DevOps recommends "shift-left" testing principles because they bring testing activities earlier into the software development lifecycle, leading to multiple benefits:
- Cost Reduction: Identifying and fixing defects early in development is significantly cheaper and less resource-intensive than addressing bugs found late, especially after deployment.
- Faster Release Cycles: Early testing speeds up the development process by preventing last-minute fixes and delays, enabling quicker, more predictable product releases.
- Improved Product Quality: Early and continuous testing improves the overall quality of the final product by catching issues sooner and reducing risks.
- Better Collaboration: Shift-left testing fosters collaboration across development, testing, and operations teams, integrating quality assurance into the entire development process.
- Supports Agile and DevOps Practices: It aligns with continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) and Agile methodologies by embedding testing into development from the start, allowing iterative building, testing, and delivery.
In essence, shift-left testing in DevOps is about moving testing and quality assurance to the left (earlier) on the development timeline to catch defects early, reduce costs, speed up release cycles, enhance software quality, and promote team collaboration throughout the development lifecycle.
