Testing and quality assurance are inevitable in a DevOps approach. This article gives some very good advice on how to ensure quality with such a software development cycle..” Julien Desmulier, head of testing at q-leap
The appeal of DevOps is speed. Whereas using agile methods can result in releases every six weeks or so, with DevOps and its emphasis on extreme automation and integration, you can release code every week, if not every day. This is exciting for organizations facing strong user demand and/or competitive pressures to innovate frequently.
Many organizations discovering DevOps are eager to get started and see how much time and effort they can save on the development cycle. The problem is that speed can sometimes be at the expense of process and quality. For start-ups, there’s not much to fear here. With little money and little or no customer base, start-ups can be relaxed and fast. Some bugs released in production can be fixed before anyone notices them.
Established companies or those with large user bases need to be more cautious. That’s why, when they embark on DevOps, they choose low-risk projects that won’t affect the business in the event of a software problem. These are often experimental projects, such as building a new mobile app or internal social media site. The company’s objectives are to learn and prototype new ideas, which is perfect for DevOps, as it enables instant change and feedback.
When there’s success in these initiatives, CTOs and other technology leaders start thinking, “Hey, why not extend DevOps even into critical areas where we need rapid response and the work of our best team members?” All in all, it can be a great trip, but it all depends on the requirements of the application’s users. If DevOps is applied to a revenue-generating application and causes downtime or critical errors affecting users for a few hours, you can probably expect a visit from the CEO.
How to ensure quality in DevOps remains a thorny issue. In any case, once you start deploying DevOps throughout your organization, you’ll need to invest more energy (time and personnel) in the quality equation.
Unless you work for Google, Netflix, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, or a few others, you probably don’t have a huge staff, with all the necessary skills, and an unlimited budget to devote to perfecting DevOps on a large scale. These companies are at the cutting edge of cloud and software development, inventing some of the technologies and best practices used everywhere today.
For the rest of us, it’s time to get resourceful and work smart.
Read the full article here to find out more!
ABOUT OUR Q-LEAP EXPERT WHO RECOMMENDS THIS ARTICLE: JULIEN DESMULIER
With over six years’ experience in software testing, this proactive test manager is attentive to every detail and is an accomplished team leader. Customer value is always a major concern for Julien, and he is able to use his existing testing knowledge and experience to quickly find practical solutions and alternatives to testing challenges.
He has excellent leadership, negotiation and communication skills, and is able to provide authoritative advice and guidance to both internal development teams and customers. He has significant experience in test management for new digital solutions, cross-platform testing, mobile application testing, web testing, as well as data migration projects. He now heads the test team at Q-Leap.
Written by : Jonathan Alexander
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