WHY DOES DEVOPS RECOMMEND SHIFT-LEFT TESTING PRINCIPLES

Companies have to find a way to afford to have goods succeed in today’s world of fierce competition and unpredictable market conditions. However, since applications and their development are complex, businesses are frequently exposed to significant risk. As a result, many DevOps teams are encouraging or implementing shift-left testing to cut risk and improve chances of success. This article delves into shift-left testing and why DevOps supports shift-left testing principles.

WHAT IS SHIFT-LEFT TESTING?

When traditional software development practices are used for application testing, it is usually at the end of the development cycle. If an application fails to meet quality standards, perform effectively, or otherwise meet the requirements, it is returned to the developers. This is not a real concern as issues discovered late in the development cycle are more complicated, time-consuming, and costly to resolve than defects found early in the process.

Shift-left is a software development approach focusing on discovering and fixing issues before they become bugs. Shifting to the left in DevOps is based on a continuous testing approach followed throughout the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).

Some DevOps best practices might help to clarify the shift-left concept;

  • Automate all processes: The more testing you can automate, the easier it will be to get started early and identify errors quickly.
  • Create quality from the start: Since the shift left testing strategy eliminates flaws, focusing on quality from the start is critical. It utilizes test-driven development as well as other high-quality coding standards.
  • Continuous testing: Testing is carried out constantly throughout the software development cycle. Early discovery and rectification of errors assist in the prevention of problems.
  • The entire team must be involved; it cannot only be about the shift left in testing. Quality should be considered from the start, and everyone should be held accountable for ensuring that the end product is of the highest caliber.

WHY SHIFT LEFT PRINCIPLES?

  1. Low costs: As previously stated, there will be a cost and significant labor involved in bug fixes if the issues are discovered later. And shift-left testing is performed immediately after each build to catch and resolve mistakes as they occur. A shift-left testing approach can lower total development, testing, and resolution expenses since errors are found early.
  2. Increased delivery speed: It is not a surprise that the sooner you start, the sooner you finish. Critical issues can be fixed quickly and efficiently when identified early in the Software Development Cycle. As a result, the time between releases has been reduced significantly, as well as the delivery time.
  3. Better quality software: When operations “shift left” to collaborate with development, they can create testing and deployment procedures. This allows developers to identify bugs that might otherwise go undetected until deployment—the more automated these tests are, the better. Shift-left testing will help a firm create a better end product. Finding errors in the later phases of development may necessitate hurried corrections to fulfill deployment deadlines. When shift-left testing is used, bugs are discovered earlier, resulting in more effective corrections.The capacity to prevent issues is another shift-left concept that influences product quality. This necessitates a different perspective from the one employed in the present, typical procedure. Focusing on prevention rather than detecting issues after they exist helps a firm produce a better product from the ground up.
  4. Time-Saving: Since testing begins at the beginning of the cycle, it is unlikely to run over budget or be delayed. This implies that timely delivery is achievable while maintaining quality.
  5. Increased competitive advantage: Developing a high-quality product on time is critical for many businesses survival, not simply success.DevOps encourages shift-left testing procedures since they help the overall success of a project. When shift-left testing is utilized to help avoid difficulties, improve product quality, and boost efficiency throughout product development, companies may meet deadlines while saving money.When a company spends time and money using shift-left testing in its software development process, it invests in its current and future success.
  6. Coordinate the bug fix: As testing begins with the first build, shift-left encourages greater collaboration between developers and testers. When speed and quality are essential, shift-left testing is the most effective strategy for synchronizing testing and development.
  7. Increased customer satisfaction: The code delivered after the development cycle that goes into production is cleaner, higher quality, and more reliable when using a shift-left strategy. In addition, users receive what they want now instead of waiting for new revisions since it can move to production with few or no noticeable problems.

CONCLUSION

The groundwork for shift-left success is laid with the two essential DevOps ideas of continuous testing and development. Switching to profit from a shift-left approach is rarely a simple route with a clear schedule. However, it is continuous and is intended to help you with your long-term development strategy.

Shift left testing is an effective method for increasing the quality of your software products. In addition, you may identify more issues before they reach production by moving the focus of testing earlier in the development cycle. In the long term, this may save you both time and money.

About The Author

Rejith Krishnan

Rejith Krishnan is the co-founder and CEO of CloudControl, a startup that provides SRE-as-a-Service. He’s also a thought leader and Kubernetes evangelist who loves to code in Python. When he’s not working or spending time with his two boys, Rejith enjoys hiking in the New England outdoors, biking, kayaking, and playing tennis.