DevOps – is the driving force for any software development cycle. The developers, operations, and testers align their work to deliver high-quality software. To produce flawless software, it requires the entire team to work cohesively and focus on planning and speed. However, it becomes quite challenging for testers to deliver in huge quality meeting high-quality standards. This is when Test Automation brings change by bridging the gap in DevOps.
The role of a tester in DevOps is highly important as it plays an integral part by working closely with Development team to develop unique features, make iterations and advanced features for high-performance speed and clarity. Though it is a continuous and time-consuming process and requires with the high amount of automation. Devops follows only one thumb rule i.e ‘TEST FIRST.’ Testers testing for DevOps must be quick in performance, clear in communication and deliver continuous testing services to facilitate automation process.
DevOps has changed the testing environment and made it more cost-effective, and time-saving. Test automation may introduce few challenges for DevOps to deploy successfully. Below are key challenges in automating the testing processes for DevOps;
RESOURCES
To keep up the pace with next-gen testing teams, QA and DevOps must deepen their communication to meet their requirements. DevOps is all about accepting critical thinking and feedback from other teams for improved and advanced final product.
Practically, just putting your ideas and views would not bring any solution or change. Hence, the entire process of making changes in developing stage will meet company’s business objective. However, target the end-users, define test criteria, and put automation in the process can help your testing process run effortlessly.
BEYOND TESTING
Each and every team involved in DevOps is responsible for producing high-quality software products. To secure high standards of quality in software; everyone involved in test and development cycle must be responsible for QA check at every step. After all, it’s not only QA teams job to maintain high quality. This will help to detect plenty of errors at an early stage and enable developers to deliver on-time quality applications.
MAXIMUM TEST COVERAGE
The biggest challenge for any testers for DevOps is to deliver maximum coverage. DevOps is all about having perfect integration of pre-coded scripts at great speed.
For a quick performance and faster delivery, testers must focus on tracking, recording each and every step of a testing process for better results.
The Traceability algorithm ensures the maximum coverage, testing even the minor steps. This assures that not a single critical step is missed out.
TEST, VERIFY, MODIFY & REPEAT
The more you develop, the more of testing is required. In DevOps, developing team often builds, which needs to be tested before it is deployed. It follows a cycle of building, testing, verifying, modifying, and then repeat. These builds can be tested manually as well as with automation. Thus, it’s quite challenging to keep running the testing cycle manually, so test automation is recommended.
Reports & Analytics
Reports and Analytics play an important role while deploying agile regression models and for automation throughout the testing process. With unclear or vague or clutter reports, it becomes quite challenging for DevOps while executing test automation.
Testing Tools
Working for DevOps as a tester will require the testing tools that help them with easy to incorporate testing process throughout the testing cycle. The testing tools must be easy to record test cases, manage testing cycle and overall meet the DevOps requirement. Hence, DevOps testing team would require testing tools will help the test automation and has seamless process in all the respective cases in real-time. With the help of right tools and techniques, it becomes easy for the testing team to track the records and generate reports and analytics.
Summary:
To surpass the competitors and to stay ahead in market one has to offer their customer a high-quality product in stipulated time. This can happen only when a team of testers and development team works together to redefine their development methodologies and testing techniques. Although, it’s quite challenging for testers to cope up with DevOps environments, with an apt strategy, and cohesive teamwork, one can deliver remarkable results.