Software Quality Assurance: Importance for Successful DevOps
What is Continuous SQA?
Continuous Software Quality Assurance (SQA) is the process of evaluating and testing a piece of software to ensure that it meets specified quality expectations provided by the organisation. This process uses common testing techniques such as:
Unit Testing
User Acceptance Testing
Automated Testing
Performance Monitoring
Continuous SQA is different from normal SQA as it focuses on ongoing evaluations throughout the development of the software, rather than being conducted after the development is finished.
Benefits of Continuous SQA
Continuous Software Quality Assurance has several advantages and benefits that greatly aid in software development.
Find Issues Before They Become a Problem: The ongoing evaluations conducted on a piece of software will allow for the quick identification of potential problems before they can grow into more significant issues down the line.
Higher Software Quality: With continuous and thorough testing throughout the whole development process, more issues can be found and solved before the final product is shipped.
Adheres to DevOps: Continuous SQA closely aligns with the DevOps line of practices and principles. It outlines the importance of collaboration and teamwork between software development and IT teams, and continuous quality assurance ensures feedback is shared throughout the full development process.
Real-Time Feedback: Real-time feedback provides the software developers with knowledge on issues immediately, giving them sufficient time to make adjustments.
How Continuous SQA Helps to Achieve Successful DevOps
In a DevOps model, both software development and IT teams are merged in such a way that allows for continuous collaborative work throughout the entire development process of the software. For DevOps to work successfully, there are two things that are required: a shared goal or purpose and a process, framework, or technology.
This set of practices places an emphasis on cross-team collaboration, communication, and development. The use of the DevOps model can lead to:
Faster delivery
Collaboration and trust
Greater quality work
Time and money saving
Continuous SQA allows for the development and quality assurance teams to work together in harmony, developing the software together. This form of SQA promotes the practices that are laid out by the DevOps model.
KJR Case Study
At KJR, we have successfully implemented continuous SQA to properly ensure the quality of our client’s data while cultivating DevOps integration. To achieve a successful DevOps state, an organisation must be ready to collaborate and break down barriers between the development and IT teams.
To learn more about our approach to successful DevOps implementation, you can read our case study here.
Key Takeaways
To achieve successful DevOps, it’s important your organisation embraces the close collaboration of teams through techniques such as Continuous SQA. Real-time feedback is an opportunity to get immediate insights on software issues so that action can be taken to prevent further damage.
Ready to implement DevOps into your organisation? Get in touch with the team at KJR today to learn how we can assist you with your data quality needs.