Test properly before you deploy to production...please
You have no idea how many times I’ve seen updates get pushed to production that break major functionality and cause havoc. This is a problem everywhere, small or large companies. Doesn’t matter if you’re agile, waterfall, or whatever else. There is no excuse to not test properly before deploying to production.
Here are some tips to help ensure you’ve done your due diligence:
- Assess risk before you begin to code, and before you begin to test
- Test your component individually
- Test the system as a whole — extremely important
- If the other components are not built by you, make sure to reach out to the right group of people so they have a heads up of the changes
- Help others understand the changes and what they might affect
- Make sure the old functionality (if applicable) still works as expected
- If you’re not sure what to test or how to test, just ask. Don’t cut corners.
We can all save a great deal of time, money, and headaches by just doing this basic action.