Instead of DevOps being an extension to Agile, the software testing strategies in DevOps and Agile are very different to each other. Before moving to the testing let us know the difference between Agile and DevOps.

Why DevOps?

Although there are not much differences between Agile and DevOps Testing, people working with Agile find DevOps familiar to work with. While Agile conventions are implemented successfully in the development & QA iterations, it works differently on the operations side. With the help of DevOps this gap is amended.

Drawback of Using the Old Method for Testing

The traditional way of testing a build includes a cycle in which the build is deployed to the QA environment and the functional and regression testing is done on this environment. For the period in which the testing is being done the build ideally sit until the testing status is provided by the QA. This approach is changed in DevOps.

How using DevOps will Change the Quality of your Software?

In DevOps speed and agility is the basics for DevOps and for this we automate all the testing processes. Simultaneously, when development is completed in the QA environment, all the processes are configured to run them automatically. There are different types of tools used for automation and continuous integration tools for integration. A solid and easy to user framework used for writing the scripts also speed up the process of testing.

Prerequisites for QA:

• QA efforts are aligned in DevOps cycle.
• Our QA ensures that the test cases they make and automate have about 100% code coverage and no important point is missed.
• QA make sure that the environment on which the build is deployed is standardized and it is automated.
• QA already prepares the automation scripts for all the pre and post tasks that are aligned with the Continuous Integration cycle.

Strategy that We Use in DevOps:

1. The test cases are identified first that are required to be executed.

2. After a new build is released, our QA and dev team sit together discuss and identify for the affected areas. Sanity testing is done and also the related tested cases are.

3. We make sure that 100% code coverage is achieved by using coverage tools.

4. All the regression test cases that are required to pass a test are executed.

5. When a new feature is introduced to existing code, before deploying it to the production the interim build is given to QA, who create test scripts for these features and run these on interim builds until the build becomes stable.

6. All the environments on which testing is to be performed are standardized and all the deployments are automated.

7. To make the application more compatible and have a high performance, different automation techniques are used and for web applications cross-browser technique is used.

8. One of the main specialties of DevOps is the time constraint. Thus, to reduce the time parallel execution of tests is done.

9. There needs to be criteria to take the build to the production. For this an exit criteria is set for each run. If this exist criteria is passed then the build is taken to the production environment.

10. Before deploying the build to the production environment, the blockers and bugs with high priority need to be reported & fixed. Only after these bugs are resolved and passed, the build is deployed to production environment.

Application Monitoring

QA works proactively and detect and report the bugs as early as possible. Also, to avoid any failure at production environment, we set up monitoring on the production environment. This helps to find bugs before they turn into failures.

For getting a more fine testing, we set up specialized counters like response times, memory & CPU utilization, etc. which provide a lot of insight into the end-user experience.

For example, if the average response time for submitting a contact form is more than the expected time in a build, the issue is reported and is handled in current build as it make become a concern for the future builds due to high response times.

Execution of high priority test cases periodically on production environment can also be helpful to catch bugs like “This is a random bug” or “Unable to reproduce”. This will help to get a more stable build and more customer satisfaction.

Conclusion

The hierarchy of software testing includes Waterfall Model that was replaced by V-Model which in turn was taken over by Agile.

Now, if we look to the future DevOps is what we see. It is a methodology that has the ability to deliver applications and services at high speed as discussed in starting. It’s a continuous development.

The concept basically is the same to produce a product that is user friendly and gives them a sense of satisfaction. Here at BugRaptors, we use DevOps to give you a quality product in less time using automation.