The Definitive Guide to Implementing Shift Left Testing in QA

The Definitive Guide to Implementing
Shift Left Testing in QA
1
©RapidValue Solutions
A Whitepaper by RapidValue Solutions
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO
IMPLEMENTING SHIFT LEFT TESTING IN QA
SHIFT
LEFT Early
Detection
Cost
Effectiveness
Time
Saving
Faster
Releases

2
Index
02 Why Shift Left Testing?
04
05
06
Shift Left Testing Models
How to Perform Shift Left Testing?
Benefits of Shift Left Testing
01 Introduction
09
11
13
Testing Activities in the Development Phase
Early Testing and Analyzing of Requirements
The Ultimate Shift Left Strategy Checklist for Testers
15 About RapidValue

1
Introduction
In today's digital world, even though most of the projects are following the Agile methodology, often testers
might not get enough time to quantify the problem scope and test the product effectively. Even if a sprint
lasts for two weeks, the QA team would get the complete functionality for testing, only two or three days before
the sprint completion. Eventually, the QA team would have to rush the testing, struggle for test completion
and even end up with improper test coverage and bugs being leaked into production. So the testing phase is
often considered as a bottleneck for the release by the management.
Studies done by analysts suggest that the maximum number of defects occur during the requirement
and design phase of the software development life cycle. More than half of the defects occur during the
requirement and design phase of the SDLC, i.e 56% of the total defects. Out of this 56%, 23% occurs during
the design phase, 7% in the development phase and 10% defects emerge during the other phases. 2019
witnessed test automation going mainstream with 44% of IT organizations automating more than 50% of
all testing and these figures are expected to go up in the upcoming years. Thus it becomes highly necessary
to step up the testing game and ensure that it is done quite efficiently and this is where Shift Left Testing
comes into play. Detecting defects early in the software development cycle can prove to be very crucial in
regards to cost and efficiency.
This whitepaper discusses how shift left testing could help you reimagine the entire QA testing process.

2
Why Shift Left Testing?
Generally, during the conventional software development process, QA teams encounter several problems.
Since testing is not performed at every stage, the bugs are revealed only once the product development
phase is completed. If critical bugs are revealed in the end, more time and effort is required to fix them and
this causes a potential delay in the release of the product to the customers. Also, testers are not involved in
the most important stages of the product life cycle and the focus is more on ‘testing the software to detect
the bugs’. There is also very little collaboration between the developers and testers.

3
Thus to solve these problems and to improve the testing efficiency, Shift Left Testing was introduced as a
solution. Shift left testing is a process where testing is performed earlier in the development process rather
than as a trailing activity before release. Shifting the ‘Testing Phase’ to the left from right facilitates speed,
quality, and cost-effectiveness. Once the team becomes confident with the roles and responsibilities, the
model could be gradually implemented and the concept of Shift Left Testing could be followed in our regular
projects. Thus the team would be able to conquer the limitations of the conventional method. As testing is
performed from the earlier stages itself and regularly, it becomes easier to detect the bugs at every stage
in the development process. The early defect detection accelerates the process of taking corrective actions,
thereby reducing the cost and time for fixing the issues. By testing often, the team and the client always
remain aware of the current state of the code and are able to make planned decisions throughout the project.
Right from the project initiation, the test team is engaged in the system and they also play a significant role
in meeting the business goals of the organization. The graph given below depicts the difference between the
Shift Left Model and the Typical Quality Model.

4
Shift Left Testing Models
Shift Left Testing can be performed in four different manners and they are as follows:
1) Shift Left Traditional Testing: In the traditional V-Model approach, it could be noticed that
the majority of the focus was on the System and Acceptance level testing. But with this shift-left
testing approach, the focus and emphasis will shift more towards the lower level tests like unit and
integration level testing. For this, the testing team can make use of tools and testing types like API,
Database testing and the like that doesn’t rely completely on the GUI.
2) Shift Left Incremental Testing: To mitigate the failure risk of V-Model in large complex projects,
the trend is to breakdown the master V-Model into different increments of Shift-Left V-Model.
With this approach, we can ensure that testing is not being pushed towards the last of the master
V-Model, but is included as a critical element of each incremental release. Incremental shift-left
testing makes testing easier since it is performed on smaller tasks made by breaking down the
project tasks.
3) Shift Left in Agile/DevOps: In this model, the time period for the minimum viable product will
be reduced as compared to earlier models, i.e. this type of shift left testing is performed in multiple
sprints. The benefits of shift left can also be reaped in agile-based models as well. Agile/DevOps shift
left testing is mainly used for developmental testing and not for operational testing. Organizations
are using this method based on project requirements.
4) Model-Based Shift Left: The concept of shift left testing is to identify bugs at the earliest. But the
main problem is that the majority of the defects are introduced during the requirements gathering
and design phase. In this model, testing is started as early as possible by evaluating the requirements,
architecture, and reviews so that the bugs can be reported before the software development cycle
begins.

5
How to Perform Shift Left Testing?
Just as every aspect of the software development cycle requires, shift left testing too should be
performed systematically and meticulously. It requires careful planning and consistent follow-ups
and the process is as follows:
1) Planning the Test Lifecycle
The organizations must define the testing lifecycle in such a way that the most important testing
activities take place at the initial stages of the software lifecycle. Also, they are supposed to possess
good knowledge about the whole lifecycle before starting the development.
2) Collaborate Development and Testing Activities
Let’s assume that we need to understand the scope of testing in various stages, so it is advisable
to integrate the development and operation processes with testing activities. It not only helps to
identify the required time and effort but also helps prevent unwanted duplication.
3) Regular Feedback Mechanism for Early Bug Detection
Generally, testing takes place after completing the development process. In such cases, the product
is more prone to errors. In shift left testing, we follow a regular feedback mechanism where the
testers intimate their feedback to the developers promptly which helps to resolve the defects as
early as possible. This would also help management to make calculated decisions on the project.
4) Coding Exposure to Testers
Let’s assume that the testers have good coding knowledge. In such a case, it would be easy for them
to understand more about the defects and they would be capable of resolving trivial errors without
seeking the help of developers.
5) Reducing Risks by Static Testing
Early error detection can be achieved by doing static testing like inspection, reviews and this reduces
the risk of major defects during the later phases. It helps to ensure that the product is defect-free
and stable enough to move to the next stages.

6
Shift Left Testing has been an aspect of QA testing that has been gaining steam recently and the
reason for the same is its countless benefits. Let us list down a few advantages that we gain from
adopting this model.
1) Enhanced Product Quality
Let us consider that there's constant communication between different teams in a project.
Then, the developers and testers will work together and the testers will provide feedback to the
developers which will lead to quick bug fixes. Also, automation being a major part of shift left
testing will help us in performing testing a few times a day which will gradually improve the code
and product quality.
2) Declined Cost in Development, Testing and Bug Fixing
Suppose a bug is discovered at the initial stages of development, then the cost of fixing it will
be very less compared to the bug found in later stages. It is evident that the cost of bug fixing
substantially increases with the time it is discovered. In shift left testing, since testing takes place at
all the stages, bugs are found and resolved earlier and easily; thus the cost of development, testing
and bug fixing is declined. The graph given below depicts the relative cost of fixing defects.
Benefits of Shift Left Testing
Design
0
20
40
60
80
100
Implementation Testing Maintenance
1 6.5
15
100

7
3) Decreased Software and Business Risk
By analyzing processes it is easy to identify areas where software flaws could end in serious issues
in production. Using early testing we can achieve business growth through continuous quality
improvement and can also reduce business risk caused due to outages. We can explain this through
an example. Suppose a defect is introduced in requirement or any early phase in SDLC and the
tester finds that out in a later stage of SDLC then the rework cost is high and it will ultimately lead
to business risks.
4) Improved Test Coverage and Better Software Quality
Let’s assume that the testing gets started from the beginning of the development process. Then,
the application will be evaluated for all the features from the very beginning itself. In addition, the
testing team would have a better understanding of the business and functional requirements
due to improved collaboration. Each of the functionality and performance will be tested. Thus
improved test coverage helps in achieving better software quality.
5) Efficient Resolution of Bugs through Developer-Tester Collaboration
In the shift left method, the developers and testers work together. So, testing is initiated from the
very beginning of the development cycle and along with it bug fixes and verification are also done.
6) Increased Developer and QA Staff Productivity
Defects found in the later stage of SDLC lead to rework and thus it will hinder the productivity
of the developers and the QA staff. So, it is evident that by early testing we can minimize the
number of defects in an application and through this, we can increase the developer and QA staff
productivity. The following graph compares the test effort for early testing and shift left testing.

8
7) Improved Application Security and Overall Code Quality
Code quality could be improved considerably if an application has minimal bugs. Early testing plays a very
important role in decreasing the number of defects. Also, testers will get enough time for the requirement
analysis, documentation preparation, test case preparation, etc. and thus it becomes easy to understand the
scope and analyze it.
Requirement Development
Early Testing
Late Testing
System Test`

9
Testing Activities in the Development Phase
How is it possible to perform testing even when the application is not available? There are two types of
testing techniques that can be used for this.
1. Static Testing
2. Dynamic Testing
Static testing is also called ‘Non-Executable Testing’ and Dynamic Testing as ‘Executable Testing’ and in
this whitepaper, we are only discussing the former. The types that come under static testing are:
Inspection
Inspection is a formal type of review and is typically led by a trained moderator who isn’t the author. It is
a checklist based review and it makes use of the entry and exit criteria. The ultimate aim of inspection
isn’t only to spot defects but also to provide guidance for process improvement and also help improve the
quality of the document under review.
Review
The review process is a systematic examination of a document by one or more people with the aim of
finding and removing errors in the early stages. The review process can improve the development team
productivity and can either be formal or informal. Early detection of defects is possible through this
method.
Walkthrough
The Walkthrough is not a formal process. It is the best way to teach what the application is about and all
the functionality flows in the application. It is conducted by the authors / Subject matter expert.
Test activities in the early cycle can be explained through the below given diagram.

10
As shown in the Figure above, Guided Inspection and Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method (ATAM) are two
test activities that are part of the early cycle.
Guided Inspection: In the early stages of the software development cycle, one doesn’t have the application or
the code to test but we do have different models such as requirement models, analysis models, architecture
models and the like. Guided Inspection is a type of inspection technique in which the reviewer will examine
the model using the guidance of selected scenarios to check whether certain defects exist. By tracing the
contents of the model, the reviewer will define how the model would handle the scenario.
ATAM: ATAM is a risk identification method that has several implications. ATAM can be done during the early
phase of the software development cycle. It is less time consuming and cost-effective as it assesses only
the architectural design artifacts. Using ATAM we cannot predict the accurate quality attribute behavior as
predicting the accurate quality is impossible in the early stages of SDLC. Instead of checking the accurate
quality we can perform risk identification activity using ATAM, i.e., learning where an attribute of interest
is affected by the architectural design decision. Also, using ATAM we can improve the level of architectural
documentation and through this method we can analyze the risks, sensitive points and the trade-off points.
Review
Requirement
Guide Inspection
Analysis
Use Cases
Analysis Models
Architecture
Description
Design Models
Implementation
ATAM
Architectural Design
Guided Inspection
Detailed Design
Unit Integration
Coding
System Testing
Development

11
The cost of fixing bugs increases 10 to 100 times in the stages after product development and hence early
testing becomes mandatory to get rid of this. We can explain this through an example. Suppose a tester is
going through a requirement document and there exists a requirement as given below.
Requirement: Validation error should be displayed when a user enters an invalid username or password.
Error message to be displayed: “Registration/Signup error”
But the above-mentioned error message is not correct when the user enters an invalid username and
password. The actual error message to be displayed for invalid login is.
“Invalid username or password”
So there comes an error in requirement. The tester can add that requirement immediately to the document
so that there arises no issues in the development phase. Otherwise, if early testing had not been done, then
the developer would not have done the coding for this requirement. So the tester would have reported that
defect in the testing/later phase. This leads to rework by the development team and thus the cost to fix this
issue increases.
Early Testing and Analyzing of Requirements

12
From the figure, it is clear that testing is not an activity that should start only in the testing phase. In this
diagram, testing is present during Planning, Analysis & Design and Code & Build. Test planning should start
from the early stage of the project and once after all the requirements are baselined, the test plan and test
cases should be prepared. This will prove to be helpful in uncovering the gaps in requirements. Employing
shift left testing helped us transform a leading financial services company. The client followed manual testing
processes and this resulted in longer test execution time which in turn delayed the release to the market.
Implementing early bug detection and fixing them in the early stages enabled developers to spend more
time on feature development rather than debugging and fixing them all the time. The developers were able
to identify and fix the bugs in the early stages of the project using automated unit tests and static analysis.
Also, the development team was able to identify the integration problems and the code merging conflicts
early in the SDLC by implementing CI. This eventually simplified integrations and enabled rapid software
releases. The fact that the bugs were detected and fixed early increased the build quality and helped the
client to save both time and money.
Start End
Start Testing Early & Work on Every Stage of SDLC
Planning Analysis & Design Code & Build Testing

13
Keeping in mind that the shift left model is a different type of strategy, testers need to make some
changes in their already existing workflow. Here are some points that they need to keep in mind while
adopting the shift left test model.
• Right from the beginning of the project, the test team needs to be a part of the system to develop the
integration with the team and business and this will provide useful inputs at every stage of software
development.
• Testers should help in planning the resources, and the training and testing tools requirements by
working with the Business and Operations team. Testers are supposed to work with the rest of the
team in providing test leadership and give them support, regular feedback and guidance.
• Testers need to study and scrutinize the requirements for any ambiguity and to provide better clarity
and acceptance criteria definition.
• The QA team is supposed to follow the design review meetings regularly and study more about
product design and architecture. They should recommend alternate design options and create test
scenarios accordingly.
• By providing real examples, testers need to bring out accuracy and transparency in the requirements
which would help to understand the features that are in use. The clarity in requirements would
ultimately make it easier to detect the bugs that break the software functionality and fix them at the
earliest
• Automation is a vital part of shift left testing. The QA team members who are engaged in the
automation of test cases have to be strong with a number of test frameworks and programming
languages. The testers should get involved in the standup meetings and code reviews and gradually
this knowledge and understanding can prove to be useful in future projects. This will also help the QA
team to come up with better test strategies.
The Ultimate Shift Left Strategy Checklist for Testers

14
The Shift Left Testing approach could be a lifesaver for testing teams, who have been struggling with deadlines towards
sprint closure and companies who suffer from huge defect fixing cost in production and poor software quality. By using
the shift left method, we can obtain software that is stable and functionally reliable. The shift left method helps to find
the bugs earlier thereby reducing the cost by fixing it in the initial stages itself. It also provides effective means to perform
testing in parallel to the development processes. This increases the quality of the applications and allows enterprises to be
competitive and productive. It is worth a shot to try implementing the Shift Left model in our regular projects and once
the benefits are noticed by management, it would be automatically incorporated into other projects as well.
Conclusion
Authors
Anjana KP Varsha KV
Senior Software Test Engineer,
RapidValue
Software Test Engineer,
RapidValue
If you’d like to know more about implementing shift left QA strategy for your product
engineering initiatives, please reach out to us at contactus@rapidvaluesolutions.com

15
Disclaimer:
This document contains information that is confidential and proprietary to RapidValue Solutions Inc. No part of it may be used,
circulated, quoted, or reproduced for distribution outside RapidValue. If you are not the intended recipient of this report, you are
hereby notified that the use, circulation, quoting, or reproducing of this report is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful.
RapidValue is a global leader in digital product engineering, including mobility,
omni-channel,IoT,AI,RPAandcloudservicestoenterprisesworldwide.RapidValue
offers its digital services to the world’s top brands, Fortune 1000 companies and
innovative emerging start-ups. With offices in the United States, the United
Kingdom, Germany and India and operations spread across the Middle-East,
Europe and Canada, RapidValue delivers enterprise services and solutions across
various industry verticals.
www.rapidvaluesolutions.com
+1 877.643.1850
www.rapidvaluesolutions.com/blog
contactus@rapidvaluesolutions.com
April, 2020©RapidValue Solutions

The Definitive Guide to Implementing Shift Left Testing in QA

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