Thanks to Agile and DevOps, we are currently experiencing a fundamental change in the way we deal with quality and testing. Anyone developing software today is on a journey where quality is no longer just a “downstream check”, but plays a central role from the very beginning and at every step. Agile and DevOps have ensured that development paths have been repaved. Testing has been positioned as a central component in the middle of this.
In the past, testing was often carried out at the end of a project. The developers wrote the code and then - if at all - the tester was given the code to test. Sometimes this worked well, but often errors were discovered too late, changes were expensive and confidence in the end product was … So, let’s put it this way: there’s still room for improvement. Agile and DevOps have completely called this model into question. Suddenly, we are required to focus intensively on quality not just at the end, but throughout the entire process.
Agile also has a strong argument for this: there is no other way!
But what is the best way to do this?
I think we need to rethink: In the agile environment, testing is not a phase, but a mindset. There is no such thing as a “testing phase” - no, every sprint, every iteration involves testing and quality activities. It’s not just about finding errors. We also have to check whether we are still on the right track. Tests are integrated into the development process at an early stage and ideally run automatically. This allows us to identify errors or security gaps before they even reach the next stage.
DevOps goes one step further. Through automation in CI/CD pipelines (Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery), tests are not only carried out continuously, but also without interruption. What is the goal? All so that the code goes live without errors.
“Agile and DevOps are the turbo for quality!” “Because there’s no other way!” - Richard Seidl
In really good DevOps teams, quality is a question of attitude. It’s no longer about fixing mistakes, but about doing everything right from the start. The processes are so well thought out that you know exactly what you have to do: Every step has to be clean. Everyone in the team, from the developers to the testers to the Ops specialists, is responsible for ensuring that the quality is right.
I help companies to follow this path. And it’s actually quite simple: first, the foundations are laid, for example with ISTQB and A4Q. Then the team considers which quality activities represent a lever in each phase from the project idea to production and maintenance - and how big this lever is. And then you start with the backlog. It’s not always easy, but it’s definitely worth it!
The revolution in testing is a revolution in mindset: I don’t think quality should be an afterthought, but an integral part of the development process. Agile and DevOps have shown us that quality is not a state, but an attitude. By tearing down the walls between development, testing and operations, we are making room for a culture in which quality takes center stage - and that ultimately strengthens the entire product.
For me as a tester, this is a dream come true. :-)