Over the past few years, there has been an explosion in demand for new web applications. It prompted a sudden push to modernize current development practices and have new tools for creating better applications. This led to the rapid expansion of DevOps, which encourages collaboration between the development and operations teams to develop software products and push them out into the market as soon as possible. So, why TestOps, and how does it fit into this picture? Is there a need for it while there are other alternatives? What does it cover that Waterfall, Agile, or DevOps do not? In this post, we shed light on these questions about TestOps and discuss how it can benefit software testing and quality assurance (QA) teams. Let’s get started!
What Is TestOps?
TestOps is a fast-rising technique that completes everyone’s dream of having Operations, Development, and Quality Assurance teams collaborate to create valuable and time-efficient products in the market. With this new channel, one reduces the development and testing time of new products and boosts their quality within a short period and with less effort.
Why TestOps?
Most small teams that work to create simple applications often run on automated tests that are not complex, such as Unit Tests. As the application grows in size, Quality Assurance becomes more complex to supported added functionality and to ensure deploying to market is clean and bug free. Hence the introduction of User Interface, Integration, API Testing, etc.
Suddenly, the simple programs initially used by just a handful of people become something most teams depend on and there is an immediate need for robust testing procedures to eliminate issues that may affect the delivery of new features.
TestOps uses automation to scale up testing practices and resources as required. When customers need new features on an existing application, developers can use the TestOps framework to facilitate faster and easy testing. They coordinate developments, operations, and QA. These happen all in a single product.
Most often, teams lack time to start manual regressions testing. They require rapid development and lightning-speed deliveries to match demand. Trying to take QA shortcuts without the right tools to meet deadlines results in releasing sloppier code deployments and dissatisfied end-users.
With TestOps, the development team avoids this by instilling its framework around test operations management, allowing for:
- Increasing test coverage as required
- Bring in personnel to fill gaps
- Cover all essential activities
- Offer quality deployments within a short time
- Lastly, faster delivery to production
Instead of working with a disconnected team that handles individual processes, TestOps enables teams to create a pipeline for building and testing software. With effective coordination, the team will build higher quality code, have faster releases, and minimize defects in the end product.
What Are the Key Components of TestOps?
Planning
For all products, planning must start early and remain the same throughout the development cycle. In the planning phase, the team sets its priorities for various tests based on risks, current coverage, complexity, and other relevant factors.
It gives them a general understanding of what will need testing, an overall objective for conducting tests, and who should carry out the tests. Project teams will align to the project’s goals by collaborating and mapping out a document outlining all the testing decisions.
Control
The control refers to setting standards required for testing. It focuses on code reviews as every team needs an individual who knows the program that goes over the code to ensure it has no errors that can be potential bugs.
It is essential to have a testing expert to guide team members on the various ways to apply testing automation tools and avoid bottlenecks. A change control process also regulates how the team handles each testing procedure.
Management
This phase covers the process of conducting tests. It includes coordinating who takes care of specific tests or setting a testing priority. Some responsibilities include:
- Setting up naming standards
- Creating conventions for organizing tests
- Figuring who owns a particular test if they fail
With this process, the responsibility of addressing errors goes directly to the relevant team member.
Insights
Insights focus on the data collected during the test to offer teams more clarity on whether the product is ready for release. They also reveal whether it met all quality standards and how each team conducted each development phase. The data collected in this phase will enable the team to improve their testing practices in the next product release.
Focus Areas for TestOps
AI in TestOps
New advancements in AI allow TestOps to get accurate insights and predictions. Tools are smart enough to self-heal during execution or rerunning tests based on the situation. They use reports generated in the previous test that become Metadata allowing AI to predict the common issues and flakiness in tests.
Real-Time Dashboards
Real-time dashboards of Test Results accessible to all team members are essential in the entire development cycle. It ensures the team develops with complete visibility of the process and improves it when required.
DevOps Integration
The purpose of DevOps is to reduce the development cycles. TestOps is a subset of DevOps that focuses on constant validation in a continuous development process. This makes it a crucial part of the DevOps methodology that focuses on the operational aspect of testing and makes it flexible for the future.
Cloud-Based Automation Testing
The common issue with Automaton Testing is creating the environment where the test should run. Currently, various combinations of devices, OS, and browsers can help. Further, the most effective way to cover these environments seamlessly is using a Cloud-based Automation Solution that eliminates the need for physical infrastructure.
Get Started With TestOps Today
The best way to start using TestOps in your development process is to integrate automation testing tools throughout the development lifecycle. You require something capable of connecting your DevOps and other testing functions for continuous feedback on each phase.
Appsurify empowers organizations looking for automation with the best tool for TestOps. We’ve built risk-based testing solution that prioritizes testing based on areas of recent code changes for a tightened feedback loop between testing and development. Contact us today to learn more about what we can do for you!