Four Ways Quality Engineering and Continuous Test are Integrated into Development by QA Teams

The software testing and quality assurance industry is experiencing a lot of innovation. This allows them to improve their testing process and integrate it into automated development processes. A recent report from mabl, The 2021 Testing in DevOps Survey, found that software and web application testing is still a problem despite all the advancements in AI, cloud computing, and CI/CD. Many teams still rely on legacy software solutions that are expensive and difficult to use in today’s complex, fast-paced world of software development.

The Testing in DevOps Report, which surveyed more than 600 QA and DevOps professionals found that teams are still playing an important role in improving their organization’s DevOps maturity. They embrace quality engineering and expand automated testing into their development process.

See also Tools for Agile Software Development

QUALITY ENGINEERING DOES NOT END WITH A CATCHPHRASE

The survey revealed that only 11% of software professionals believe their teams are fully DevOps, despite the desire of many software developers to embrace it. This indicates that most teams are still finding ways of using automated, collaborative and iterative development methods.

The term “quality engineering” (or QE) is no longer a catchphrase. It is a framework that outlines how modern software development can adopt DevOps and improve the customer experience. This report showed a strong link between fully DevOps adoption, mature testing practices, and over half of fully DevOps teams claiming to have a culture that values quality. Quality testing is done early in the development process.

QE thrives when there is a culture of quality and continuous testing. Continuous testing can be done through both manual and automated testing. This allows more stakeholders to get involved in the organization’s quality strategy.

CONTINUOUS TESTING LOWERES RISK AND IMPROVES MORAL

Although it’s hard to believe that 2022 marks 21 years since the Agile Manifesto was launched. This document focuses on the development of software engineering practices that are collaborative and supportive of each other. Two decades later, continuous testing (CT), is closely linked to the adoption of Agile/DevOps practices. Software development teams should view testing as more than just the final phase of software development before production. It is a holistic process that integrates testing activities throughout the entire software development cycle.

The mabl report shows that early-stage DevOps users who have not implemented agile practices are twice as likely to report that they only test the code before it goes into production. This means that DevOps aspiring organizations are eight times more likely than fully DevOps teams to report that they only test the right code. This results in increased stress, higher error rates, lower morale, and more risk of defects falling into production. The result is lower stress in the whole development organization when you have established continuous testing methods.

BREAKING DEEP SILOS: MATURE NETWORK DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES MEANS AN INCLUSION CULTURE

Silos are something most people hate in theory. However, silos can be easy to rely on in daily life when there is so much to do. The mabl report revealed that only one third of DevOps practitioners recognize the benefits and importance of collaboration and inclusion. Software testing does not have to be a bottleneck. It can be done by bringing together all the teams to work on quality software. This allows for everyone to get involved in product development. Communication is open and active, which ensures that the right questions are answered, and quality practices are followed – even those non-functional requirements.

Software testing becomes much more efficient when whole teams work together on quality. Nearly half of fully DevOps team members – 43% – report finding bugs earlier in the development process, as opposed to only 16% of aspiring DevOps groups. Bugs that are discovered earlier in the development process are much easier to fix. 62% of DevOps team members can resolve bugs within eight hours. However, most DevOps teams require between 8 and 24 hours to correct defects. A fifth of DevOps team members expect bug fixes to take two days. This is a significant delay if deployments are done on a daily or weekly basis.

CONNECT CODE TO A CUSTOMER WITH HIGHTEST COVERAGE

The world has seen a dramatic shift in the last two years. Consumers today are setting new standards for digital experiences and have increased their expectations due to the pandemic. Software innovation is not possible if testing practices don’t evolve with the automated pipelines. According to the mabl report, 80% of high-test coverage teams reported high customer satisfaction while only 3% reported low customer satisfaction. This compares to the teams who claimed they had low test coverage. They reported a close 50/50 split between high- and low-happy customers. QE leaders who emphasize quality engineering metrics such as test coverage will be better equipped to show the business value of DevOps maturity and address the cultural shifts that still prevent it from becoming mainstream.

CONCLUSION

As software testing becomes more automated and matures, the role of QA/DevOps continues to evolve. Modern testing methods will continue to be demanded as more teams integrate quality engineering.