Why is test automation important for development teams?

Test automation is important for development teams primarily because it helps identify issues earlier in the development cycle. By implementing automated testing, teams can run tests frequently and consistently, which allows for immediate feedback on the quality of the code. This proactive approach helps in catching defects and issues before they escalate into more significant problems, reducing the time and cost associated with fixing them later in the development process.

Automated tests can be executed as part of continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, enabling developers to detect failures as soon as new code changes are introduced. This early detection is key to maintaining a higher quality codebase and delivering features faster, leading to improved efficiency and productivity within the team.

The other options do not accurately reflect the advantages of test automation. For instance, increasing the number of errors in code and complicating the testing process are contrary to the intended benefits of implementation. Furthermore, focusing solely on manual verification ignores the proactive benefits automation provides and the ability to verify more complex scenarios efficiently. Therefore, the importance of test automation in promoting early issue detection cannot be overstated.