Role of Test Automation in Agile and Devops
During the Waterfall Model of software development, software testing was taken up at the end of the software development life cycle (SDLC) and it resulted in many bugs, thus delaying the release time. Such method of software testing at the end of the SDLC does not hold good anymore and with Agile and DevOps methodologies on the go, the testing process actually starts from the beginning of the code development stage. This is specifically referred to as Shift left approach wherein testing goes hand in hand with development, in an order of Continuous Integration (CI) /Continuous Development (CD) method.
Agile Environment Under an agile environment with iterative & an incremental model in place, Test automation delivers quality at speed within sprints, as functionality can be developed and tested rapidly. It is common that agile teams are spread across geographies and setting of infrastructure across becomes a costly deal. But, cloud based test automation tools allow the teams to access the tool from any device and collaborate towards achieving the end goal for delivering a quality product. It has also been observed that under agile scenarios, the number of tests continue to increase exponentially across each iteration and an automation tool would efficiently handle it and ensures early to the market. Moreover, under Agile, you can automate your functional and regression tests to ensure the product performs quickly and exactly as it should be as per the requirements.
DevOps Environment To achieve speed and agility in DevOps, it is important to automate all the testing processes and configure them to run automatically when the deployment is completed in the QA Environment. As DevOps embraces a culture shift, it breaks silos to build, test and deploy applications in order to achieve quality with reduced deployment times and automation tools play an important role to achieve the implementation of CI/CD/CT. Thus, Test automation is undoubtedly the secret to the success of DevOps.
Benefits of Test Automation for both Agile & DevOps Methodologies Delivers accurate test results and ensures quality deliverables Facilitates automating maximum steps that can be automated Increases the speed of test execution Provides rapid feedback to reduce cost of fixing defects quickly and efficiently Saves time enormously due to shorter test cycle times Removes drudgery mundane tasks with automation of tasks Frees up manual testers who can be used for other more efficient tasks Ensures all measures to maximize benefits while minimizing costs Parallel execution of tests helps in reducing time-to-live, which in turn is the crux of a successful DevOps implementation Test automation also plays an important role in Shift Left approach as it unlocks continuous testing throughout the SDLC reducing the feedback loop and costs associated with testing
10 Striking Steps for a Basic Test Automation Approach
Evaluate to understand the real need for automation based on project type
Define automation goals and priorities
Select the right automation tool & framework based upon the project requirements
Decide on what test cases to automate
Create automated tests more resistant to UI changes
Execute the tests for the test scripts developed
Plan automated testing strategy
Develop good quality test data
Test early and often with CI/CD pattern
Maintain the test scripts easily
Business Benefits Organizations Get with a well-defined Test Automation Approach
Maximizes ROI
Ensures faster time to market
Delivers quality software products
Increases release velocity through CI/CD model
Reduces human errors as mundane tasks are automated
Ensures cost optimization
Conclusion The software testing process has been taking a shift left approach wherein testing is done along with the development with a CI/CD approach. With the agile and DevOps on the go, test automation needs to be adopted by enterprises to achieve quality at speed.
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