With complex enterprise test automation systems, at least some of the many required dependencies are commonly incomplete, unavailable, or operating incorrectly at the time of test execution. The result is timeouts, incomplete tests, false positives, and inaccurate results. Service virtualization can help you overcome this plateau and increase test automation rates.

Development, operations, and QA have long recognized the importance of coexistence, but they've still had weak or unbalanced relationships. DevOps emphasizes collaboration, rejecting the "us versus them" mentality. Every department needs information, feedback, and support from every other department, helping everyone see how they enable each other.

The core idea of DevOps is the various roles working together to create a stable software system. People can hear that, or read about it, or even observe it, but often, the best way for a team new to DevOps to understand it is to just do it. When you're starting out, that can lead to failures on a real system, so a simulation is a good idea. Try playing a game to introduce your team to DevOps.

Testing in production gives more realistic opportunities to test, increases application transparency between the core product team and users, and supports the idea of continuous development through continuous testing. It's a good technique to embrace in your testing process—but it should not be entered into unprepared. Learn the advantages and pitfalls here.