Driving Success with Automated Testing: Empowering the Shift-Left Approach in the Software Development Lifecycle

Introduction

Automated software testing and shift-left in the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) are closely related and complement each other. Understanding them and their relationship is the first step to getting their benefits.

Automated software testing involves using tools and scripts to execute predefined test cases and automatically compare the actual and expected results. It aims to improve testing processes' efficiency, accuracy, and repeatability by reducing manual effort and human error. Automated testing can be applied to various testing activities, such as unit, integration, regression, and performance.

Shift-left is a software development approach that emphasizes early and continuous involvement of testing and quality assurance activities throughout the SDLC. Traditionally, testing is performed towards the end of the development cycle, but shift-left encourages bringing testing activities earlier in the process. This approach aims to catch defects and issues as early as possible, reducing the cost and effort associated with fixing them in later stages of development.

Shift-left & Automated testing

Now, let's explore the relationship between them:

Early Test Coverage: By applying shift-left principles, you can integrate automated software testing into the development process from the beginning. Automated tests can be designed and executed as soon as code is available, even during the initial development stages. This helps achieve early test coverage, identify defects promptly, and prevent them from propagating further.

Continuous Integration and Delivery: Shift-left encourages frequent integration and delivery of software changes. Automated software testing plays a vital role in these continuous practices by automatically executing tests on each code commit or build. This ensures that any issues or regressions are caught early, facilitating faster feedback and reducing the time between code changes and test results.

Test-driven Development (TDD): Shift-left promotes the adoption of TDD, where developers write tests before writing the corresponding code. Automated testing tools enable developers to write and execute unit tests quickly. This approach allows the identification of defects early in the development cycle and provides a safety net for code changes and refactorings.

Collaboration and Feedback Loop: Automated testing helps foster collaboration between developers, testers, and quality assurance teams. With automated tests, developers can validate their changes and receive immediate feedback on potential issues. This facilitates communication and collaboration among team members, leading to faster bug resolution and overall improvement in software quality.

In summary, automated software testing and shift left in the SDLC work hand in hand. Automated testing enables early and continuous testing, aligning with the shift-left approach's goals. It helps achieve comprehensive test coverage, supports continuous integration and delivery, encourages test-driven development, and facilitates collaboration and feedback loops between different stakeholders involved in the software development process.

Not all that glitters is gold?

Unfortunately, there is always a but. Automated software testing has its Development Life Cycle, and one phase is the maintenance of the tests. Creating and maintaining test artifacts (UI maps, objects/images repositories, etc.) and test scripts (XPath, locators, etc.) are time and resources consuming.

Eliminating the maintenance burden associated with automated software testing can significantly further favor the shift-left approach in the Software Development Life Cycle.

Indeed:

• Reduced Overhead: automated software testing requires ongoing maintenance efforts to update the test scripts with the evolving application changes. This maintenance overhead can consume valuable time and resources, delaying the shift-left process. By eliminating or minimizing the need for maintenance, teams can focus more on testing early and frequently, aligning with the shift-left philosophy.

• Accelerated Feedback Loop: shift-left aims to provide fast and continuous feedback on the quality of software changes. This accelerates the feedback loop and helps identify and address defects early in the SDLC. When the maintenance efforts for automated tests are reduced, it allows for more efficient execution of tests, faster analysis of results, and quicker feedback to the development team.

• Agile Adaptability: in agile software development, where iterations and frequent releases are expected, quickly adapting and modifying automated tests becomes crucial. By reducing the maintenance overhead, teams can respond more effectively to changes and updates in the application. It enables them to keep the automated tests aligned with the evolving requirements, facilitating seamless integration of testing activities in the shift-left process.

• Developer-Friendly Approach: the shift-left approach encourages developers to take ownership of quality and testing activities. However, if the maintenance of automated tests becomes too burdensome, developers may become reluctant to engage in testing activities. By eliminating extensive maintenance, developers can more readily embrace testing as part of their daily work, leading to a more effective and collaborative shift-left approach.

• Scalability and Efficiency: automated software testing at scale can become challenging when maintenance efforts are high. As the size and complexity of the application grow, the maintenance burden can hinder the scalability and efficiency of automated testing. By reducing maintenance, teams can ensure that testing activities can keep pace with the application's growth and maintain efficiency, making it easier to implement shift-left practices across the SDLC.

Conclusion

In conclusion, eliminating or minimizing automated software testing maintenance favors the shift-left approach in the SDLC by reducing overhead, accelerating the feedback loop, promoting developer involvement, enhancing agility, and improving scalability and efficiency. By streamlining the testing process, teams can effectively integrate testing activities earlier in the SDLC, facilitating faster defect identification and resolution