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Testing Programmable Infrastructure: a year on

It’s been a year and a half since I started speaking out about testing programmable infrastructure. Lots has changed, but we’ve got so much further to go.

I’ve written about my thoughts for InfoQ here: Testing Programmable Infrastructure: A year on.

Despite my testing programmable infrastructure talk still being relevant, I originally wrote it quite a long time ago. It makes me wince slightly when I have to give it, because my views have changed somewhat. I’ve learned a lot more about test strategy, and I’ve learned a lot more about infrastructure too. In fact, I’m currently working in a platform engineering team!

Anyway, here’s my key takeaways, please check the full article out for more!

• Programmable infrastructure is complicated, has risks, and still needs testing.

• Tools alone won’t solve the problem, especially because cloud infrastructure is fast moving.

• Don’t only test basic assertions. Your testing strategy should mitigate risk and investigate quality aspects that matter to you.

• The combination of cloud infrastructure and exploratory testing is rare. Exploratory testing is a powerful approach that complements automated regression suites.

• Testers need training and experience to carry out effective testing, as well as collaboration and help from infrastructure experts.