When it comes to testing in production (TIP), many people often take it in the wrong way. They think that it implies releasing untested features or a product with a few defects and poor performance.
However, this is not true. Testing in production is one of the most crucial aspects of the software development life cycle (SDLC).
It involves testing new code changes in the production environment and not in the staging or testing environment. QA (Quality Assurance) engineers are actively encouraged to conduct production testing in many situations.
In this article, we aim to introduce you to the concept of testing in production and discuss its types and benefits.
What is Testing in Production?
Testing in production refers to continuously testing an application in the production or live environment after deployment. It is apparent that the bugs emerge after the application is released to end users. QA engineers continuously monitor new changes to the source code and look for any possible bugs in the production environment. If they find any bugs, they take the correct measures and resolve them immediately.
Though the testing team makes every effort and spends more time creating test suites and test automation systems, it is practically not possible to uncover all bugs in the staging or pre-production environment. In addition, it is pretty challenging to simulate the real-world software in the test environment completely. As a result, production testing has become an essential aspect of software development.
Also Read: Complete Guide to Scriptless Test Automation
The Stigma Associated with Testing in Production
The term ‘testing in production’ has carried a stigma because it may introduce new challenges and risks if not conducted properly, affecting the end users.
However, this stigma stems from the misconception people have when they hear the term ‘testing in production’. They believe that it entails deploying untested features and hoping that they turn out as expected. Further, they think that this process is conducted without any best practices and the use of software.
- If production testing is not done properly or managed poorly, it may result in data loss, financial loss, and damaged reputation. Some other repercussions include:
- Severe legal consequences if sensitive data is not handled properly.
- Operational disruptions in case of high error rates or system failures.
- Reduced trust and reliability of the application due to poor security or disruptions.
Now that you know the consequences of poor production testing. In order to avoid it, you must know what makes testing in production poor. Below is a list of them:
- Skipping other pre-production testing methods.
- Lack of proper backup strategy.
- Conducting production testing at inappropriate times.
- Difficulty in rolling back from faulty deployments.
Benefits of Testing in Production
Generally, creating a staging environment that completely replicates the production environment is a pretty daunting and time-consuming task. As a result, many development teams include testing in production as a complementary phase to pre-production testing methods.
Here are some potential benefits of testing code in production:
Improved Test Accuracy
The primary benefit of testing in production is that the QA team gets accurate results, as they will test the application in the production environment. It ensures that the users will experience the same app functionality assessed in production testing, boosting the team’s confidence.
However, when the QA team conducts tests in the staging environment, they may not get the exact or accurate results. The reason is that the elements of the staging environment may not have the exact data or configuration options that are used in the production environment.
Enhanced Development Frequency
Testing in production enables the QA team to introduce new code changes, test them, and make them live instantly. Hence, it becomes easier for the Engineering teams to respond to user requests quickly and release changes as and when required.
Moreover, production testing allows the QA team to safely deploy and roll back any code changes that may negatively affect end users.
Smooth Transition During Testing
Production testing enables the QA team to determine how end users react to a specific feature. Further, they use A/B testing to collect user feedback and make changes to the feature accordingly. This helps them improve the user experience and build trust among end users.
Limited Damage
Another benefit of testing in production is limited damage. The QA team can directly notice real-time defects and implement security measures. This certainly limits damage to the application.
How to Do Testing in Production?
Let us now shed light on some major techniques and methods used in production testing.
A/B Testing
A/B testing is an experimentation process wherein the application’s entire user base is divided into two groups, A and B. The app’s current version is referred to as a control, whereas the app’s variation or modified version is called treatment or variation.
This testing involves comparing the two app versions and analyzing which one brings more engagement. If the treatment does not drive more engagement, you can conclude that the changes you made do not work for end users. Based on this, you can make informed decisions.
Canary Releases
According to Danilo Sato, canary releases refer to a technique of reducing the risk of introducing a new software version in production by rolling out the changes to a small subset of users before making them accessible to everyone.
So, in a canary release, the development team rolls out a new version to a small subset of users. If anything goes wrong, they can roll back to the previous version without affecting the large user base.
Now, you might be thinking about how A/B testing differs from canary releases. They both differ in terms of the intent. While A/B testing helps determine the interest of users in a new feature, canary releases serve as a risk mitigation tool.
Spike Testing
Spike testing is a software testing type that evaluates the application’s behavior in case of sudden and extreme increase or decrease in the load. It determines the app’s ability or capability to handle the amount of traffic and its breaking point.
Furthermore, spike testing determines the time it takes for the application to recover from unusual and challenging circumstances. Developers often use this testing method to verify the applications’ error-handling systems.
Feature Flagging
Feature flagging is a software development practice that enables developers to turn the application’s features on or off (whether to expose features to users or not) without having to redeploy or change code in production. This helps them expose and turn off the desired feature to end users.
Application Monitoring
Application monitoring is further categorized into real user monitoring (RUM) and synthetic monitoring. Real user monitoring involves monitoring the application when the actual humans (real end users) are interacting with it. This helps the QA team understand how the application handles real-world requests.
On the other hand, synthetic monitoring refers to monitoring how the application responds to simulated requests.
Both these categories of application monitoring have strengths and weaknesses and play a vital role in production testing.
Best Practices for Production Testing
Here are some of the best practices for testing in production:
Use real browsers and devices. The production environment should be a real device-browser-OS combination. This is essential for ensuring that your application works as expected in the real world. Emulators and simulators fail to capture the complexities of real user interactions, rendering them ineffective for thorough testing.
Before diving into testing, create a comprehensive deployment strategy that outlines the types of tests, testing order, resource allocation, and communication plan for stakeholders. This ensures a controlled and organized testing process.
If you do encounter problems with your software in production, be prepared to roll back to the previous version. This will minimize the impact on your users.
Do loading time tests when traffic is high. Test applications during peak usage to ensure they can handle high traffic without crashing or slowing down.
Conclusion
Testing in production has become an inevitable aspect of the software development life cycle (SDLC). Today, millions of users are accessing specific software from different devices. Hence, uncovering and fixing all possible bugs in the staging or testing environment becomes impossible. This is where the role of testing in production comes into play. It allows the testing team to understand how a particular application behaves or functions with real data, requests, and users.
This blog is originally published at Testgrid
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