Shift Left Testing

Apply Shift-Left Testing – Approach

Discussions

The way the markets’ demands for better quality products are evolving, poses a constant challenge for DevOps teams, developers, and QA teams to adopt newer and improved methodologies of working. Traditionally all software development processes follow an approach called the waterfall model. In this model, the hierarchy of a project has the following pattern:

  • Establishing System and Software requirements.
  • Analyzing the requirements and planning the process.
  • Designing the Program.
  • Developing a code for the software.
  • Testing the software.
  • Operations.
  • Maintenance

This can be viewed as a sequential and linear approach to testing. One step in the sequence is completed and only then the next step is undertaken. As seen above, the waterfall model testing of the software is done at the end of the cycle.

In the newer software development approaches, the testing process is incorporated between the development and design cycles to eliminate repeating the work from scratch in case of detection of any errors or bugs.

Continuous testing is all about testing often so that bugs may be fixed, and errors may be rectified as soon as they are detected instead of waiting for the end of the development cycle. This is a critical factor in bringing down the time-to-market of the products.

What is Shift-Left Testing?

Shift-Left Testing is a testing practice usually used in Agile teams that have high pressure of producing quality applications in a limited time.

In such environments, it is ideal to begin the testing process early in the development cycle, which can help fix bugs and result in bug-free and error-free software in less time.

Shifting left basically implies shifting testing to the left of the development cycle, which means undertaking to test earlier rather than later.

Let’s understand Shift-Left Testing more closely and in contrast to the traditional waterfall approach:

When following the traditional approach, the software developers analyze, plan, design, and develop a particular software. Now it is time to start the testing process. While testing, the testing team finds a bug in the program. A bug indicates that the program must go back to the developer working on another application. In this way, this approach requires multiple repetitions to be done, which takes up a lot of time and decreases productivity.

In a similar scenario, let us see how shift left testing will produce better and faster results. The testing process is incorporated earlier in the development cycle. The developers and the testing team, work in tandem, with the testers giving their feedback as soon as issues are detected. Hence, there is a continuous loop of feedback and corrections resulting in an output of enhanced quality products in lesser time.

Consequences of Late Testing in a Software Development Cycle.

The waterfall methodology has always been the textbook approach in a software development cycle. Unfortunately, it has many negative consequences as the testing is shifted towards the last panel in the sequence. Let’s have a look at some of the downsides of testing later in the SDLC:

  • It keeps the Software Testers away from the planning and designing of the project
  • It consumes more time as there is a higher risk of errors in the project, which have to travel the development cycle repeatedly to get fixed.
  • It makes the software tester’s job difficult as the integration and production of the software are completed without debugging.
  • Software testers are given significantly less time to debug, which directly influences the product quality.
  • It fatigues the personnel involved in the whole cycle, which hampers productivity.
  • Limited code coverage is achieved in this process due to encapsulation.

The above consequences directly negatively influence the company’s resources, product quality, time, and vast money. Ultimately, your business itself is at higher risk with such outcomes. This makes an extremely strong case for the introduction of shift-left testing.

Different types of Shift-Left Testing:

The shift-Left Testing approach is divided into four classes:

1.   Traditional Shift-Left Testing:

  • This type of Shift-Left Testing majorly focuses on unit testing and integration testing.
  • Unit testing and integration testing are the testing methods performed at the initiation.

2.   Incremental Shift-Left Testing:

  • The software development cycle is segregated into smaller increments with a shorter time frame in this type of testing.
  • Every small increment delivered to the customer requires testing; hence the process is shifted to the left, including developmental and operational testing.
  • Incremental Shift-Left Testing is possible in large, complex software development systems with significant hardware incorporation.

3.   Agile/ DevOps Shift-Left Testing.

  • Agile and DevOps projects have many sprints and shorter duration testing cycles.
  • It is restricted to developmental testing and is not used in operational testing.
  • It is the most popular and currently trending Shift-Left Testing Method.

4.   Model-based Shift-Left Testing.

  • It is a type of Shift-Left Testing method that concentrates on the architecture, executable requirements, and software design.
  • Model-based Shift-Left Testing was introduced because most methods concentrated on the coding part.
  • It is a new technique gaining an audience and is predicted to become the town’s talk soon.

All the four types of Shift-Left Testing methods are known to be great to begin with, but there is an evident historical progression from the Traditional way to the Model-based approach.

What are the benefits of Shift-Left Testing?

There are some fantastic benefits of adopting Shift-Left Testing such as the following:

1.   Early Detection of Bugs:

  • As the Shift-Left Testing practice incorporates testing early in the developmental cycle, there is early detection of bugs and errors in the software application, which helps to avoid repetitive developmental processes.

2.   Increased Reliability:

  • The applications developed through incorporating the Shift-Left Testing Approach are of excellent quality as they are bug-free at the end of the developmental cycle. The superior product quality increases the reliability of the product. A good product always speaks more about the system than anything else.

3.   Faster Output:

  • Speed is a significant factor in enhancing productivity in a software business. Shift-Left Testing as an approach intensifies quality output at a much higher speed than any traditional software development method.

4.   Superior Quality Products:

  • Shift-Left Testing adopts the idea of incorporating testing early in the developmental cycle; it enhances the quality of software products which means an entirely error-free application.

5.   Supports a Collaborative Work Environment:

  • A collaborative work environment is a great way to develop personal and professional skills; varied opinions on the table lead to unique and premium quality products.
  • In a Shift-Left Testing approach, both the software developers and the testers work hand-in-hand as a team, whereas in the traditional method, it is more of a hierarchy than teamwork.

6.   Supports Automation:

  • Shift-Left Testing incorporates Automation Testing as it follows End to End Testing in the process.
  • Automation Testing is advantageous in many ways; it helps to perform multiple tests simultaneously; it helps to reduce human errors and it facilitates production issues.

7.   Saves Cost:

  • The approach of Shift-Left Testing saves a lot of time and resources.
  • Any software that needs to go through the entire software development cycle upon detection of errors, is a considerable loss for the company. Shift-left testing, thus, helps to significantly bring down costs

8.   Increases Productivity:

  • When products are getting delivered at a much higher speed quickly with enhanced quality, it encourages and excites the software personnel to achieve more.
  • Hence, the Shift-Left Testing approach is an excellent boost to the productivity of the software company.

What are the strategies involved in Shift-Left Testing?

There are a few key strategies that can help to move the software testing process to Shift-Left Testing. The strategies are:

1.   Planning the Demands:

  • It involves discussions between the test analysts and the operational business stakeholders about the project’s demands.
  • The above set of people will plan according to the given demands and finalize the project’s budget, resources, and test strategies.
  • Demand Planning is the initiation bell for all the activities in a testing cycle.

2.   Static Testing:

  • It is a type of testing performed in the early stages of a software development cycle.
  • It involves validation of the design and the requirements pertaining to the project.
  • It saves a lot of money as any defects found at the later stages of the development cycle can cost a fortune to remove.

3.   Unified Test Strategy:

  • It is a test strategy that involves an End-to-End Testing, which includes a testing strategy from the start, a unit test, till the end, which is post-deployment testing.
  • Unified Test Strategy is a great way to analyze software dependencies on the test strategy, environment, automation, etc., to ensure that all the concerned teams fulfill the requirements.

4.   Risk Management:

  • It is the most crucial part of any software development cycle as it acts as a measure to reduce the risks of failure.
  • It involves analyzing and assessing all the possible test cases and determining the impact of failure.
  • It is mainly used in functional, non-functional, and regression methods of testing.

Software Tools to Incorporate Shift-Left Testing.

Many software tools can help incorporate Shift-Left Testing into your software business. These also offer a great way to incorporate automation into the testing processes. A few tools are:

1. Katalon

  • Katalon Studio is an End-to-End Testing tool that induces automation in the system.
  • It is a codeless tool.
  • It offers keywords, libraries, repositories, and ready-made templates for testing.
  • It is cloud-based with a superior debugging capacity.
  • It enhances multiple testing with different machines at the same time.
  • Its pricing starts from $599 a year.

 2. Bqurious

  • Bqurious is an exceptional AI-based, codeless automation platform that will help adopt the shift-left approach to testing, efficiently.
  • It supports seamless integration with CI/CD pipelines.
  • It helps to undertake end-to-end testing and create stable, self-healing tests.
  • Bqurious is offered as a licensed software with an annual subscription.

3. Test Left

  • As the name suggests, this is an automation tool that allows you to begin with Shift-Left Testing.
  • It allows testing at the design phase when the UI is ready.
  • It can be installed in local machines and perform multiple parallel tests.
  • It is integrated with CI/CD tools and supports in-sprint test automation.
  • Its pricing starts from $1259 per year.

4. Test Sigma.

  • It is an AI-powered tool that supports Shift-Left Testing.
  • It is an automation tool that allows writing test cases from the design phase.
  • It is a cloud-based tool that supports parallel test execution.
  • It also supports in-sprint testing automation.
  • It reports bugs via communication platforms like teams, emails, etc.
  • The pricing for this tool begins at $99.

5. Ranorex Studio.

  • It is a codeless test automation tool that supports Shift-Left Testing.
  • It is integrated with numerous DevOps tools.
  • It has diversifiable usage as it can be used both by beginners and experienced testers.
  • It is a cloud-based tool that has excellent debugging capacity.
  • It supports in-sprint testing and parallel testing.
  • It is a slightly expensive tool, with a starting price of $3590.

6.   Sauce labs

  • It is a cloud-based automation testing tool that supports Shift-Left Testing.
  • It allows testing in the design phase itself.
  • It has a visual testing feature that allows for a shift to functional testing workflows.
  • It supports in-sprint testing and parallel testing.
  • It offers three different types of plans according to usage requirements.

Challenges in Shift-Left Testing.

We have observed the numerous advantages of the Shift-Left Testing approach. It is important to note that it is a very technical approach and hence, it has its share of challenges in operations. Some of these challenges are:

  • Shift-Left Testing requires a good planning process for ensuring that the execution is carried out well in the test cycle.
  • It requires the presence of well-trained employees to execute the process of Shift-Left Testing.
  • The training and transition phase requires excellent quality maintenance to succeed in this process.
  • Sometimes Software Developers also need to undergo training in testing as this approach requires an early testing cycle.
  • Regular audits are mandatory before introducing the Shift-Left approach into any software company.

Conclusion

A software company has a huge challenge to produce quality products in a designated amount of time; hence it is appropriate to incorporate newer technologies into the business to reach the set requirements.

Shift-Left Testing can be a great approach, as it initiates testing early in the development cycle. When incorporated early in the software development cycle, a testing method relieves both the developers and testers by bringing out great quality products faster.

Any business has a single goal to generate profitable revenue and create magic through its products. The products speak to the customers intimately; hence a superior quality product is a clear roadmap to a successful business.

We personally believe that incorporating the Shift-Left Testing method into your system can aid you to come up with premium quality products and gain significant revenue and bundles of joy in the form of customer reviews.