Keep The Test Pyramid From Turning Upside Down
Place automated checks at the cheapest layer that still proves the risk.
Automate at the cheapest layer that still catches the failure users would feel. The test automation pyramid is a cost model. Unit tests are cheap, fast, and precise, so they should cover lots of logic. Service or API tests check collaboration across components without paying the full browser cost. UI tests prove the product works through the user's path, but they are slower, more brittle, and harder to diagnose. The pyramid does not mean "never use UI tests." It means use the smallest layer that can prove the risk. The mechanism is feedback economics. A failed unit test can point…
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