Software Testing: What Makes the Shift Left Approach an Excellent Choice

Considering that software has now firmly established itself as a critical part of pretty much every aspect of our daily lives, it only makes sense that software testing is a vital aspect in the overall scheme of things. It has led to the development of a keen focus on the myriad tools and strategies for high-quality software testing. And this leads us to the subject a Shift Left testing, which is a particular type of software testing that involves looking for and preventing issues and bugs early on in the software life cycle. It starts with engaging all the stakeholders in the process to work together and gain a clear and precise understanding of the critical goals of the software.

It, in turn, allows testers to put together test cases in the primary stages of software development to enable the team to fail promptly and then address the issues at the earliest possible stages of development. Why this particular tenet of software testing has started to gain so much traction is because of the many benefits it offers, including the ability to build a testing program that facilitates the development of a robust product instead of just focusing on finding bugs and problems in the software. Now, let’s take a look at some of its most essential benefits in-depth to truly understand its potential and how it stands to change software testing for the better.

1. Customer satisfaction: Since Shift Left testing allows testers to build tests first, companies can ensure that the focus doesn’t move away from customer experience, which should always be the number one consideration for any software. As a result, the development work is successfully able to deliver a product that assures the delivery of high-rated customer experiences. And you know what that leads to? Top-notch levels of customer satisfaction.
2. Automation: Since the testing is started in the early stages of software development, testers have the time to automate the process of testing. And that, then, results in benefits such as elimination of human error, extensive coverage, fewer production issues, and so much more.
3. Timely delivery of projects: Once again, we’ll hark back to the fact that this philosophy involves kicking off the testing process very early on. That means issues and problems are identified early on as well, thus giving developers ample time to fix said problems. It means the entire project can be wrapped up much more quickly since one doesn’t have to wait until the whole app has been developed to start testing it for possible defects. Long story short, this way the time to market for the software doesn’t end up exceeding the planned timeline.

This much is clear that software testing is a fundamental part of the development process. But what would help make a difference and give companies an edge over their peers is a strategy like Shift left software testing, allowing them to build robust foundational solutions and within the timeframe they may have envisaged for it.