In today’s digital business environment, application leaders can succeed if they build teams, processes, and toolsets to support shorter release timelines without leaking defects when producing their products. They need to deliver high-quality software at a fast pace.
The tips below can guide them to get started:
Address the Gap Between QA and Developers
Any software release process involves quality assurance. But, it is not the first thing companies think about when embarking on DevOps transformation initiatives. The reason is the misconception that continuous integration and delivery will automate all quality efforts.
Although organizations are achieving a higher level of test automation than before, release is a business decision, not a technical one. And although automation can offer you a high confidence level that the release is ready for customers, you should not confuse good test results with release readiness. To address the gap and make sure quality is embedded in DevOps processes, testers must be included as part of your integrated delivery team.
Embrace Continuous Testing Practices
Companies that have successful agile development initiatives tend to embrace continuous testing practices such as allocating proper testing budgets and concentrating on improving skills. They also implement continuous testing to meet frequency release demands, integrate testers into cross-functional teams, and practice shift-left testing.
Consider Automating Testing when Reasonable
Determining the ideal level of test automation a team must strive for during the DevOps transition can be challenging. However, as releases are taking place more frequently, the testing volume should also increase substantially. This is where automated testing comes into play. But, it is important to lean on the more tenured testers of the team to develop a test automation technique that maximizes resources and eradicates the need for testers to manually perform repetitive test runs.
Centralize QA Metrics
This will help you see the frequency of testing failures, how long tests take to run, and how much you are spending on environment setup and data creation. You will be able to quickly view and analyze metrics after you have achieved a high automation level. If you have access to the right metrics, you can gain insights that help you concentrate test automation strategies on the areas in which it can have the most important impact on your organization. Also, companies that have mature agile and DevOps practices focus on contextual metrics like requirement coverage, instead of just count the number of tests run or defects discovered.
