Test Early, Test Frequently, is it still relevant?

Software development has become the sine qua non for enterprises looking to embrace digitization to increase efficiency, reduce waste, and achieve ROI. At the same time, reaching out to customers with quality software in the quickest possible time is what drives the whole digital ecosystem. However, maintaining the quality of software is not always an easy thing to do, for there is a conflicting business imperative of keeping the cost within limits as well. Add to this the rapidly changing technology and development models and you are caught between the devil and the deep sea – executing rigorous testing and keeping the cost within limits.

If previously it was about following the traditional waterfall model of manual testing to identify and eliminate bugs in the software, today the situation is different. The difference has come about on account of an increased threat of malware, changing customer preferences, and an intense competition to be the first one in the market. The three imperatives can only be met if enterprises ensure the security, quality, and speedy delivery of software. Needless to say, the traditional waterfall model of software testing does not fit the bill to address the above mentioned imperatives. The reasons include the model’s slowness in executing manual testing, poor test coverage, and a little scope for repetitive testing.

The Agile DevOps model of Testing early and frequently

The inadequacy of the waterfall model stemmed from the fact that software testing post development and integration increased the complexity of eliminating glitches. This is due to the fact that developers, in order to fix glitches, had to unbundle the codes to reach the unit level. This led to the adoption of the Agile model of software development where the software testing approach is shift left. In other words, the testing of software is done early on during the development cycle as the two processes (development and testing) are executed simultaneously in what is called a development sprint. The software testing approach forms part of the Agile and DevOps methodologies in which Continuous Integration and Delivery are the key outcomes.

In today’s scenario of software development, Continuous Integration pre-empts many integration glitches. It ensures the SDLC delivers a well-knit software that meets the business objectives. In simple terms, the Agile model of software testing methodology incurs fewer expenses to fix glitches vis-à-vis the waterfall model.

Why Agile?

The software development process, especially the mission critical one, has become complex. This is due to the fact that software needs precision to be able to function effectively across a slew of digital elements. These include devices, platforms, frameworks, operating systems, browsers, and networks. To meet the deadlines of software development, testing, integration, and delivery within the specified time and cost, different teams work collaboratively.

The future of software testing – is test early, test frequently still relevant?

The advent of new technologies has whetted the appetite of customers. The customers of today look for software that has amazing features and functionalities, and at the same time, are quick and precise in delivering outcomes as well. Moreover, as the functioning of software depends on its interfaces (read APIs) with the immediate digital environment, the resulting complexity can only be addressed by the Agile-DevOps’ testing early and testing frequently software testing methodology.

Also, since the end customer experience has become the be-all and end-all objective for enterprises to stay competitive, the cornerstones of DevOps viz., Continuous Integration and Delivery have become the rigmarole to be followed in any SDLC. To ensure tomorrow’s software straddling cutting edge technological paradigms like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Internet of Things, Blockchain, Predictive Analysis, Big Data and others delivers the business objectives, the following processes should be embraced.

Test Automation: The best way to address the software testing challenges is by embracing test automation of a select number of processes. In fact, Artificial Intelligence can be used to write automated test scripts and predict glitches based on analysing the past outcomes.

Security Testing: The security threats from malware have become arguably the biggest challenge facing the global digital ecosystem. To address the challenge, every software should have security as an integral part of its testing in the DevOps mould.

Regression Testing: The slew of modern software testing validating the performance, functionality, usability, and security of software should have regression testing at the unit level. This would enable the software to be compatible with the many versions of the elements of digital environment.

Conclusion

Test early and frequently is not passé but rather underpins the whole software application testing architecture in the SDLC. Its relevance is only going to increase as more enterprises take the digital transformation initiative to stay competitive.

Diya works for Cigniti Technologies, Global Leaders in Independent Software Testing Services Company to be appraised at Cmmi-Svc v1.3, Maturity Level 5, and is also Iso 9001:2015 & Iso 27001:2013 certified.