The Crucial Role of DevOps Testing

Continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) have become a key requirement for modern software delivery, promoting partnerships between development and IT operation teams to shorten the time to market. But, it is not enough for these two teams alone to collaborate to achieve the faster-time-to-market goals. It also requires testing to be integrated with the continuous delivery chain. For instance, NETFLIX was able to deploy codes to production 1000 times a day by breaking the siloes in development, testing and operations. 

DevOps Testing requires breaking the testing silo and enabling testing to happen in parallel with development for faster feedback cycles with testing at scale in an integrated agile environment. It uses a shift-left approach of continuous testing to enable the detection and correction of issues early to stop them becoming bugs.

Some of the key differences between traditional waterfall and agile testing include: 

• In waterfall, testing happens at the end while in DevOps, it happens continuously 
• Testing is automated for speed and accuracy as against predominantly manual testing in waterfall 
• Value-based testing based on customer usage rather than testing everything every time 
• Entire teams involved in testing instead of only siloed testing departments 
• The focus is on coverage of product over the code  

A Merit expert says, “In DevOps, testing isn’t a phase; it’s a mindset, a culture, and a strategic advantage for faster, more reliable software delivery.” 

Best Practices for DevOps Testing 

In traditional testing approach, testing happens last, after the product is developed. But now, it happens in parallel. Therefore, the DevOps testing team needs to be ready with its testing strategy even before the product is ready for testing. A streamlined testing strategy is required, and this begins with knowing the software to be tested in detail and getting the right tools and environment right to enable effective testing. 

Know the Tests: Like in the traditional approach, in DevOps too, many different types of testing must be done. These include: 

• Functional Acceptance Test: This is needed to verify if the app is working as planned and includes testing for errors and alternate paths. 
• Chain Test: This is done to verify if all apps in a chain are working well together. 
• Component Test: Testing all the components used in the development of big applications. 
• Integration Test: Here too the components are tested, but to verify if they work together well. 
• Performance Stress Test: The system tests the capability of the app to respond quickly to multiple requests from several users, managing background workload and transactions. 
• System Test: The app’s capability to fulfill requirements is tested. 
• Unit Test: Each individual unit of the software is tested. 
• User Acceptance Test: Evaluates the user-friendliness of the app, assessing ease of use and intuitive learning. 
• Production Acceptance Test: Once the app has been uploaded to the target environment, it is tested to verify if it is working fine. 

Know the Tools: The second key aspect is using the right tools for the testing in the DevOps environment. Some of the popular tools include Selenium, Jenkins, Appium, Bamboo, Cucumber, Maven, and TestNG. 

The right testing tools enable the improvement of the code quality, shorten the time to market, and also provide continuous quick feedback for enhancing collaboration between the different teams involved. 

Test Automation: In DevOps, test automation plays a crucial role in accelerating the testing speed, facilitating collaboration, and lowering testing costs. Visibility into the application quality and status in the DevOps pipeline is another benefit of automation. For DevOps automated testing to be effective, a vast number of tests need to be conducted to ensure that when new features are introduced, the application does not break. Some of the benefits of DevOps test automation include: 

• As the testing has to be continuous, manual testing and fixing at such a speed will be difficult 
• This can lead to a lag in the testing of the software, resulting in delayed development and release 
• Automation ensures the standardisation of test practices, reduces errors due to manual intervention, and allows value addition while allowing repetitive tests to be automated 
• Enables proper integration of testing with development and operations for improved streamlining of processes across the CI/CD pipeline. 

Define quality based on user satisfaction and enable the detection of errors early during the development process. Involve the testing team during the requirements gathering process to create a testing strategy that ensures the software meets the goals. A unified platform should facilitate continuous interaction, collaboration and communication between the development, operations, and testing teams. 

Metric for DevOps Testing

Merit is a development and testing company that deploys proven technologies, such as AI, for rigorous test platforms at scale. Our services include not only sharing the test outputs but also interpreting and fixing defects for faster development, testing and deployment of systems. 

Merit’s innovative testing solutions help our partners confidently deploy their solutions, guaranteeing prevention of defects at a very early stage. Some of the key advantages of Merit QA include: 

• Trusted QA and test automation services for faster deployments 
• Reliable QA solutions and agile test automation for faster release of software 
• Provide compatibility and contention testing to ensure performance across all target devices, infrastructures and networks. 

Bespoke Testing Strategy to Match Your Development Methodology 

Merit can match its testing strategy to its clients’ development methodology – agile, waterfall, iterative or hybrid. We offer flexible testing service models that you can choose from to best fit your needs: 

• Test Factory Model 
• Testing for Startups 
• Fully Equipped Test Lab 
• Project Based Testing 
• QA and Test Automation Engineers 

To know more, visit https://www.meritdata-tech.com/service/code-ai/software-test-automation/

Key Takeaways 

1. DevOps Testing is Integral: DevOps testing is essential for achieving faster time-to-market goals by integrating testing with the continuous delivery chain, breaking silos between development, testing, and operations. 

2. Shift-left Approach: DevOps testing adopts a shift-left approach, emphasising continuous testing to detect and correct issues early in the development process to prevent them from becoming bugs. 

3. Key Differences from Waterfall Testing: 

• Testing happens continuously in DevOps, as opposed to at the end in waterfall. 
• Automation is prevalent in DevOps testing for speed and accuracy, whereas waterfall testing is predominantly manual. 
• Value-based testing focused on customer usage is emphasised in DevOps. 
• Testing involves entire teams in DevOps, unlike the siloed approach of waterfall testing. 

4. Best Practices: 

• Know the different types of tests required, such as functional acceptance, integration, performance stress, and user acceptance tests. 
• Utilise the right tools for testing in the DevOps environment, including Selenium, Jenkins, Appium, etc. 
• Emphasise test automation to accelerate testing speed, facilitate collaboration, and reduce costs. 
• Define quality based on user satisfaction and involve the testing team early in the requirements gathering process. 

5. Benefits of DevOps Test Automation: 

• Accelerates testing speed in the continuous delivery pipeline. 
• Ensures standardisation of test practices and reduces errors. 
• Facilitates integration of testing with development and operations for streamlined processes. 

6. Continuous Collaboration: Encourage continuous interaction, collaboration, and communication between development, operations, and testing teams to ensure a unified platform and smoother workflow across the CI/CD pipeline.