Published: 23 Jun 2022

Role of Regression Testing in DevOps – A Quick Guide

Last Updated: 22 Sep 2022

• Regression Testing
  

Digital businesses leverage the DevOps methodologies to accelerate their time-to-market with faster and quality releases. While the products are released faster, frequent updates are made to the applications that provide the best user experience possible. In this fast-paced pursuit of creating a high-quality application in less time, Regression testing ensures that any change in the code does not affect the existing functionalities of the application. Thus, Regression testing in DevOps is performed to ensure the application remains bug-free even after frequent code changes.

Content
1. What is DevOps Regression testing?
2. Benefits of embedding DevOps Regression testing
3. Ideal DevOps Regression testing scenarios
4. Where does Regression testing fit in DevOps?
5. Various Regression testing methods that fit in DevOps
6. Five key elements of the Regression test plan in DevOps
7. Top 22 Regression testing tools in 2022
8. Conclusion

What is DevOps Regression testing?

As DevOps ecosystem of the digital business grows, so does its pace of product updates and modifications. Regression testing ensures that when these updates take place rapidly, everything still works as expected and adds incredible value to the DevOps-driven enterprises.

Benefits of embedding DevOps Regression testing

• Effective Regression testing embedded in DevOps enhances the overall product quality and ensures a great user experience (UX).

• Facilitates the creation of a stable product as testing is performed in sprints.

• Highlights functional defects early in the development life cycle for faster resolution

• Automated Regression testing shrinks re-work, and QA engineers will be freed up to take up other critical activities.

• Automated Regression testing in a DevOps environment ensures the releases are lightweight and efficient by reducing the test execution cost and time while optimising the application quality.

Ideal DevOps Regression testing scenarios

In an ideal DevOps scenario, it should be considered to perform Regression testing whenever the codebase undergoes modification or change in some way. Here are a few scenarios when Regression testing enables a perfect balance between continuous development and continuous testing within a DevOps environment.

When new functionality is introduced:

Introduction of any new functionality demands running Regression tests. There is always a risk of unexpected compatibility issues when modifications are made to the code. After the modifications are made, reviewing every code thread for compatibility is time-consuming. Hence, Regression testing is performed to save time with early and quick bug detection.

When an existing functionality is updated:

Sudden shifts in business strategy can sometimes lead to a complete revision of the existing features of the application. In this case, Regression testing in DevOps enables the developers to adjust, optimise, or even re-look at the features and ensures to keep the overall application in place.

When debugging the codebase:

Fixing a bug can unexpectedly lead to the generation of more bugs in the codebase. While debugging the source code within DevOps, Regression testing ensures that bug fixes do not cause more issues and ensures everything works as intended.

Given the above scenarios where Regression testing plays a critical role in ensuring bug-free deployment, let us now see where Regression testing fits in a DevOps workflow.

Where does Regression testing fit in DevOps?

Regression testing has a key role to play in a DevOps workflow. This process takes place in the following instances:

•  When product enhancements are done

•  When new patches added

•  When there are minor changes in the software configuration

•  When a new feature is added, leading to code modification

•  When updates are made to the existing functionality or a patch fix

•  When integration with other apps takes place

•  When there are code changes to upgrade performance

Various Regression testing methods that fit in DevOps

Build level Regression testing:

Occurs during the second build of an upcoming release and enables the verification of the behaviour and compatibility of a newer version of the software.

Complete Regression testing:

Helps the testers to restore possible modifications done while extensive updates are made to the existing code.

Partial Regression testing:

Ensures the application performs as intended when new snippets of code are added to the existing code.

Unit Regression testing:

Enables the testers to test the code as a single unit. Unit Regression testing follows a narrow and focused approach in which all the complex interactions and external dependencies are temporarily blocked.

Five key elements of the Regression test plan in DevOps

After knowing the significance of Regression testing in DevOps, businesses should know about the key Regression test plan elements for careful planning of resources and channelizing QA efforts in the right direction.

Coverage:

It is not possible to declare what parts of the software need Regression testing without a test plan to refer to. Coverage can be measured by lines of code, statements, functions, or use paths. QA teams should use a code coverage report that showcases how much code has been covered by unit tests. Although it may measure the quality of tests, this report can determine which parts of the code need additional testing.

Consistency:

The entire application should be tested end-to-end when performing Regression testing. QA engineers must ensure that different app segments are tested consistently using the same tests and variables to generate the same output. Thus, following a consistent test plan makes Regression testing faster while ensuring test accuracy and quality of the application.

Speed:

A good Regression test plan will feature all the necessary details of testing laid out systematically and is easy to understand and execute. This accelerates the Regression testing procedure and improves the speed of the overall process.

Accountability:

A respective stakeholder, i.e., a QA lead or a senior QA, may be assigned for each sprint which takes ownership of the recorded tests and shares the approval for further production. When accountability is assigned to reliable stakeholders, it ensures effective Regression testing.

Continuity:

An effective test plan should document all the necessary details of recreating the test environment, performing the test and measuring the results. Thus, the test plan should be made accessible to all the involved team members.

Top 22 Regression testing tools in 2022

•  UiPath Test Suite

•  Tricentis TOSCA

•  Subject7

•  Cerberus Testing

•  Testimony

•  Digivante

•  Testsigma

•  TimeShiftX

•  Appsurify TestBrain

•  Avo Assure

•  testRigor

•  Sahi Pro

•  Selenium

•  Watir

•  TestComplete

•  IBM Ra­­­­tional Functional Tester

•  Katalon Studio

•  Ranorex Studio

•  TestDrive

•  AdventNet QEngine

•  TestingWhiz

•  WebKing

Conclusion

Today’s digital businesses need faster, quality releases to deliver a great customer experience. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure high-quality products that effectively meet the customer expectations, which is achieved by leveraging software testing right from the stage of product development. Adopting effective regression testing in Agile and DevOps practices ensures timely delivery of high-quality products to the market as all features are tested end-to-end.

How Can TestingXperts Help?

TestingXperts’ spectrum of regression testing services include:

•  Software Regression Testing

•  System Integration Regression Testing

•  Functional Regression Testing

•  Automated Regression Testing

•  End-to-End Regression Testing

Our cost-effective regression testing model helps QA teams to deliver a reasonable balance between test selection and fault detection. Leverage our next-gen regression testing services for quality products.

Our regression test automation services have saved time & effort, lowered overall QA costs up to 60% and reduced QA cycle times by 80% for our clients.

Talk to our QA experts today.