Continuous testing

In DevOps software development, five key phases play a crucial role:

• Continuous Integration
• Continuous Testing
• Continuous Delivery
• Continuous Deployment
• Continuous Provisioning

We previously discussed continuous integration, which is the process where developers continuously merge their code into the main codebase, ideally multiple times per day. Each integration triggers automated tests and checks. By more often and more easy integration errors become earlier detected and in this way also resolved faster.

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The traditional way of Software testing

Testing has always been an important part of software development. It’s the process of validating whether the product meets the client's requirements and expectations. During testing, teams determine if the product functions correctly and aligns with the needs of the end user

The test phase helps decide whether development can proceed or if improvements are needed first. The sooner and more frequently this is done, the better. If you build too long on a not properly developed product , fixing it later in the process will become more complex and time consuming. This was one of the main challenges of traditional testing.

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What is Continuous testing?

Continuous testing is a process in which code written (during the Continuous Integration phase ) is tested in various ways. Tests are done on integration, performance, speed, and user acceptance. Tests can be modified, added, or removed as needed. With continuous testing everying runs automatically - no manual intervention is needed

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The advantages of continuous testing for companies.

Continuous testing has become an indispensable part of DevOps software development. However, despite its advantages, adoption has been relatively slow. A study by test tool provider Zephyr revealed that while around 70% of organizations have embraced Agile methodologies, only 30% have implemented Continuous Testing.

And that’s a missed opportunity. Continuous testing provides constant visibility into the quality of your software. This allows better course correction, as bugs and errors are detected earlier and can be fixed more quickly. As a result higher quality software can be delivered faster.