How can you ensure your refactored code performs as expected with automated testing?

It reduces the amount of defects missed by humans through repeatability and increases the coverage in a longer term. The benefits are definite and it is important to do it right in order for it to be really fruitful. Even better when hooked up with CI/CD.

Automated testing is using code, or coded tools that simplify the use of certain code, to scan changed software. The goal of the scan is to find errors or decreased quality aspects like slower loading times. This information supports the decision making. Whether software is good to go to be used by end users of the software, or if it needs fixing first. Management also has quicker access to this information, as manual verification takes longer and is more labor intensive. But like virus scanners don't always catch all viruses, test automation doesn't catch all problems. So it's wise to not rely solely on test automation. And it's a misconception that it saves resources, as those savings usually go to creating and maintaining automation!

We creates regression suite to cover the possible scope of refactored code if there isn't any issue/break in suite run we can say that the refactored code hasn't impacted any functionality this way we can monitor the performance of refactored code

In order to ensure your refactored code performs as expected with automated testing - it is important that we understand the existing behavior of the code. Make sure you always have detailed functionality, test input, and expected output, and use this as a reference to create test cases. We can write unit test cases for such specific components of refactoring. Run with different test data using the TDD approach. Run regression suite that involves testing of this particular refactor code to ensure no other functionality or automation flow is broken. Documentation after refactoring and upload in common QA repository for future reference. Monitor the performance post refactor to ensure desired performance goals.

Huge misses I've noticed in QA automation frameworks include the absence of unit testing for our custom wrappers of Selenium classes and methods. When creating a new Selenium framework, I frequently develop a set of unit tests that exercise element interactions, string operations, and any other fundamental checks required for the framework itself. This approach not only establishes safeguards for refactoring the automation framework but also encourages team members to participate in its improvement.

Think of QA folks like versatile team players. They have aspects of product owners and scrum masters in their roles, making their contributions essential to the team's success and thus they're the "product champion" and the "team coordinator." They're not just keeping a QA check, but actively shaping and guiding the product's journey..

It’s very Important to consider QA’ themselves not as gatekeepers. For example If there is enough api integration test automated already by developers there is no sense to include all api requests in regression suite.