Any product, to be successful in the long run needs to be thoroughly tested during its development phase. Software or product testing allows detection of defects which can be fixed or rectified in order to produce a product that is worthy of being sold to the end user.

However, product testing has evolved with time. Now with the Agile testing methodology being implemented at every stage of the development cycle, product testing ensures that every functional piece that is developed is tested in progression.

This allows identifying faults and defects upfront and then implementing changes right in the development phase to ensure an improved user experience and accelerated time-to-market, which is very much necessary in this era of innovation.

The Traditional Methods of Testing

In the traditional method of product testing, the development team works in isolation of the testing team. Once the development phase is completed, the testing process starts. However, waterfall methodology or other traditional methodologies are not ideal for long-term projects as it is very difficult to implement changes after the development, especially after the defects are found.

Traditional methods lay more emphasis on the initial requirements. While requirements evolve, it becomes difficult to accommodate new requirements into the current scope of testing. That is why there is a need for improved testing methods that can be implemented with the evolving requirements.

Although the traditional methods yield significant results, the new testing methods lend support in accelerating the time-to-market.

The Evolution from Waterfall Methodology to Agile Methodology

The waterfall testing methodology is just one phase in the process of product development. As the industry evolves and the technologies change, there comes a time to implement new methodologies that will yield better results and streamline the development process. The focus is to deliver better quality products in a timely manner.

Agile methodology is a practice that allows continuous iterations of development and testing throughout the lifecycle of the product. Both activities are concurrent unlike other traditional methods of product testing. Though it is loosely structured, in comparison to the traditional methods, it yields a greater advantage to the development teams as it allows them to fix errors on the go. Every iteration of the product is followed simultaneously by its own testing phase. It also allows implementing regression testing each time new features and functionalities are added to the product.

More than a testing phase, Agile methodology makes testing a continuous process, which is ideal to produce quality products. Along with continuous testing practices, test automation also becomes a critical component of testing. However, one needs to decide which tests will be automated to ensure that the testing process is both effective and time-saving.

Advantages of Implementing Agile

• Improved quality of products: Continuous testing allows identifying errors earlier in the development cycle. This leads to solving the identified errors in the following iterations. It also enables development teams to release products that adhere to the best quality standards.
• Reduced Risks: Agile promotes a measured approach to risks wherein risk management tasks are implemented keeping the business priorities in mind, rather than a one-size-fits-all strategy.
• Faster time to market: When the development and testing teams work in tandem with each other, it makes the development process easier and faster as each functional component is tested as they are developed. As the errors are identified early on, it helps in avoiding major hurdles in the future phases, allowing the development teams to release the product faster into the market.
• Product testing as a culture: In an Agile environment, everyone, including the developers takes part in the testing process, enabling identification and automation of tests, which in turn leads to better products. Product testing is embraced as a culture throughout the organization.
• Easy adaptation to evolving requirements: Most development projects evolve overtime and with traditional methods of testing, it becomes difficult to adapt to those changes. Agile being a flexible approach helps in adapting to the changing requirements easily.

Many companies around the world have achieved success by implementing Agile. The next generation of Agile is DevOps which is now perceived as a culture rather than a methodology.

Implementing DevOps as an Extended Arm of Agile

To address the changing market needs and respond to innovations in the Agile space, DevOps emerged, which has now been embraced by many companies around the world. DevOps is a culture more than a process, which combines development and operations efforts to speed up the time-to-market. It brings various high-level functions within the organization together, ensuring that all aspects of the development cycle work in cohesion.

DevOps culture enables sharing of responsibilities, cross-functionality, continuous integration and continuous delivery. However, to adopt DevOps, companies need to change their culture within the organization.  It helps remove any barriers and allows teams to automate processes and streamline the development process to enhance the quality of the product.

Advantages of Implementing DevOps

• Cohesion of teams: It brings the development and testing teams together and blurs the line between processes, allowing teams to bridge the gaps and work together.
• Automation: Certain processes can be automated, allowing the testing team to save time and at the same time increase the possibility to identify more errors.
• Scalability: In Agile testing methodology, the product development and testing is done by keeping the future in sight on the product roadmap. This allows easy scalability to develop a better product.
• Improved quality of products: When the errors are identified earlier on in the development process, it allows removing major roadblocks in the future. When there is a culture that pushes even the developer to test, it helps in improving the quality of the product.
• Continuous integration and testing: DevOps thrives on continuous integration and testing, which allow teams to commit code and automate tests on a continuous basis. This promotes speed due to the automatic merging of versions and also helps avoid duplication of efforts.

eInfochips utilizes and promotes methodologies such as Agile and DevOps as a part of QA and Test automation offerings to help companies perform continuous testing, develop quality products, and accelerate time-to-market, ensuring each product meets the expectation of the end users. Know more about our expertise in QA.