www.wipr.cm TESTING TIMES: HOLISTIC ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT IN AN AGILE WORLD Peri Narasimha, Slutin Architect
Table f Cntents 03... Abstract 03... Mapping the Strategy 04... Service Integratin Creating a Unified TEM Mdel 05... Service Autmatin: Cntinuus Integratin and Cntinuus Delivery 06... Service Optimizatin: Adherence t Best Practices 06... Cnclusin 07... Abut the Authr 07... Abut Wipr Ltd.
Abstract As mre and mre rganizatins adpt agile Testing methdlgies, managing their Test envirnments becmes mre challenging due t the frequently changing business requirements. This als has an assciated impact n the Test executin and Test cverage. Agile way f sftware develpment requires a wrking cde at the end f every 2-3 weeks, which calls fr cntinuus cllabratin f the Testing team with ther crss functinal teams which culd be gegraphically dispersed IT departments are, thus, under tremendus pressure t ptimize csts and accelerate prvisining speed and increase availability f the Test envirnments. T be able t respnd t these challenges and assciated business needs, IT departments need t invest a significant amunt f mney and effrt in technlgies and methdlgies such as Cntinuus integratin Cntinuus delivery (CI/CD), virtualizatin and autmatin. Mapping the Strategy Test Envirnment Management (TEM) is a multi-dimensinal functin in the sftware delivery prcess which aids testing by prviding validated, stable and usable envirnments t execute test scenaris. Fr mst rganizatins tday, TEM des nt exist as a separate functin r entity due t which rganizatins fail t tap int its full ptential. This ften results in higher peratinal csts, negative impact n quality and database and peratins. The challenges multiply when rganizatins transfrm frm a traditinal way f testing t a mre agile envirnment. Fr instance, a single prject running in agile methd can have multiple releases and each release has multiple iteratins. Prviding rightly cnfigured envirnment fr each release and iteratin is quite challenging, given the scpe f changes that typically take place in agile methdlgy. lwer availability f test envirnments. It is als a challenge fr many rganizatins t manage their test methdlgy are described in detail belw: 3
Service Integratin: Creating a Unified TEM Mdel Unlike traditinal mechanisms f testing, Agile Testing needs an n-demand envirnment prvisining, higher availability and right cnfiguratins. The test envirnment team als has t manage the envirnments until all the iteratins are cmpleted. T cater t these demands, IT departments need t establish a unified test envirnment management mdel which enables seamless crdinatin between testing and all stakehlders. The Unified Test Envirnment Management Mdel creates a single pint f cntact fr the testing team t c-rdinate with and will be accuntable fr test envirnments and their related activities. In an agile envirnment, the test envirnment team perfrms all necessary activities like test infrastructure management, test data management, crdinatin and supprt, and deplyment management activities. Unlike the cnventinal way f testing, the agile methd integrates all test envirnment activities (see Figure 1). Assets & Inventry Testing Cde Deplyments Cde Deplyments Test Data Testing TCOE Crdinatin & Supprt Test Infra Crdinatin & Supprt Test Data Assets & Inventry Test Infra Task-based apprach Gal-based apprach Fragmented Unified delivery mdel N E2E Ownership E2E wnership and accuntability Figure 1: Unified Test Envirnment Management The first step twards building this mdel wuld be t understand elements critical f test envirnments. Typically, a test envirnment lifecycle cnsists f tw layers: 1 2 Infrastructure layer Applicatin and peratins layer BENEFITS OF THIS APPROACH: This apprach is cllabrative in nature as it integrates infrastructure, data, applicatin deplyment and supprt peratin services. This results in reductin f cmplexities and prvides end-t-end wnership and accuntability f the test envirnments In this mdel, the test envirnment team has cmplete wnership f these tw layers, invlving tasks starting frm envirnment prvisining, allcatin, supprt and maintenance t envirnment clean-up and refresh activities. Envirnment assets, resurces and envirnment peratins are cnslidated under a single umbrella. This results in creatin f synergy which, in turn, results in eliminatin f envirnment specific impediments and simplificatin f structures and prcesses 4
Service Autmatin: Cntinuus Integratin and Cntinuus Delivery In agile testing, each release prgram is structured with multiple releases and each f these releases generates a wrking prduct at the end f each iteratin r sprint. During such situatins, fulfilling test envirnment specific demands is the biggest challenge faced by the envirnment management team. As the vlume f wrk and the number f changes is high due t multiple iteratins f a typical prject, it makes sense t increase the autmatin ftprint as much as pssible in all facets f the delivery prcess. This als helps rganizatins save n time and csts as they are nt expsed t the hazards f manual prcesses. The illustratin belw depicts the brader areas in test envirnment management where autmatin is imprtant fr creating cntinuus integratin and delivery framewrk. TEST ENVIRONMENT LAYER WHICH KEY AREAS CAN BE AUTOMATED? BENEFITS Operatins Envirnment bkings Knwledge management Service desk Reprts and dashbards Faster envirnment bking Easy access f knwledge base Single pint f cntact Better visibility and cntrl thrugh detailed reprting Applicatin & Data Applicatin installatin & cde deplyments Versin management Test data generatin & masking Service virtualizatin Faster installatins and cde deplyments Higher availability f test data Early testing and higher test cverage by leveraging service virtualizatin Infrastructure Hardware virtualizatin Infrastructure mnitring Reduced lead time fr infrastructure prvisining Higher reuse and cst savings BENEFITS OF IMPLEMENTING CI/CD: Quick ROI generatin by reducing time and cst while increasing quality thrugh increased autmatin, virtualizatin and reductin in errrs Imprves efficiencies and prvides faster reslutin acrss rutine test envirnment management tasks such as scheduling, service desk, prvisining etc. 5
Service Optimizatin: Adherence t Best Practices Mature TEM service prviders maintain best practices that mimic prductin and align with Infrmatin Technlgy Infrastructure Library (ITIL) standards fr better utput. Prcesses and maturity f a service can be enhanced by understanding the current perating mdel and mapping it t the test envirnment strategy dcument. S, it is essential fr an rganizatin t understand the existing perating mdel befre defining the strategy fr the target perating mdel t manage test envirnments. Sme f the key pints t be cnsidered while defining the strategy fr a target perating mdel are: A strng alignment t: The enterprise release strategy and infrastructural strategy Current and future testing needs Gvernance mechanism Buy in frm all stakehlders Unlike prductin, test envirnments d nt fall under the high mnitring zne. Hwever, there is an increase in demand fr TEM t fllw prductin like best practices and guidelines. With the availability f cst-effective mnitring slutins, apprpriate mnitring tls can be implemented in test envirnments which will enable rganizatins t cntinuusly mnitr and crrect deviatins, if any, in service delivery. BENEFITS Cst ptimizatin and time reductin thrugh remval f duplicatin and implementatin f best practices Creatin f rbust framewrk fr creating a respnsive test envirnment perating mdel which can adapt t all testing paradigms Cnclusin With an increase in demand fr agile testing, rganizatins are under mre pressure t ensure higher availability and quick prvisining cmbined with disruptive technlgies such as hardware/sftware virtualizatin, clud cmputing and deplyment autmatin. It is, thus, imprtant t understand yur rganizatin s verall test envirnment strategy fr agile testing by fcusing n the three key areas: service integratin, service autmatin and service ptimizatin. These bring alng shrt and lng term benefits. In the shrt term, rganizatins will be able t build and sustain respnsive test envirnments capable f adapting t agile methdlgies. While in the lng run, imprvements in the verall perating mdel will result in creatin f best-in-class Test envirnment perating mdel capable f transfrming the entire QA and assciated functins. The lng-term imprvements will als result in delivery excellence and reductin in peratinal and capital csts. When a mature rganizatin adpts sftware develpment methdlgies like agile, it successfully implements service integratin, service autmatin and service ptimizatin in its prgram lifecycle. This will certainly enable rganizatin t prvide cmplete accuntability f the service and higher availability f the test envirnments by rchestrating with stakehlders and end-users. 6
Abut the Authr Peri Narasimha Peri Narasimha wrks at Wipr as a Slutin Architect fr the Test Envirnment Services. A pstgraduate in Cmputer Science with 15 years f IT experience, Peri has led and executed many integrated and testing prjects fr different custmers in the retail, telecm and insurance sectr. He has develped a tl called the TE Manager that autmates peratins layer f envirnment activities. He has als defined best practices and standardized test envirnment activities at the enterprise level and helped rganizatins achieve highest maturity level in managing test envirnments. Abut Wipr Ltd. Wipr Ltd. (NYSE:WIT) is a leading Infrmatin Technlgy, Cnsulting and Business Prcess Services cmpany that delivers slutins t enable its clients d business better. Wipr delivers winning business utcmes thrugh its deep industry experience and a 360 degree view f "Business thrugh Technlgy" - helping clients create successful and adaptive businesses. A cmpany recgnized glbally fr its cmprehensive prtfli f services, a practitiner's apprach t delivering innvatin, and an rganizatin wide cmmitment t sustainability, Wipr has a wrkfrce f ver 150,000, serving clients in 175+ cities acrss 6 cntinents. Fr mre infrmatin, please visit www.wipr.cm 7
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