Test project assessment
Test project assessment outcomes are reduced cost of testing, faster time-to-market, increased quality, and mitigated risks.
Glossary
Continuous Integration (CI): CI is a process in which developers integrate new codes into a shared repository several times a day. This is a better approach than the traditional one, where the developer will build new codes in isolation and then integrate them into the main repository at the end of the project lifecycle. The primary goal is to detect any integration bugs at the initial stage so it can be rectified quickly. It triggers a new build whenever a new code merges with the existing main repository. Test runs are performed against these new builds to check for any breakage.
Continuous Delivery (CD): At the end of the CI, the CD comes in. CD ensures to automate the software delivery process and commits to deliver the integrated code into the production stage without any bugs or delays. CD in the DevOps implementation process, helps developers merge the new code with the main branch consistently so they can build an instant software-ready product. It is responsible for checking the quality of the code and performs tests to check whether it can release the functional build to the production environment.
Continuous Deployment (CD): The most critical part of the automation occurs at this stage of the delivery pipeline. Whenever there is an important change in the code, the corresponding build and deployment occur simultaneously. It is achieved through a continuous deployment process where it allows to perform live deployment changes for every code modification that passes through the CI stage. During this stage, there is no manual intervention right from the initial code until the code is in the production stage.
Benefits of Implementing CI/CD
- The ultimate aim of any software application is to reach its potential customers faster than ever before. This is exactly what the CI/CD pipeline offers to any business model that leverages a software process that reduces the risks in each build and helps the end product to reach the customer quicker.
- Achieve Faster Feedback Through CI Tools: For every committed code, the corresponding tests are run simultaneously to avoid any link breakage at later stages. Faster feedback helps to check the quality and impact of the code.
- Greater Visibility: With CI/CD pipeline setup, the whole process of new builds, test results, and any issues with new builds can be analyzed. This transparency allows the developers to know which changes in the build led to the brokerage and to avoid them in the future.
- Early Bug detects: Conducting various types of automated testing allows us to identify any bug issues at an early stage without any last-minute surprises. These automated tests along with few manual test runs, help to fix any issues that may arise.
CI/CD processes in a project very much depend on the maturity of processes in the project as a whole and in testing in particular. Therefore, the first step with which we usually begin to improve the existing process is to evaluate the existing solution and build a baseline.
After the information is collected and analyzed, we offer 2-3 specific goals, the achievement of which will significantly improve the CI/CD processes in the project. At the same stage, metrics for assessing changes are discussed and approved.
To achieve these goals, we, together with all involved departments, draw up a plan, approve it and proceed to the implementation of the plan on the selected Pilot project: we introduce a new way of working either in a separate team or when developing specific functionality.
Upon completion of the Pilot project, we, first of all, assess whether the goals are achieved, make a retrospective, amend the plan if necessary actions and plan the implementation of the entire project.
At the end of the implementation, we conduct lesson learning and plan a periodic assessment of the project to make sure initial quality objectives are continuously met.
Related services:
Automated testing
The joint work of architects, developers, tester and managers made it possible to redesign the project in a short time (about 2 months), speed up the testing process several times and simplify the preparation of test data.
Automated testing challenges
The most important factor that drives test automation is the short development cycle. Agile teams have only a few weeks to get a grasp of the requirement, make the code changes, and test the changes. If all testing were to be done manually, the time required would surpass the actual development time. Alternatively, testing would have to be hurried, thus compromising on quality.
