The rapid adoption of digital
technologies by enterprises to stay nimble, competitive, and quality-driven has
given digital transformation wide currency. The process facilitates
decision-making and allows organizations to innovate, accelerate the time to
market, and be responsive to customer needs. The world of today is for those
enterprises that can quickly turn an idea into a consumer product or service, absorb
feedback from the market and customers to refine the product/service and
relaunch it. This is where DevOps can help such organizations in terms of
offering continuous development, innovation, integration, and deployment.
Fixing glitches
with DevOps testing strategy
To stay on the right side of
customer preference, enterprises must roll out software updates on a trot,
which is not easy by any stretch of imagination. This is because every update
needs to be tested across devices, operating platforms, frameworks,
geographies, and networks. If the DevOps
approach is not right in executing the process of development, testing,
and deployment, the inherent glitches can prove to be costly. In many cases, in
a bid to be ahead of the curve, enterprises do not give testing its due.
In other words, products or
their updates are often launched without letting them pass through a stringent
QA pipeline. The consequences of such quick deployment without adequate testing
may manifest themselves in various ways. These may include the quality of
product taking a beating, regulatory bodies subjecting such organizations to
censure and penalties, and customers taking a flight to the competitors. So,
with business reputation at stake, enterprises are well-advised to follow a
strong DevOps approach and
identify/fix glitches quickly in the pipeline.
DevOps and Test
Automation
When it comes to the DevOps specialists discussing
key elements that go into a Continuous Integration (CI) or Continuous Delivery
(CD) pipeline, they mostly talk about code repositories or CI servers. Interestingly,
DevOps test automation finds
less mention in the rarefied circles where strategies are planned. This is despite
the DevOps
test automation being considered an integral part or medium to
achieve outcomes like CI and CD. DevOps
specialists majorly focus on aspects like integration and
deployment of the software thereby giving test automation a miss. This can be
self-defeating and invariably goes against the grain of DevOps philosophy where
QA forms an integral part along with Development and Operations. Does this mean
these specialists are more tuned into the manual testing aspect while leaving test
automation altogether? The probable answer would be the ingrained belief in some
DevOps experts about the efficacy of manual testing. This would not have raised
any hackles until the advent of continuous delivery chains.
Why test
automation for DevOps?
The two outcomes of DevOps -
CI and CD means the development pipeline should deliver quality products
quickly and consistently. Besides, the products should be upgraded periodically
based on market feedback. This means products should be tested for glitches
early in the SDLC instead of later to save cost and time. And what better way
to achieve the same than by implementing test
automation in DevOps QA.
Faster test
outcomes: Test automation can be
implemented by writing a test script on a tool. The code in development is put
through that script and checked for expected outcomes. Any deviation is noted and
investigated for possible errors. This is way faster than manual testing where
QA specialists find repetitive testing frustrating and have a tendency to miss
errors.
Consistent
results: Consistency in QA means the
software behaves on expected lines throughout the delivery pipeline. Test
automation can validate the code for variables at different stages and mitigate
the chances of human errors.
Ease with
regression testing: When a major
update is implemented, certain types of tests like usability testing are performed
manually. However, when the variables are more and the software needs to be
checked across devices, operating systems, browsers, geographies, and networks,
then automatic testing takes the cake. It can work non-stop and check for deviations
or non-compliance.
Human resources
utilization: During manual
testing scarce human testers are deployed in tasks that require constant
attention. Further, to avoid boredom arising out of conducting repeated
testing, QA testers can give certain tests a miss. Imagine the type or number
of glitches escaping the test dragnet and later ruining the user experience. However,
with test automation, repetitive testing can go unhindered wherein scarce human
resource can be deployed for better activities.
Conclusion
In today’s age of fast
software releases, quality can be ensured through a smooth DevOps-led pipeline
ensuring CI and CD. However, achieving consistency in testing and pre-empting
issues like cybercrime are underpinned on implementing DevSecOps and enabling a culture of quality control at
every step of the way.
No comments:
Post a Comment