From Agile to DevOps – The most important Evolution in Software Testing

In the field of testing, time is of the essence. It is all about faster results and improvements in the area of development and operations. To be the leading testers in the industry, you have to be quicker than others in terms of producing positive results. Now with Agile and DevOps, the whole process of software testing is easier than ever. However, it was not the same a few decades ago. First came in the Agile at the turn of the century and then came in the incredible DevOps in the recent years, taking the field of software testing to the next level. So, how did this shift happen? What was the process involved? In this blog, we talk about the most important evolution in software testing that changed the industry forever.

What was the philosophy of bringing in Agile?

Agile, as the name suggests, intended to make things easier for the testers by allowing them to break the long process into smaller chunks, called ‘User Stories’, and solve the issues with ease by improving the speed of feedback loops and thus producing features in accordance with the market needs. Agile methodology involves continuous repetition development and testing techniques in the Software Development Life Cycle Process (SDLC), focussing on the iterative, incremental and evolutionary development.

What was the problem with Agile?

Agile focussed on improving the efficiency of small teams and small projects, as back in the early 2000s only startups did the testing. Everything seemed to be perfect for smaller teams but in came the problems when the volume of work increased. The operations and development of the software took a hit and thus required a new approach to tackle the problems. Agile was not able to manage when the scale of the tests and software increased.

Changes in the market demanded a change in the methodology as well

In a world where everything is based on deadlines and time limits but without a compromise in the quality, the software testing industry required a more potent philosophy or methodology than the Agile. The time was for end-to-end business solutions and faster delivery. It required separate teams to focus solely on their area of work, which was not the case in Agile as there was just a single team performing all the different tests and processes. The time was for automation, as it helped in improving the delivery time. The biggest need of the hour was to bring in a working method that allows the testers to produce better results quickly to facilitate the deployment of software as early as possible.

DevOps to the rescue

To improve the quality and development, the natural step in the evolution was to integrate the sectors of development and operations into one. This resulted in the birth of DevOps, which is basically a set of rules or principles that allows the two teams to work efficiently. DevOps is a culture that the testers follow to allow the development and operations of a software to go hand-in-hand to produce faster results. DevOps believes in delivering results in a continuous manner, better organisational performance and cost-reduction. DevOps focuses on developing, testing and implementation equally whereas Agile focussed just on the development phase. This is where DevOps is so different from Agile, as it produces software that is ready to deployed, keeping in mind the operations and business readiness.

DevOps is a term that is deeply misunderstood in the industry. Some think that it is a set of script or a team of developers but it is a methodology or psychology of how to integrate the development and operations of a software to churn out faster results. DevOps brought about a change in the industry by letting testers across teams collaborate to produce high quality and reliable results, irrespective of the scale. DevOps is now such a successful methodology that not just the startups but the Fortune 1000 companies too are opting for the same to deliver results according to the demands of the market.

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