Top 9 DevOps Automation Tools to look out for in 2022 & beyond cover

Top 9 DevOps Automation Tools to Look Out for

The Step After Automation: Top 6 Reasons to Invest in DevOps Orchestration

Automation and Orchestration: 6 Reasons Why to Invest in DevOps Orchestration

Devops and the need for cloud based solutions

Cloud Solutions for Devops | What ,Why , Types & Advantages

Why DevOps is Important for Modern Businesses

<a href="https://theagileadmin.com/what-is-devops/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">DevOps</a>, as a solution to implement Agile, is being used worldwide for over a decade now. It lets teams automate all redundant development and Ops related tasks. Thus, it helps teams achieve the main goal of Agile &#8211; quick and frequent releases. But, the one process that has still lacked proper attention is the quality of the releases.



The concept of <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="DevTestOps (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com/devtestops" target="_blank">DevTestOps</a> was introduced to put a special focus on continuous testing for each step of the development process along with DevOps. DevTestOps ensures that along with Development and Operations related tasks, the feedback on quality is continuous and given the importance it deserves.



<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#What_is_DevTestOps">1 What is DevTestOps?</a></li><li><a href="#How_is_DevTestOps_different_from_DevOps">2 How is DevTestOps different from DevOps?</a></li><li><a href="#What_is_the_need_of_using_DevTestOps_How_continuous_testing_enables_DevTestOps">3 What is the need of using DevTestOps? How continuous testing enables DevTestOps?</a></li><li><a href="#Myths_about_DevTestOps">4 Myths about DevTestOps</a></li><li><a href="#Best_Practices_to_follow_in_Continuous_Testing_for_successful_DevTestOpsnbsp">5 Best Practices to follow in Continuous Testing for successful DevTestOps&nbsp;</a></li><li><a href="#Continuous_Testing_For_Enterprises_Tools_Available_in_the_Market">6 Continuous Testing For Enterprises: Tools Available in the Market</a><ul><li><a href="#Below_are_a_few_tools_that_can_be_considered">6.1 Below are a few tools that can be considered:</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#Suggested_Readings">7 Suggested Readings</a></li></ul></div>
<h2 id="what-is-devtestops"><a href="https://testsigma.com/devtestops" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">What is DevTestOps?</a></h2>



As per the DevTestOps Manifesto 2018:



“The goal of DevTestOps is not to silo “Test” from Dev and Ops, but simply to raise the visibility of testers and testing as integral parts of the DevOps quality culture”



DevTestOps is a combination of DevOps and <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="DevTestOps is a combination of DevOps and Continuous Testing. The process involves testing early, testing often and testing throughout the software delivery pipeline. It highlights the key role of the tester in the development of the product along with the Ops professionals. Devtestops ensures continuous feedback of testers to developers throughout the stages of product development, thus reducing business risk and the possibility of finding defects at later stages. (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com/blog/continuous-testing-at-the-speed-of-agile-and-devops/" target="_blank">Continuous Testing</a>. The process involves testing early, testing often, and testing throughout the software delivery pipeline.



DevTestOps highlights the key role of the tester in the development of the product along with the Ops professionals. DevTestOps stresses that the continuous testing framework should be integrated with the CI/CD pipeline. It lays most importance on the continuity of testing feedback to developers throughout the stages of <a href="https://artkai.io/services/product-strategy-consulting" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">product development</a>, thus reducing business risk and the possibility of finding defects at later stages.



In the <a href="https://kruschecompany.com/agile-software-development/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Agile testing and development methodology</a>, all members of a cross-functional Agile team are equally responsible for the quality of the product and the success of the project.



Hence, testing of an agile project is done by the whole team, not just designated testers or quality assurance professionals but also team members whose primary expertise may be in programming, business analysis, and database or system operation.&nbsp; 



Below image clearly depicts how testing can be included in different stages of a DevOps process.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><a href="https://danashby.co.uk/2016/10/19/continuous-testing-in-devops/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Tv1Y-4LFiC6I97wudGjfsRlGp_xZPSpKPS3MRugAu_QjTARCwALnPSEJkeMcweLaEUa7UmqYSgtdgZTo7iDS9ZtscVJCoYuMJEgZZx5-fUv3yQRkw_de5yFiMiMLNElhzuAlG5Fb" alt="stages of a DevOps process"/></a></figure></div>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><figure></figure></figure></div>







<h2 id="how-is-devtestops-different-from-devops">How is DevTestOps different from DevOps?</h2>



DevOps automates most of the manual operations in the <a href="http://forbytes.com/blog/agile-software-development-life-cycle/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">software development life cycle(SDLC)</a> which leads to faster delivery of the product. DevOps is successful but there are possibilities of missing critical bugs, scenarios and business requirements in the product as continuous testing is not performed.



To eliminate the possibility of missing defects, functionalities and business risks, DevTestOps idea was brought forward in which Continuous Testing was implemented as a major part of the software delivery pipeline.



Let us discuss about Continuous Testing.&nbsp;



The word ‘continuous’ means the code is continuously developed, delivered, tested and deployed. The testers identify possible scenarios based on requirements, create and execute test cases from the beginning of the software delivery pipeline and shares feedback with the development team, on the business risk involved.



It is an uninterrupted execution of automated tests while being part of the software delivery process, facilitating immediate feedback based on the business changes associated with the product and mitigating risks before they proceed to the next SDLC stage.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/GYzT4r1NzO-M4fiH2MP-1Jw7v-0NAhFUmmC-K_AXXKbvcRI0xRbISFe0NTB9h1MYVXu-K4VxqaBw7PzYQZWnV4buQAMz6_7rYPqRnvQ8K7D6mW9vDyQxqnRuoQaRynhNb8WOM4vb" alt="continuous testing 
"/><figcaption>The goal of continuous testing is to test early, test often. (Image Source: http://www.professionalqa.com/) </figcaption></figure></div>



Continuous Testing helps in testing the code through the software development cycle which reduces the gap between testers, developers and the operations team. The end-to-end automation of tests helps to integrate QA into DevOps processes to maintain continuity and thereby address the overall challenges of quicker development cycles.



The scope of Continuous Testing is pretty huge with validation of the functional and non-functional requirements of the product. It involves API testing, unit, integration and system testing of the software all done under a simulated environment with test automation.



<h2 id="what-is-the-need-of-using-devtestops-how-continuous-testing-enables-devtestops">What is the need of using DevTestOps? How continuous testing enables DevTestOps?</h2>



DevOps is enabled when continuous integration is implemented along with continuous delivery and continuous deployment. And thus, to enable DevTestOps &#8211; continuous testing needs to be integrated to already implemented setup of continuous integration + continuous delivery + continuous deployment.



With DevTestOps, testers also play a vital role throughout the process of development, delivery and deployment by enabling testing feedback at each step through continuous testing.



As testing is implemented at each stage and most of the processes are automated, it has led to below improvements:



<ul class="list_style_disc"><li style="padding-bottom: 5px">The defects are detected at an early stage hence are easier to fix, ultimately resulting in timely delivery of the product.</li><li style="padding-bottom: 5px">It shortens the regression cycle from weeks to hours by just automating the process.</li><li style="padding-bottom: 5px">The developers and testers work together with leading to a better understanding of the module and increasing the quality of the product exponentially.</li><li style="padding-bottom: 5px">The tester gets a chance to perform all kinds of testing during the phase of product development.</li><li style="padding-bottom: 5px">The tester becomes an equal owner of the product as a developer.</li><li style="padding-bottom: 5px">Automated build and deployment accelerates the process and avoids any human error and dependency.</li></ul>



<h2 id="myths-about-devtestops">Myths about DevTestOps</h2>



<ol><li>Continuous Testing requires 100% automation. As we all know 100% automation of an application is impossible hence many scripts are run manually in the process of continuous testing.</li></ol>



<li>Large organizations do not benefit from continuous testing as they have huge development and QA teams which make coordination difficult.
Continuous testing, since its inception, has been revolutionary for both testers and developers. Developers are moving closer to customers to shape the user experience according to their changing needs, whereas testers are now closer to the developers and business analysts, taking part in the SDLC from the early stages.</li>



<li style="padding-bottom: 5px">It is expensive.</li>



Yes, it is a one-time investment but once the team is equipped with functionality, return on investment is tremendous due to:



<ul><li style="padding-bottom: 5px">Better code quality as no commit goes untested.</li><li style="padding-bottom: 5px">Developer receives immediate feedback about the product from the tester which helps in finding the root cause and easily fixing the bugs in less time.</li><li style="padding-bottom: 5px">Since bugs are detected early hence the cost of fixing is less.&nbsp;</li><li style="padding-bottom: 5px">Almost no human mistake as most of the process is automated.</li></ul>



<h2 id="best-practices-to-follow-in-continuous-testing-for-successful-devtestops">Best Practices to follow in Continuous Testing for successful DevTestOps&nbsp;</h2>



<ol><li>Adopt more test automation: Do not focus only on automating the test case but also the repetitive process. It helps in saving a lot of time.</li><li>Integration of tool: Selection of the tool should be done wisely to make testing effective, faster and easier</li><li>Transparent communication: Communication and understanding between all the teams should be very effective. It avoids confusion and yields good productivity.</li><li><a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/performance-testing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Performance testing</a>: It should play a vital role during the delivery cycle to avoid any crash issue which may result due to high volume user inflow.</li><li>Perform Multilayer testing: All types of testing such as integration, API, GUI, database testing should be incorporated during the delivery cycle and maximum testing types should be automated.</li></ol>



<h2 id="continuous-testing-for-enterprises-tools-available-in-the-market">Continuous Testing For Enterprises: Tools Available in the Market</h2>



Multiple types of testing can be covered in DevOps such as unit, system, integration, end to end, performance, security, cross-platform, multiple platforms, responsive, and API testing. There are multiple continuous testing solutions in the market. These are tools that automate one or more test activities right from planning, requirements, creating a build, test execution, defect logging, and test analysis. 



As a thumb of rule, look for tools that enable easy automation and also support integration to continuous testing.



<h3 id="below-are-a-few-tools-that-can-be-considered">Below are a few tools that can be considered: </h3>



<ol><li style="padding-bottom: 20px">Selenium: It is an open-source tool, used for most of the functional test automation, supports a wide range of browsers and operating systems. However, there are many limitations and challenges using Selenium, as it requires technical knowledge and mobile automation cannot be done.</li></ol>



<li style="padding-bottom: 10px">Testsigma: Testsigma aims to improve automation and testing speed by a slew of features. The test creation is very simple, easy and quick as tests can be created in simple English. You would feel like you are not automating but just writing test cases. 

Test maintenance is further simplified by using AI and ML technologies in the backend that try to fix errors in a build due to changes in elements. Not only this a range of browsers and devices are hosted on the cloud and your test cases run on them in parallel. It also integrates with all majorly used CI/CD tools.</li>



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<li style="padding-top: 20px">Eggplant: This is a scriptless automation tool that uses image-based technology. It provides cloud-based service and test lab which ensures 24*7 access to the team. Eggplant can be used across all platform desktop, web and native.</li>







<li>Watir:&nbsp;It is an open-source tool used for web automation and continuous testing, based on ruby language.</li>







<li>Tosca:&nbsp;It is a model-based test automation tool, used widely across all platforms, and has embedded business intelligence. This tool automatically scans the AUT(Application Under Test) script and loads into the software with minimal manual steps. Business intelligence helps the tool in suggesting certain critical tests which help the team identify the trouble areas, and thus reducing the risk.</li>







<li>Rational functional tester: One of the pioneer tools in the automation industry which supports functional, data-driven, API, performance and regression testing. The tool requires knowledge of .net and java scripting to automate the process.</li>







<li>Appium:&nbsp;It is used for mobile testing. It is a kind of wrapper on selenium. This tool requires a sound knowledge of a testing framework for its implementation.</li>



A flawless DevTestOps environment can be put together when the testing team works closely with the Dev team and seeks support for continuous release and deployment through DevOps. Hence, for an organization that is looking for a solution to release high-quality products into the market without delay DevTestOps is the solution to go for.



<h2 id="suggested-readings">Suggested Readings</h2>



<a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/devops-principles/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Devops Principles: Benefits And How to Implement it?</a> 



<a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/devops-life-cycle/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DevOps life Cycle | Phases Explained with Example</a>  



<a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/how-do-agile-and-devops-interrelate/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">How do Agile and DevOps Interrelate</a>

What is DevTestOps | Role of DevTestOps in Continuous Testing

As we know, businesses are susceptible to constant change due to the customers’ demands and expectations for new services. In this competitive environment, agility in responding to change is the key to success for every organization. Today, enterprises demand a completely different approach to the software development life cycle (SDLC) for a faster time to market. In order to thrive in this competitive marketplace, IT industry is embracing agile processes and software delivery methods. DevOps is one such recent approach which has been widely acknowledged to handle the ever-changing complex business scenarios.



Today organizations are moving towards the next level of agility through Agile-DevOps transformation as it brings the highest level of quality, productivity, flexibility, and, efficiency thereby giving a competitive edge to your organization. Key Agile/DevOps metrics strive for automation and technical excellence which leads to continuous improvement in efficiency, agility, and quality.



Today, you can’t just walk, you need to run&nbsp;😀



You need to adopt Agile and work with various DevOps constructs. Doing this is not so easy, especially when you are working with complex applications, their integration with a need to release features quickly. It takes a lot of time to manually verify the&nbsp;same functionality works across multiple user interfaces. Manual Testing will not fit your Agile and DevOps strategy. So Continuous Testing is the best approach in this case which can be easily achieved through test automation. Before diving deep about achieving Continuous Testing through test automation, let’s discuss why continuous testing is important.







<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#Continuous_Testing">1 Continuous Testing</a></li><li><a href="#Why_Unified_Web_Mobile_Web_Services8217_Automation_is_Important_in_Agile_and_DevOps">2 Why Unified Web, Mobile &amp; Web Services&#8217; Automation is Important in Agile and DevOps?</a></li><li><a href="#Testsigmas_Approach">3 Testsigma’s Approach</a></li><li><a href="#Tool_Features">4 Tool Features</a></li></ul></div>
<h2 id="continuous-testing">Continuous Testing</h2>



Continuous Testing is a software testing methodology which aims to achieve continuous quality and improvement. Basically a process of testing early, testing often and automate. The strategy evaluates quality at every step of the Continuous Delivery Process. The main objective of<a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/continuous-testing-at-the-speed-of-agile-and-devops/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Continuous Testing is a software testing methodology which aims to achieve continuous quality and improvement. Basically a process of testing early, testing often and automate. The strategy evaluates quality at every step of the Continuous Delivery Process. The main objective of continuous testing is to ensure the reliability of the software and analyze the business risk associated with it before the software reaches the market.
Continuous Testing comes with the following benefits:&nbsp; (opens in a new tab)"> continuous testing</a> is to ensure the reliability of the software and analyze the business risk associated with it before the software reaches the market. Continuous Testing comes with the following benefits:&nbsp;



<ul class="list_style_disc"><li>Continuous testing process helps in finding the risks, addressing them and thereby improving the quality of the product</li>



<li>Software release becomes quick with a weekly to hourly release</li>



<li>Continuous testing improves code quality</li>



<li>It integrates into DevOps proves seamlessly</li>



<li>It avoids disconnect between development, operation and testing teams</li></ul>



<h2 id="why-unified-web-mobile-web-services-automation-is-important-in-agile-and-devops">Why Unified Web, Mobile &amp; Web Services&#8217; Automation is Important in Agile and DevOps?</h2>



As we already discussed, Continuous Testing is the best approach for your Agile and DevOps strategy, which can be achieved through test automation. Hence Automated Continuous Testing platforms have a major role to play in meeting the standards of modern day’s DevOps/Continuous Software Delivery practises. 



There is a need for a Unified Continuous Testing platform that has the ability to automate every application type on all platforms rather than having multiple automation testing tools that can automate just one application type. A comprehensive framework is required specifically to tackle these challenges.



<figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="3001" height="839" data-id="4899" src="https://testsigma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Unified-Test-Automation_Testsigma.jpg" alt="Unified Test Automation_Testsigma" class="wp-image-4899"/></figure>
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A Unified automated solution for web, mobile apps and Desktop web services is the key in Agile and DevOps. It provides a solid framework, clear vision and roadmap to achieve the next level of Agility.



<h2 id="testsigma-s-approach">Testsigma’s Approach</h2>



Today, most of the businesses are dealing with tight deadlines and changing demands from customers. <a href="https://testsigma.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Today, most of the businesses are dealing with tight deadlines and changing demands from customers. Testsigma, as an early adopter of agile methodologies and DevOps, can guide you in your automated testing needs. (opens in a new tab)">Testsigma</a>, as an early adopter of agile methodologies and DevOps, can guide you in your automated testing needs.



<a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Testsigma is a unified automated testing software for web, mobile apps and APIs which helps in the creation and execution of reliable test cases on multiple devices and configurations. Can Testsigma’s approach meet your test automation goals for continuous delivery and DevOps? Let’s find out by digging into some of the features which the tool has in store for us. (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com" target="_blank">Testsigma</a> is a unified automated testing software for web, mobile apps and APIs which helps in the creation and execution of reliable test cases on multiple devices and configurations. Can Testsigma’s approach meet your test automation goals for continuous delivery and DevOps? Let’s find out by digging into some of the features which the tool has in store for us.



<h2 id="tool-features">Tool Features</h2>



<ul class="list_style_disc"><li>It uses a simple natural language approach to automate testing for all types of applications including the most complex scenarios.</li><li>Comes with in-built test management to track all the requirements and manage multiple application types within your automation testing tool. It helps in notifying the changes in requirements to the entire team automatically.</li><li>Comes with 1000+ OS/Browser/Version combos 2000+ real mobile devices for both iOS and Android operating systems.</li><li>It provides an extended support for a wide range of web applications, mobile applications and API services and can run both manual and automated tests across all the major OS platforms and browsers.</li><li>For parallel testing, it provides access to thousands of execution configurations for faster development, feedback and delivery cycles. Parallel testing helps test scripts to run same tests again and again on different machines.</li><li>It supports and optimizes the common methodologies of continuous integration and continuous delivery for fast feedback.</li><li>It offers multiple integrations with continuous integration (CI) tools in order to streamline your continuous testing process.</li><li>It provides access to thousands of resources available on the cloud.</li><li>It combines manual and automated testing into one. It provides specific support for manual tests as well.</li><li>It is a single platform that unites all resources together for increased test coverage to produce faster results with negligible initial time and efforts.</li></ul>



There shouldn&#8217;t be a requirement for different skills to automate different applications as it will increase the<a href="https://dev.to/shrutiawake/overcoming-the-ramp-up-delay-cost-and-resources-required-to-automate-testing-18bg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="There shouldn't be a requirement for different skills to automate different applications as it will increase the ramp up delay. It is important to have a unified automated continuous testing software with an inbuilt test management system that can not only allow updating the tests continuously but also help testers connect multiple web, mobile devices having different device configurations, in one go. (opens in a new tab)"> ramp up delay</a>. It is important to have a unified automated continuous testing software with an inbuilt test management system that can not only allow updating the tests continuously but also help testers connect multiple web, mobile devices having different device configurations, in one go.



Testsigma also emphasizes on the importance of <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Testsigma also emphasizes on the importance of actionable feedback in test automation for continuous delivery as it helps to release quality software products faster into production with lesser defects. With continuous feedback, you can ensure continuous improvement by identifying and fixing defects early in the development cycle. Testsigma’s inbuilt automatic feedback mechanism helps make effective decisions on the go through instant notifications and automatic suggestions from AI. (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com/blog/importance-actionable-feedback-test-automation-continuous-delivery/" target="_blank">actionable feedback</a> in test automation for continuous delivery as it helps to release quality software products faster into production with lesser defects. With continuous feedback, you can ensure continuous improvement by identifying and fixing defects early in the development cycle. Testsigma’s inbuilt automatic feedback mechanism helps make effective decisions on the go through instant notifications and automatic suggestions from AI.



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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" width="3001" height="834" data-id="4518" src="https://testsigma.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Testsigma1.jpeg" alt="Try Testsigma" class="wp-image-4518"/></figure>
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Now you can plan, develop, design, execute, analyze, report and maintain your automated tests at a rapid pace and say goodbye to multiple tools, frameworks, coding and integrations with Testsigma’s <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Now you can plan, develop, design, execute, analyze, report and maintain your automated tests at a rapid pace and say goodbye to multiple tools, frameworks, coding and integrations with Testsigma’s Unified Test Automation Platform to achieve Continuous Testing.
 (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com/features" target="_blank">Unified Test Automation Platform</a> to achieve Continuous Testing!