The Best Ways to Include Quality Assurance in a CI/CD Software Lifecycle

In the past few years, a lot of businesses have implemented the CI/CD software lifecycle to speed up their software development. After all, the purpose of modern workflows is to improve productivity at work and make everyone’s lives simpler. Productivity and accuracy are crucial when testing in DevOps setups. Deployment automation is thus a prominent aspect of many software development methodologies.

However, CI/CD pipelines necessitate the adoption of rigorous QA testing standards, as with everything that involves test builds and modifications. By requiring less time and effort, these automated testing techniques enhance already used manual testing procedures. The process will only be made more efficient by identifying problems early and making sure you have a bug fix in hand.

Understanding the role of QA in CI/CD is crucial because it may aid businesses in successfully implementing it in their software lifecycle.

1. What is CI?

In the modern software development process, projects are divided into more manageable smaller chunks. They are split into two parts and then combined inside the trunk or main body.

The method of continuously integrating and testing the changes is referred to as “continuous integration,” or simply “CI.” An application’s code modifications are automatically created and tested on a regular basis.

Automated testing typically takes place at this step of the process, enhancing early bug identification and ensuring performance of the economy.

2. What is CD?

The process known as continuous delivery, which was developed in response to continuous integration, involves uploading changes to an application to repositories in advance of later deployment to the various application environments (Dev/QA/Production).

Keeping scheduled maintenance consistent at all times is the primary objective of continuous delivery.

3. Different CI/CD Stages

Phases of the CI/CD include the following:

Build: This stage is in charge of downloading the modifications and creating the programme in the specified environment.
Test: Automated tests are carried out during this phase, and the resulting artefacts are stored by the testers (if any).
Deploy/Release: The deployment environment is set up by DevOps engineers, who also supply the modifications within it.
Track: In order to respond appropriately to any failures, the team regularly monitors the application and the infrastructure that supports it.

4. What Does the CI/CD Process Look Like?

The ideal CI/CD methodology for enterprises consists of four key components. These elements include automation, automation, compatibility, and reliability. For CI/CD testing to be successful for a particular project, it must consider several factors, including:

4.1 Testing-Driven Development

Every component in the CI/CD pipeline must be in a deployable condition so that testers may test it automatically. Additionally, all of the test methods for the features utilized in each module must be included in the test suit.

4.2 Release Iterations

The modular architecture of CI/CD pipeline projects makes it possible for them to undergo repeated autonomous testing as needed. This is typically used to identify issues as they arise so that they can be fixed before the next stage of development begins.

4.3 Short iterations/Cycles

Teams must break the project down into smaller components to enable testing when creating software. Developers can use feature indicators as a way to divide testing into two or more stages if a development feature requires more resources than anticipated.

Utilizing short cycles serves the primary objective of identifying and fixing problems more quickly than testing a product that is nearly market ready.

4.4 Environment for Release Testing

Additionally, it is required to test every module in a setting similar to that in production. This is done to ensure that the process will function properly once it is delivered to end users. Even before their product is made available, testers need to see what the general public will see.

4.5 Ad-hoc Deployment

No of their version or environment, all modules must be prepared for on-demand deployment at all times. This method is advantageous since it enables testers to finish the testing and development processes more rapidly.

5. How to Integrate QA into Your CI/CD Pipeline

You should focus on the following in order to successfully integrate QA into your CI/CD pipeline:

5.1 Automate and run exploratory testing.

The success of CI/CD pipelines depends on exploratory testing; adding automation will only make things better. Before choosing to include a company in your pipeline, it is crucial to thoroughly evaluate it in QA.

Teams can start automating their process once everything is set up and you’ve determined which areas need to be automated. Implementing automation and exploratory testing effectively will only produce beneficial outcomes.

5.2 Choose the Correct CI/CD Tools

Nowadays, there are various automated testing solutions on the market, but it’s crucial to pick ones that fit your overall requirements. It’s also important to think about whether you need to test a web application or a mobile application that works with iOS, Android, or both platforms.

Finding the correct CI/CD tools might be challenging given the wide variety available today. In essence, make sure you choose those that complement and meet your requirements.

5.3 Automated Cross-Browser Testing with Selenium

A website is crucial for how your company is represented online; thus, it must be given the utmost care to ensure that it looks well across all browsers and devices. After implementing recent code changes via the CI/CD process, this could be a problem.

Therefore, running a cross-browser test is essential since it shows how a site performs when displayed in various browsers and browser versions. This procedure can be accelerated with the use of Selenium during test automation, hastening the release of the product.

5.4 Utilize cross-browser testing tools on the cloud.

Cross-browser testing solutions that are cloud-based can assist several test cases concurrently without truly relying on any particular hardware requirements, as opposed to on-premises testing tools.

5.5 Keep an eye out for load issues.

When implementing QA in a CI/CD software lifecycle, load conflicts must be continuously monitored. The key justification for this is that such reports will reveal why some parts failed testing and would detail the precise user actions that caused the load clashes.

Early detection of these problems allows developers to make modifications without delaying the process.

5.6 Coordinate testing with development

It is only inevitable for testers and developers to collaborate successfully in order for the CI/CD cycle and automation testing to function as intended. Together, we can achieve our aims and objectives, which will result in the outcomes we are looking for. The total quality of a project will significantly increase by cultivating such a collaboration from the beginning. Additionally, it will speed up the process of launching a product while maintaining its quality.

5.7 Improve Test Coverage by Including Fault Detection Testing

A web application’s resilience and test coverage can be improved by injecting bugs into the code during fault injection testing. Software resilience will be ensured by including this type of testing in the review procedure.

5.8 Automate each and every regression test.

Feature reconfiguration and issue fixing are part of regression testing. When it comes to older products, the CI pipeline functions well as a QA tool for automated regression testing. To make sure the programme maintains its original functionality despite the modifications made, an automatic smoke/regression test should be run before each deployment.

6. QA’s role in the CI/CD Pipeline and its importance

Despite having features created for continuous operations, many CI/CD pipelines today still use manual processes, which is a concern. Since manual testing causes iteration inefficiencies, it is simply ineffective.

The total rollout of the product is continually being delayed as delays start to mount. The CI/CD software lifecycle’s sluggish feedback, modifications, and releases defy logic since manual testing is unable to keep up with its changing requirements.

Based on the objectives of test suites, it is also important to run multiple tests concurrently. Teams must identify test cases and then run each one individually during manual testing, which slows down the process.

CI/CD and QA are two components that were meant to complement one another. This is because QA vastly simplifies delivery and deployment while assisting in bug correction. The continuous model and continuous quality assurance work perfectly together to speed up deployment and lower costs.

Another function of QA in CI/CD is to serve as a safety net, freeing up development teams to concentrate on writing code, making adjustments, and distributing updates rather than managing test environments.

7. Which Testing Methods Can You Automate Using CI/CD?

In CI/CD processes, automated testing plays a function that is as adaptable as the pipelines themselves. Furthermore, automated testing can be far more nimble than manual testing. Using CI/CD automation, teams may more easily handle a greater range of tests.

For instance, organizations can address the following categories of tests:

API testing
Load testing
UI testing
Regression testing
Unit and component testing
Functional testing
Non-functional testing
Cross-browser testing

In order to maximize efficiency, several tests can and should be run concurrently. The greatest method to improve your development teams is via continuous integration and continuous delivery systems, which include everything from version control to regression testing and even service virtualization. Cross-browser testing is exactly what it sounds like: testing a website across different browsers to uncover UI anomalies. It is particularly useful for developers who are focused on UI elements and behavior.

8. Conclusion

Quality assurance is an essential aspect of any software development lifecycle and including it in a CI/CD (continuous integration/continuous delivery) pipeline can greatly improve the overall quality of the software being developed. Here are some of the best ways to include quality assurance in a CI/CD software lifecycle:

Automated testing: Automated testing is an essential part of any CI/CD pipeline. It allows developers to test their code quickly and reliably, and identify issues early in the development cycle. Automated testing can include unit tests, integration tests, and end-to-end tests.
Code reviews: Code reviews are another critical aspect of quality assurance in a CI/CD pipeline. Developers should review each other’s code before it is merged into the main codebase. This helps ensure that the code is of high quality, and that any potential issues are identified and addressed before they cause problems down the line.
Continuous monitoring: Continuous monitoring is the practice of monitoring applications and infrastructure in real-time to identify and address issues as they arise. In a CI/CD pipeline, continuous monitoring can be used to track performance, identify security vulnerabilities, and ensure that the software is working as expected.
Peer testing: Peer testing involves having other members of the team test the software to identify any issues or bugs that may have been missed during automated testing. Peer testing can help catch issues that may be difficult to detect through automated testing alone.
Performance testing: Performance testing involves testing the software under various conditions to ensure that it can handle different levels of traffic and load. Performance testing should be done regularly to ensure that the software can handle the demands of real-world use.

By implementing these best practices, teams can include quality assurance in their CI/CD pipelines, resulting in higher-quality software and a more efficient development process.

TestDel enables software development organisations to take advantage of quality assurance without the complexity and expense of establishing their own internal teams. Our team is here to assist you if you need assistance integrating QA with your CI/CD pipeline.