diff --git a/monitoring/snippets/package.json b/monitoring/snippets/package.json
index 6facf3c6d3..67486ca515 100644
--- a/monitoring/snippets/package.json
+++ b/monitoring/snippets/package.json
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
     "node": ">=8"
   },
   "scripts": {
-    "test": "mocha system-test --timeout 600000"
+    "test": "mocha --timeout 600000"
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@google-cloud/monitoring": "^0.7.1",
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "chai": "^4.2.0",
-    "execa": "^1.0.0",
     "mocha": "^6.0.0",
     "p-retry": "^4.0.0",
     "uuid": "^3.3.2"
diff --git a/monitoring/snippets/system-test/.eslintrc.yml b/monitoring/snippets/test/.eslintrc.yml
similarity index 100%
rename from monitoring/snippets/system-test/.eslintrc.yml
rename to monitoring/snippets/test/.eslintrc.yml
diff --git a/monitoring/snippets/system-test/alerts.test.js b/monitoring/snippets/test/alerts.test.js
similarity index 79%
rename from monitoring/snippets/system-test/alerts.test.js
rename to monitoring/snippets/test/alerts.test.js
index 1810b86a8f..6ba1d3e3de 100644
--- a/monitoring/snippets/system-test/alerts.test.js
+++ b/monitoring/snippets/test/alerts.test.js
@@ -17,16 +17,17 @@
 
 const monitoring = require('@google-cloud/monitoring');
 const {assert} = require('chai');
-const execa = require('execa');
+const cp = require('child_process');
 const uuid = require('uuid');
 const path = require('path');
 const fs = require('fs');
 
+const execSync = cmd => cp.execSync(cmd, {encoding: 'utf-8'});
+
 const client = new monitoring.AlertPolicyServiceClient();
 const channelClient = new monitoring.NotificationChannelServiceClient();
 const projectId = process.env.GCLOUD_PROJECT;
 const cmd = 'node alerts';
-const exec = async cmd => (await execa.shell(cmd)).stdout;
 
 let policyOneName, policyTwoName, channelName;
 const testPrefix = `gcloud-test-${uuid.v4().split('-')[0]}`;
@@ -161,48 +162,48 @@ describe('alerts', () => {
     await deleteChannels();
   });
 
-  it('should replace notification channels', async () => {
-    const stdout = await exec(`${cmd} replace ${policyOneName} ${channelName}`);
-    assert.match(stdout, /Updated projects/);
-    assert.match(stdout, new RegExp(policyOneName));
+  it('should replace notification channels', () => {
+    const stdout = execSync(`${cmd} replace ${policyOneName} ${channelName}`);
+    assert.include(stdout, 'Updated projects');
+    assert.include(stdout, policyOneName);
   });
 
-  it('should disable policies', async () => {
-    const stdout = await exec(
+  it('should disable policies', () => {
+    const stdout = execSync(
       `${cmd} disable ${projectId} 'display_name.size < 28'`
     );
-    assert.match(stdout, /Disabled projects/);
-    assert.notMatch(stdout, new RegExp(policyOneName));
-    assert.match(stdout, new RegExp(policyTwoName));
+    assert.include(stdout, 'Disabled projects');
+    assert.notInclude(stdout, policyOneName);
+    assert.include(stdout, policyTwoName);
   });
 
-  it('should enable policies', async () => {
-    const stdout = await exec(
+  it('should enable policies', () => {
+    const stdout = execSync(
       `${cmd} enable ${projectId} 'display_name.size < 28'`
     );
-    assert.match(stdout, /Enabled projects/);
-    assert.notMatch(stdout, new RegExp(policyOneName));
-    assert.match(stdout, new RegExp(policyTwoName));
+    assert.include(stdout, 'Enabled projects');
+    assert.notInclude(stdout, policyOneName);
+    assert.include(stdout, policyTwoName);
   });
 
-  it('should list policies', async () => {
-    const stdout = await exec(`${cmd} list ${projectId}`);
-    assert.match(stdout, /Policies:/);
-    assert.match(stdout, /first-policy/);
-    assert.match(stdout, /Test/);
-    assert.match(stdout, /second/);
+  it('should list policies', () => {
+    const stdout = execSync(`${cmd} list ${projectId}`);
+    assert.include(stdout, 'Policies:');
+    assert.include(stdout, 'first-policy');
+    assert.include(stdout, 'Test');
+    assert.include(stdout, 'second');
   });
 
   it('should backup all policies', async () => {
-    const output = await exec(`${cmd} backup ${projectId}`);
-    assert.match(output, /Saved policies to .\/policies_backup.json/);
+    const output = execSync(`${cmd} backup ${projectId}`);
+    assert.include(output, 'Saved policies to ./policies_backup.json');
     assert.ok(fs.existsSync(path.join(__dirname, '../policies_backup.json')));
     await client.deleteAlertPolicy({name: policyOneName});
   });
 
-  it('should restore policies', async () => {
-    const output = await exec(`${cmd} restore ${projectId}`);
-    assert.match(output, /Loading policies from .\/policies_backup.json/);
+  it('should restore policies', () => {
+    const output = execSync(`${cmd} restore ${projectId}`);
+    assert.include(output, 'Loading policies from ./policies_backup.json');
     const matches = output.match(
       /projects\/[A-Za-z0-9-]+\/alertPolicies\/([\d]+)/gi
     );
diff --git a/monitoring/snippets/system-test/metrics.test.js b/monitoring/snippets/test/metrics.test.js
similarity index 62%
rename from monitoring/snippets/system-test/metrics.test.js
rename to monitoring/snippets/test/metrics.test.js
index f80e4f3c37..3c87e7dab9 100644
--- a/monitoring/snippets/system-test/metrics.test.js
+++ b/monitoring/snippets/test/metrics.test.js
@@ -17,10 +17,11 @@
 
 const monitoring = require('@google-cloud/monitoring');
 const {assert} = require('chai');
-const execa = require('execa');
+const cp = require('child_process');
 const retry = require('p-retry');
 
-const exec = async cmd => (await execa.shell(cmd)).stdout;
+const execSync = cmd => cp.execSync(cmd, {encoding: 'utf-8'});
+
 const client = new monitoring.MetricServiceClient();
 const cmd = `node metrics.js`;
 const customMetricId = `custom.googleapis.com/stores/daily_sales`;
@@ -30,10 +31,10 @@ const projectId = process.env.GCLOUD_PROJECT;
 const resourceId = `cloudsql_database`;
 
 describe('metrics', () => {
-  it('should create a metric descriptors', async () => {
-    const output = await exec(`${cmd} create`);
-    assert.match(output, /Created custom Metric/);
-    assert.match(output, new RegExp(`Type: ${customMetricId}`));
+  it('should create a metric descriptors', () => {
+    const output = execSync(`${cmd} create`);
+    assert.include(output, 'Created custom Metric');
+    assert.include(output, `Type: ${customMetricId}`);
   });
 
   it('should list metric descriptors, including the new custom one', async () => {
@@ -42,9 +43,9 @@ describe('metrics', () => {
     // https://github.com/googleapis/nodejs-monitoring/issues/190
     await retry(
       async () => {
-        const output = await exec(`${cmd} list`);
-        assert.match(output, new RegExp(customMetricId));
-        assert.match(output, new RegExp(computeMetricId));
+        const output = execSync(`${cmd} list`);
+        assert.include(output, customMetricId);
+        assert.include(output, computeMetricId);
       },
       {
         retries: 10,
@@ -53,34 +54,32 @@ describe('metrics', () => {
     );
   });
 
-  it('should get a metric descriptor', async () => {
-    const output = await exec(`${cmd} get ${customMetricId}`);
-    assert.match(output, new RegExp(`Type: ${customMetricId}`));
+  it('should get a metric descriptor', () => {
+    const output = execSync(`${cmd} get ${customMetricId}`);
+    assert.include(output, `Type: ${customMetricId}`);
   });
 
-  it('should write time series data', async () => {
-    const output = await exec(`${cmd} write`);
-    assert.match(output, /Done writing time series data./);
+  it('should write time series data', () => {
+    const output = execSync(`${cmd} write`);
+    assert.include(output, 'Done writing time series data.');
   });
 
-  it('should delete a metric descriptor', async () => {
-    const output = await exec(`${cmd} delete ${customMetricId}`);
-    assert.match(output, new RegExp(`Deleted ${customMetricId}`));
+  it('should delete a metric descriptor', () => {
+    const output = execSync(`${cmd} delete ${customMetricId}`);
+    assert.include(output, `Deleted ${customMetricId}`);
   });
 
-  it('should list monitored resource descriptors', async () => {
-    const output = await exec(`${cmd} list-resources`);
-    assert.match(
+  it('should list monitored resource descriptors', () => {
+    const output = execSync(`${cmd} list-resources`);
+    assert.include(
       output,
-      new RegExp(
-        `projects/${projectId}/monitoredResourceDescriptors/${resourceId}`
-      )
+      `projects/${projectId}/monitoredResourceDescriptors/${resourceId}`
     );
   });
 
-  it('should get a monitored resource descriptor', async () => {
-    const output = await exec(`${cmd} get-resource ${resourceId}`);
-    assert.match(output, new RegExp(`Type: ${resourceId}`));
+  it('should get a monitored resource descriptor', () => {
+    const output = execSync(`${cmd} get-resource ${resourceId}`);
+    assert.include(output, `Type: ${resourceId}`);
   });
 
   it('should read time series data', async () => {
@@ -97,12 +96,12 @@ describe('metrics', () => {
         },
       },
     });
-    const output = await exec(`${cmd} read '${filter}'`);
+    const output = execSync(`${cmd} read '${filter}'`);
     //t.true(true); // Do not fail if there is simply no data to return.
     timeSeries.forEach(data => {
-      assert.match(output, new RegExp(`${data.metric.labels.instance_name}:`));
+      assert.include(output, `${data.metric.labels.instance_name}:`);
       data.points.forEach(point => {
-        assert.match(output, new RegExp(JSON.stringify(point.value)));
+        assert.include(output, JSON.stringify(point.value));
       });
     });
   });
@@ -124,10 +123,10 @@ describe('metrics', () => {
       // the metrics that match the filter
       view: `HEADERS`,
     });
-    const output = await exec(`${cmd} read-fields`);
-    assert.match(output, /Found data points for the following instances/);
+    const output = execSync(`${cmd} read-fields`);
+    assert.include(output, 'Found data points for the following instances');
     timeSeries.forEach(data => {
-      assert.match(output, new RegExp(data.metric.labels.instance_name));
+      assert.include(output, data.metric.labels.instance_name);
     });
   });
 
@@ -152,12 +151,12 @@ describe('metrics', () => {
         perSeriesAligner: `ALIGN_MEAN`,
       },
     });
-    const output = await exec(`${cmd} read-aggregate`);
-    assert.match(output, /CPU utilization:/);
+    const output = execSync(`${cmd} read-aggregate`);
+    assert.include(output, 'CPU utilization:');
     timeSeries.forEach(data => {
-      assert.match(output, new RegExp(data.metric.labels.instance_name));
-      assert.match(output, / Now: 0./);
-      assert.match(output, / 10 min ago: 0./);
+      assert.include(output, data.metric.labels.instance_name);
+      assert.include(output, ' Now: 0.');
+      assert.include(output, ' 10 min ago: 0.');
     });
   });
 
@@ -183,14 +182,15 @@ describe('metrics', () => {
         perSeriesAligner: `ALIGN_MEAN`,
       },
     });
-    const output = await exec(`${cmd} read-reduce`);
+    const output = execSync(`${cmd} read-reduce`);
     // Special case: No output.
-    if (output === 'No data') {
-      assert.match(output, /No data/);
-    } else {
-      assert.match(output, /Average CPU utilization across all GCE instances:/);
-      assert.match(output, / {2}Last 10 min/);
-      assert.match(output, / {2}10-20 min ago/);
+    if (output.indexOf('No data') < 0) {
+      assert.include(
+        output,
+        'Average CPU utilization across all GCE instances:'
+      );
+      assert.include(output, 'Last 10 min');
+      assert.include(output, '10-20 min ago');
     }
   });
 });
diff --git a/monitoring/snippets/system-test/quickstart.test.js b/monitoring/snippets/test/quickstart.test.js
similarity index 83%
rename from monitoring/snippets/system-test/quickstart.test.js
rename to monitoring/snippets/test/quickstart.test.js
index fe570fb97c..8048b0d48c 100644
--- a/monitoring/snippets/system-test/quickstart.test.js
+++ b/monitoring/snippets/test/quickstart.test.js
@@ -16,9 +16,11 @@
 'use strict';
 
 const {assert} = require('chai');
-const execa = require('execa');
+const cp = require('child_process');
 const retry = require('p-retry');
 
+const execSync = cmd => cp.execSync(cmd, {encoding: 'utf-8'});
+
 describe('quickstart', () => {
   it('should run the quickstart', async () => {
     // The write in the quickstart appears to be very, very flaky.
@@ -26,8 +28,8 @@ describe('quickstart', () => {
     // https://github.com/googleapis/nodejs-monitoring/issues/191
     await retry(
       async () => {
-        const result = await execa.shell('node quickstart');
-        assert.match(result.stdout, /Done writing time series data/);
+        const result = execSync('node quickstart');
+        assert.match(result, /Done writing time series data/);
       },
       {
         retries: 10,
diff --git a/monitoring/snippets/system-test/uptime.test.js b/monitoring/snippets/test/uptime.test.js
similarity index 67%
rename from monitoring/snippets/system-test/uptime.test.js
rename to monitoring/snippets/test/uptime.test.js
index a7505a03c9..12aa73e08d 100644
--- a/monitoring/snippets/system-test/uptime.test.js
+++ b/monitoring/snippets/test/uptime.test.js
@@ -16,12 +16,13 @@
 'use strict';
 
 const {assert} = require('chai');
-const execa = require('execa');
+const cp = require('child_process');
+
+const execSync = cmd => cp.execSync(cmd, {encoding: 'utf-8'});
 
 const cmd = 'node uptime.js';
 const projectId = process.env.GCLOUD_PROJECT;
 const hostname = 'mydomain.com';
-const exec = async cmd => (await execa.shell(cmd)).stdout;
 
 function getResourceObjects(output) {
   const regex = new RegExp(/^\s*Resource: (.*)$/gm);
@@ -35,38 +36,38 @@ function getResourceObjects(output) {
 
 describe('uptime', () => {
   it('should list uptime-check ips', async () => {
-    const output = await exec(`${cmd} list-ips`);
+    const output = execSync(`${cmd} list-ips`);
     assert.match(output, /USA/);
   });
 
   let id;
 
   it('should create an uptime check', async () => {
-    const output = await exec(`${cmd} create ${hostname}`);
+    const output = execSync(`${cmd} create ${hostname}`);
     const matches = output.match(
       new RegExp(`ID: projects/${projectId}/uptimeCheckConfigs/(.+)`)
     );
     id = matches[1];
     assert.match(output, /Uptime check created:/);
     const resources = getResourceObjects(output);
-    assert.strictEqual(resources[0]['type'], 'uptime_url');
-    assert.strictEqual(resources[0]['labels']['host'], hostname);
+    assert.include(resources[0]['type'], 'uptime_url');
+    assert.include(resources[0]['labels']['host'], hostname);
     assert.match(output, /Display Name: My Uptime Check/);
   });
 
   it('should get an uptime check', async () => {
-    const output = await exec(`${cmd} get ${id}`);
+    const output = execSync(`${cmd} get ${id}`);
     assert.match(
       output,
       new RegExp(`Retrieving projects/${projectId}/uptimeCheckConfigs/${id}`)
     );
     const resources = getResourceObjects(output);
-    assert.strictEqual(resources[0]['type'], 'uptime_url');
-    assert.strictEqual(resources[0]['labels']['host'], hostname);
+    assert.include(resources[0]['type'], 'uptime_url');
+    assert.include(resources[0]['labels']['host'], hostname);
   });
 
   it('should list uptime checks', async () => {
-    const output = await exec(`${cmd} list`);
+    const output = execSync(`${cmd} list`);
     const resources = getResourceObjects(output);
     const resourceCount = resources.filter(
       resource =>
@@ -80,32 +81,26 @@ describe('uptime', () => {
   it('should update an uptime check', async () => {
     const newDisplayName = 'My New Display';
     const path = '/';
-    const output = await exec(
-      `${cmd} update ${id} "${newDisplayName}" ${path}`
-    );
-    assert.match(
+    const output = execSync(`${cmd} update ${id} "${newDisplayName}" ${path}`);
+    assert.include(
       output,
-      new RegExp(
-        `Updating projects/${projectId}/uptimeCheckConfigs/${id} to ${newDisplayName}`
-      )
+      `Updating projects/${projectId}/uptimeCheckConfigs/${id} to ${newDisplayName}`
     );
-    assert.match(
+    assert.include(
       output,
-      new RegExp(
-        `projects/${projectId}/uptimeCheckConfigs/${id} config updated.`
-      )
+      `projects/${projectId}/uptimeCheckConfigs/${id} config updated.`
     );
   });
 
   it('should delete an uptime check', async () => {
-    const output = await exec(`${cmd} delete ${id}`);
-    assert.match(
+    const output = execSync(`${cmd} delete ${id}`);
+    assert.include(
       output,
-      new RegExp(`Deleting projects/${projectId}/uptimeCheckConfigs/${id}`)
+      `Deleting projects/${projectId}/uptimeCheckConfigs/${id}`
     );
-    assert.match(
+    assert.include(
       output,
-      new RegExp(`projects/${projectId}/uptimeCheckConfigs/${id} deleted.`)
+      `projects/${projectId}/uptimeCheckConfigs/${id} deleted.`
     );
   });
 });