A Journey in Improving Test Pipeline Stability
Building automated tests is only the first step. The true challenge is building them with high enough reliability that they can be run as part of a deployment pipeline. But understanding how to get to that point is hard, and getting to that point often seems unsurmountable. This session will focus on exactly how Olo went from having a few hundred tests being triggered manually, to having thousands of tests running as part of a deployment pipeline. Brian Kitchener will give concrete examples of what tools were used at each step of the process, what challenges were faced, what tools needed to be built, and how track test stability metrics were generated and tracked. Attendees can anticipate learning what challenges they should expect when implementing automated tests in a deployment pipeline and should come away with understanding a few of the techniques used to solve those challenges. Attendees will also understand how to identify and track metrics month by month and year over year.
Brian Kitchener first got his start in software quality assurance in 2001, and has spent his career focused around building and scaling reliable test automation. He's worked as a technical contributor, manager, as well as a consultant for numerous companies. He's built a number of test automation frameworks and custom tools in a variety of programming languages. He's helped found, grow, or revamp several quality assurance departments. He's currently working as a Senior Engineering Manager at Olo, Inc., where he leads a team focused on building test automation tools and processes.