Continuous Integration, also known as CI, refers to the process of developing and testing changes regularly to your application’s code. By now, CI is well understood by a majority of developers and QA teams. But how can you ensure that all these changes are implemented consistently and quickly? The answer lies in leveraging the capabilities of Continuous Delivery (CD).
Continuous Delivery and Continuous Integration are interrelated in mobile app development. The purpose of CD in app development is to enable QA teams to work with code that is ready for extensive testing. A good CD pipeline promotes quick feedback and iteration loops that ensure your developers can create high-quality code.
However, you must be aware of the continuous delivery steps to get the best out of app testing. Here are some strategies with which you can ensure continuous delivery of mobile applications.
Things to Know About Continuous Delivery
Continuous Delivery (CD) is an application development practice that’s used to release the latest versions of an app to other members. The CI process typically comprises developing codes and testing them. QA teams leverage CD to ensure that these codes are ready for deployment in any environment. The continuous delivery steps include the following:
- Using the latest code to execute the build
- Configuring the code to prepare for deployment
- Conducting automated tests
What is Continuous Integration?
Continuous Integration (CI) is the regular integration of code alterations into the main codebase. The codebase is typically verified by automated checks to guard against bugs and anomalies. Continuous Integration is popular among developers and QA teams as it can create shorter feedback loops and swiftly identify bugs. Continuous Integration can also help with the identification of security issues early in the process.
If you are working on an app development project with a large number of developers, Continuous Integration should be your preferred development principle. Instead of having developers analyze each code and run tests locally, they can leverage a CI tool to create and automatically test the application. Usually, a CI pipeline comprises the following steps:
- Compiling the existing source code of the codebase with the addition of a new code.
- Conducting automated tests on the compiled code.
What are the Benefits of Adopting a Continuous Delivery Approach?
There are numerous benefits of adopting CD in app development. Here is some of what you can expect when integrating CD in mobile app development.
Improves the Code Quality
The quality of code has always been a major concern for developers and QA teams. With the CD approach, there is no need to wait for a production release to test the changes.
Team-Wide Visibility
CD ensures that every member of the QA team can access the new features as soon as they are ready.
Boosts the Productivity of Developers
Automating CD eliminates the hassles of manually generating and sharing testable builds. It is crucial to access a well-designed setup to save the team from wasting time on unnecessary iterations.
Shorter Feedback Loops
There is a greater possibility of identifying bugs and addressing them when the QA teams have access to the most recent changes.
How to Ensure Continuous Delivery for Application Development?
Mobile app testing has become an integral component in assessing the app’s performance before its release. However, CD is as important as app testing for QA teams. Listed are the best practices to help your team get the most out of the CD pipeline.
Focus on CI
Always remember that CD is the extension of CI. They complement each other as CI ensures that you have access to error-free and functional codes. To ensure continuous delivery of your mobile application, it is crucial to focus on CI.
Invest in High-Quality Mobile Infrastructure
Always remember that CI and CD don’t come free. Irrespective of the type of app you are testing, it always makes sense to invest in high-quality mobile infrastructure. As a web development company, you should invest both time and money to provide a newer version of the mobile application on demand.
The Significance of Automation in Ensuring Continuous Delivery
Automated mobile app testing has always been an integral part of continuous integration and continuous delivery. If a build pipeline is in place, the next step is to invest in test automation. Automated checks will help your QA team to receive faster feedback on the changes made to the codebase on various layers of the app architecture.
Moreover, the testers can quickly deploy new app versions and minimize the wastage of time on manual testing. Based on the type of mobile application you are designing; your QA team can deploy automated checks in varied layers. For instance, there might be unit tests, API tests, and integration tests. It is imperative for your QA team to identify the perfect mix of tests for faster development.
Communicate with Your QA Team Regularly
Communicating with the QA team is not something that grabs the top spot in your priority list. But if you are not communicating with your testers, things can become complicated quickly. After all, CD has no role in improving the app’s quality if the QA team is not able to leverage the latest strategies. The main reason behind communicating with the QA team is to ensure that they are well aware of the expectations.
Analyze the Stability and Performance of the App
You should be measuring the performance and stability of the app to improve its overall quality. It is your responsibility to empower the QA team to assess the stability and performance of any given app build. It will also help the testers to identify and address issues right during the development cycle.
Prioritize Consistency
The main objective of the CD approach is to shorten the feedback loops and implement changes in the app with a faster turnaround time. The only way to deliver incremental app builds is by prioritizing consistency.
CD for mobile apps has become a necessity owing to the market’s competitiveness. By leveraging the continuous delivery best practices, you can release application versions quickly to meet the needs of users.
