There is probably more trust in the world today than at any other point in history—not necessarily by choice, but because of our use of software to carry out almost every type of transaction. The use of blockchain networks brings visibility to those networks of transactions: Information about an asset that was once held by separate owners is changing to the lifetime history of an asset or transaction and is shared between all stakeholders.
For software developers, this means ensuring the integrity of a blockchain network is paramount. To that end, three key interesting aspects regarding continuous testing are emerging:
- New approaches to business networks require the ability to test supply-chain business processes and transactions.
- Reliance on shared technology ecosystems requires the ability to test APIs from multiple perspectives and to simulate the behavior of consensus.
- Increased dependency of APIs requires the ability to test integrations at scale without affecting distributed ledgers in which any interaction is immutable (unchangeable) and final.
Project teams face an unprecedented demand for first-time quality while minimizing the impact of testing on the team’s delivery. To respond to this challenge, test teams are enhancing their capabilities so they can test:
- Apps that integrate with a blockchain network;
- Chaincode that manages the execution of transactions on a blockchain network; and
- Provision and scalability of a blockchain network.
In addition to these new capabilities, proven continuous testing techniques and tools can be adopted to help the team deliver quality software into their blockchain ecosystem.
Test Entire Ecosystems
Using a blockchain network means an organization is redefining the structure of its business networks and processes, connecting distributed supply chains with a single transaction backbone. Projects need testers to minimize the risk of business disruption by validating every business process works across all stakeholders on the blockchain network.
Test State Early—Shift Left
In a blockchain ecosystem, the new paradigm is state-based communication, not message-based communication. The behavior of the state of an asset is influenced constantly by market, internal and regulatory changes, so projects increasingly are adopting Agile and DevOps practices to respond as quickly as possible. Shifting testing to the left on an Agile project means the team can test early, and those tests can then be reused continuously. Providing early, iterative feedback on quality at the time of development means fewer problems are found late in the life cycle, where their business impact can be severe.
Establish Technical Trust
One of the great things about blockchain technology is the potential to create greater transparency throughout an ecosystem. Trust is embodied in the transaction itself, which gives an important new role for digital systems of trust. Regulators and owners of a blockchain network must ask testers to validate the codification of contracts, compliance and certifications, which are then deployed into the blockchain network and embodied within the business transactions.
Use of blockchain technology will fundamentally change business processes and enable new opportunities. Success depends on the level of trust stakeholders have in the blockchain network and the blockchain ecosystem.
However, a blockchain ecosystem is an environment shared among different organizations, each of which has a stake in—and dependence on—the overall system. This means each organization must trust the other stakeholders to fully test any software that interacts with the blockchain ecosystem in a manner that will not impact the reliability of the overall system. As such, a blockchain ecosystem that has a culture and reputation of technical trust between the dependent stakeholders is more likely to be successful. Continuous testing brings trust throughout the blockchain ecosystem.
To establish technical trust in a blockchain ecosystem, ensure these four key things:
- Your team can test when needed, not just when possible.
- Required technical environment works as required to support the business flows.
- Business processes and transactions run as expected.
- Solution scales to the expected usage.
Benefits of Continuous Testing and ‘Shift Left’
Enabling teams to shift testing to the left means projects can test when needed, not just when possible. Continuous testing means an organization can deliver capabilities faster, respond quickly to ongoing changes and realize the value of transforming applications to utilize the power of a blockchain network.
Watch the webinar replay on how to implement quality checks as early as possible, run tests as often as possible and integrate automated testing with release management to minimize the complexity of deployment.
About the Author / James Hunter
James has spent a large part of his career architecting and implementing large-scale, distributed systems in the finance, public and defense sectors. He now leads a global business segment responsible for defining technology strategy then developing and implementing solutions for both IBM and clients. Mentoring and encouraging future technical leaders is important to James. He works with students of all ages and speaks in primary schools to universities to evangelize on the benefits of technology and the positive impact software can have on our society and the environment. He has a degree in Management Systems and he is a Chartered Fellow of the British Computer Society. Connect with James on LinkedIn/Twitter
