlog at the end.

The reliable first wave

Login and session handling, the primary revenue journey, the top five regression defects from the last two releases, and any data-heavy validation a human hates repeating.

What to leave manual for now

Features still changing weekly, one-off migrations, exploratory and usability work, and anything where the expected result cannot be described without a human judgement call.

Turn this into hands-on practice

Book a free demo class and work through these patterns with a mentor.