Shift left testing in DevOps and role of automation testing solutions
Tags: automation, testing
Published: 2023-03-16 05:30:52

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In today’s world, where businesses are becoming increasingly agile, testing processes have to rapidly adapt in order to keep up with the pace of change. To meet this demand, the concept of “shift left” testing has become more prevalent within DevOps teams. 

Shift left testing is a strategy where tests (usually automated) are run early in the development process on core components and services. This practice helps developers identify issues earlier in the software development life cycle (SDLC), allowing them to quickly react and make course corrections if needed. As such, shift left testing in DevOps can be seen as an essential component of achieving continuous delivery and improving overall product quality. 

Automation testing solutions play a critical role in successful shift left testing deployments. By automating test suites and running them at regular intervals throughout development cycles, teams can ensure that all changes made align with their standards for quality and functionality. 

Automation solutions also allow testers to quickly analyze large amounts of data without sacrificing accuracy or coverage levels. Additionally, automation allows testers to quickly verify new features against existing requirements before they go live, enabling better control over the entire deployment pipeline. 

**How to select the right tool**?

One key factor for success when utilizing automation solutions for shift left testing is selecting the right tool for your team’s needs. There are numerous test automation frameworks available today; each one possessing its own strengths and weaknesses depending on how it fits into your SDLC workflow. Open source solutions such as Selenium or Cypress tend to offer plenty of flexibility for customizing tests but require significant setup effort, while subscription-based tools like Applitools provide access to advanced analytics capabilities with minimal installation overhead but may not fit into tighter budgets or restricted development environments. Choosing the best fit for your team requires careful consideration, but once done will help ensure that you get maximum value out of your automated tests while minimizing time spent configuring them. 

There are multiple benefits associated with effectively implementing shift left testing through automated solutions: faster turnaround times on bug fixes, improved customer satisfaction due to increased product quality, reduced risk by finding issues earlier in production pipelines, increased visibility into system health, improved communication between developers and testers via shared reports on test results etc…  Overall these advantages lead to less time spent debugging production applications after launch which translates into cost savings across the board (less downtime means more sales). 

**To summarize**:

Shift left testing is an essential component of DevOps success that should not be overlooked if organizations want their applications to remain competitive in today’s marketplace. Automation testing solutions play an important role in helping testers implement this strategy efficiently by reducing manual effort required for repetitive tasks and providing deeper insight into system performance than could otherwise be achieved. When used correctly these tools can help save both time and money while maximizing product quality across the board – making them an indispensable part of any modern software development team’s arsenal!