Setting up and configuring test environments can be as easy as flicking a switch. You are probably wondering, but that's no longer a dream, it is an emerging reality in Test Environment Management (TEM). In this article, we chart the evolution of TEM, explore and show you how to keep on track of the latest trends
A Quick Look Into Test Environment Management History's
Testing plays a vital role in ensuring the quality and reliability of applications. Before the advent of efficient Test Environment Management (TEM) tools, managing critical testing tasks often resulted in longer cycle times and soaring development costs.
In the past, managing test environments came with several challenges, including coordinating resources, maintaining data integrity, and handling conflicting requirements. Teams would spend precious time and effort manually setting up and configuring test environments, causing delays and hampering productivity. Test environments were fragmented, leading to delays, conflicts, and overall inefficiency.
However, with the emergence of modern testing solutions, organizations have witnessed a remarkable transformation in their testing processes, resulting in higher quality products, cost reduction, and accelerated time to market. Having a dedicated test environment management (TEM) means that there is a single point of contact for all testing needs, simplifying and also facilitating a better testing process.
Latest Test Environment Management trends
1. Cloud-Based Test Environments
Cloud computing has transformed the IT landscape, and its impact on test environments is no different. Cloud-based test environments offer scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. This means you can set up test environments on-demand and in a blink of an eye, avoiding the need for manual setup and configuration. You can also scale your testing efforts as you need them, ensuring optimal resource utilization and reducing overall infrastructure costs.
To follow this trend, embrace the cloud like a carefree skydiver! Explore cloud providers that offer a rainbow of options for creating and managing test environments. You should also consider implementing automated provisioning and configuration processes, ensuring seamless integration with their existing testing workflows.
2. Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is a practice that involves managing infrastructure resources, such as test environments, using code. With IaC, you write code to define your test environments, turning complex setups into a playful coding adventure! This enables you to treat your test environments as software artifacts, ensuring consistency and reducing the risk of configuration errors.
All you need is to adopt the right tools and frameworks that support infrastructure provisioning through code. Create scripts that bring your test environments to life, ensuring consistency and reproducibility of the overall testing process.
3. Containerization and Orchestration
Containerization and orchestration technologies encapsulate test environments and enable you to manage and scale your test environments efficiently. Think of them as little ships that carry your test environments across different platforms and environments, making them as portable as possible!
For greater efficiency, consider containerizing your test environments and packaging them along with their dependencies into container images. Containerization and orchestration platforms can manage the deployment, scaling, and life cycle of these containers, ensuring smooth sailing in your test environment management processes.
4. Test Data Management
You can’t have successful testing without effective test data management. With the increasing complexity and volume of data, you need robust solutions to manage and provision test data efficiently. With test data management tools, you can create, manage, and secure test data, ensuring its availability and integrity during testing.
Start by investing in test data management tools that provide features like data masking, subsetting, and synthetic data generation. These tools help teams create realistic test data while protecting sensitive information.
5. Self-Service Environments
Self-service environments empower development and testing teams to help themselves! You can provision and manage your own test environments autonomously, without relying on external support. This trend promotes agility, reduces bottlenecks, and empowers teams to work more independently, accelerating the overall testing process.
To encourage this self-learning, you should establish self-service platforms or portals where you and your team can request, provision, and manage your test environments. These platforms should also integrate with your current TEM infrastructure, ensuring proper governance, resource allocation, and lifecycle management.
Keep Up With Trends with Apwide Golive!
Our Golive Jira App stands at the heart of the evolving landscape of Test Environment Management (TEM). Shaped by essential trends, Golive offers a valuable solution for the increasingly intricate demands of quality assurance.
Golive integrates seamlessly with cloud-based test environments, Infrastructure as Code (IaC) platforms, and container platforms like Docker and Kubernetes. This versatility simplifies resource management, streamlines scalability, and enhances deployment efficiency.
Furthermore, Golive offers an effective solution for test management through its seamless integration with Jira apps such as Xray Test Management, contributing to an enhanced quality assurance process in Jira, without the need for additional tools.
Golive also places a strong emphasis on self-service. With features allowing users to trigger deployments and environment provisioning directly from Jira, Golive empowers users with a greater level of autonomy and efficiency.
For teams already leveraging Jira for their software delivery, the Golive App is the logical next step. As we continue to innovate, the future of Test Environment Management awaits you with Golive, keeping you consistently a step ahead.
Ready to elevate your test management game? Start your free Golive trial today.