How High-Performing Teams ‘Shift Left’ with Continuous Testing

AlexQin

Aggregate log files

Developers find themselves constantly drudging through log files. Even sophisticated solutions that monitor applications treat log files as a secondary feature, if at all. The focus for log files should be a core feature. Developers need easy access to log files across multiple components. When a tool can turn log files into structured data, it gives developers the resources to quickly find problems. This feature of logs-as-structured-data becomes a best practice. Developers should be able to query by various metrics (customer ID, etc.), and pull up logs across all systems associated with the software solution.

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Use the right continuous testing tools

There are numerous tools for the different components of continuous testing. These tools, however, do not always integrate well with each other. The ideal situation is to have a tool that is multifunctional and is already integrated. A multifunctional tool improves the project drastically across the board.

Retrace from Stackify is a performance monitoring tool that is highly integrated, and addresses the issues surrounding multiple testing tools. It rolls up many of these tools into one, which helps development teams increase the success of deployments. It allows developers to see every impact that their code has on all participating systems and apps. It has become an essential tool in achieving continuous testing benefits.

AlexQin

High-performing teams shift left

There are various interconnected processes that make up a high-performing team. Despite what you see in the movies, there is no “silver bullet” or “hack” that can magically turn a losing team into a champion. Instead, high-performing teams require a system, and the discipline to follow it. Agile and DevOps are two examples of a system that help development teams succeed.

High-performing teams also require a guiding principle. In the case of Agile and DevOps, that principle is “shift left”. By moving processes earlier in the SDLC, or better yet, integrating them throughout, development teams can create higher quality applications faster, and get the feedback needed for improvement. Continuous testing is a perfect example of shifting left.

Even as a single process, continuous testing is made up of various components that must work in unison. Team structure, testing schedule, and tools all play a critical role in the success of continuous testing. Agile and DevOps teams must get every piece right to see the benefits.

The challenge doesn’t stop there, however. High-performing teams go beyond continuous testing to create an entire continuous development process. Ready to learn more? Then check out our entire section on continuous software development.

AlexQin

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AlexQin

good job