Why is DevOps an important part of the Software Testing strategy?
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| devOps testing |
Digital
transformation has led to increased connectivity and development of innovative
software products. It has added value to businesses and has impacted the lives
of customers in a big way. Thanks to its impact, tasks that were in the realm
of science fiction in a not so distant past have become a reality. Furthermore,
the penetration of mobility solutions has brought the fruits of digital
technology to the people at large. For example, mobile apps are being used to
pay for utility services, get health and news bulletins, buy groceries and
tickets among other things.
Even
as digital transformation (on account of IT-enabled products and services) has
helped to enhance the quality of our lives, it has increased the risk of
product failures as well. With the functioning of entities and individuals
increasingly underpinned by digitization, any failure of a product or service
can bring everything to a standstill. Imagine a scenario where a snag in the
banking or reservation software can leave thousands of customers high and dry.
The
need for continuous testing of products has evolved to validate the latter’s
quality and prevent situations as described above. Moreover, enterprises aim at
accelerating the release of software in the market to pre-empt competitors and
to garner a better market presence. This is where the traditional testing
approaches have been found to be wanting. Hence, a concerted drive by
enterprises to move towards DevOps
testing.
What is DevOps?
The
need to develop quality products at a faster rate that meet the criteria of
performance, functionality, usability and security among others has brought in
the concept of Agile testing. In other words, the testing of a product is to be
executed at the development stage itself rather than in later stages of the
SDLC. To implement Agile or shift-left testing and prepare the product for
future rollouts, DevOps has been thought of as a QA culture.
It
is a culture that combines two important departments of an enterprise namely,
Development and Operations. DevOps calls for an increased collaboration between
the two departments by breaking silos and reconciling conflicting priorities. DevOps testing enjoins upon the
two departments to deliver quality products in a reliable, safe and rapid
manner. Moreover, to ensure a product works to its potential and provides an
optimum user experience, the two departments need to support each other. DevOps software testing aims at
providing value to the business through Continuous Delivery. It combines the
twin concepts of Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment.
Why should DevOps become the preferred software testing strategy?
Digitaltransformation requires the development, testing and delivery of quality
products at a faster pace to offer a seamless user experience and achieve ROI. DevOps software testing precisely does
that by facilitating continuous development, testing and integration in the
SDLC.
#1 Quicker innovation and roll out of products: When the development and
operations teams work in harmony there is a quicker identification of glitches
and delivery of products. Hence, should the development (and testing) team
builds quality products quickly, the operations team ensures the same is
delivered with reduced lead times. Moreover, customer feedback is rightly taken
into consideration by the operations team to improve the product even further
(if needed).
#2 Reduces the risk of failed products: Continuous testing as a
part of DevOps quality assurance
ensures that glitches are identified early on in the development process. It
helps as any code change during the development process can increase the scope
for errors. If left unchecked or checked in the later phases of the SDLC, the
cost of rectification increases not to speak of impacting the turnaround time
negatively.
#3 Better test consistency: DevOps
specialists
use test automation to carry out various functional and non-functional tests.
The process builds a consistent and robust test environment that ensures a
coordinated functioning of various systems and sub-systems. The robust test
automation environment can later be reused for similar types of testing thus
saving costs.
#4 Improves test coverage: Continuous testing by the DevOps testing specialists invariably
makes use of test automation. This approach provides a better feedback
mechanism, transparency and achieves a more test coverage area. It helps to
identify and eliminate the glitches better leading to the deployment of a
better quality software.
Conclusion
Continuous
testing and integration, which form part of the DevOps testing strategy help in better identification of
bugs leading to savings on the cost of rework. This helps in better integration
of the product and increases its overall lifespan. When quality products reach
the market faster they effectively meet the user expectations and help achieve
ROI.
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