Concepts
There is a conscionable need to understand the essential elements and benefits of creating a build that is automated, self-testing, and fast. This holds a significant importance for the Advanced Certified Scrum Developer (A-CSD) exam, as it underpins many of the principals of agile software development – continual integration and delivering a working product incrementally and speedily.
1. Why an Automated Build?
An automated build system plays a pivotal role in optimizing the software development process and reducing the scope for human errors. Automating the build reduces time and resources by enabling the system to build, test, report, and even deploy the software automatically. Let’s take the example of continuous integration (CI) servers like Jenkins, Travis CI, and CircleCI. These tools can be staged to automate builds at specified times or, more commonly, whenever a change is committed to the repository.
2. The Importance of Self-Testing
A self-testing build enhances the reliability and speed of the software development process. Here, every change made in the repository is automatically tested. This helps in early detection of defects and issues, thereby reducing the cost and time involved in fixing these issues.
For instance, you can make use of testing frameworks such as JUnit, NUnit, TestNG, etc., to create automated tests for the software. These tests can then be run every time a new commit is made to the repository, enabling immediate identification and handling of any issues in the code.
3. Fast Builds – A Necessity
A fast build process prevents bottlenecks in the development process, enhances productivity, and enables frequent integration of code. A long build time can hinder the progress of development and lead to a build-up of unverified changes, thus defeating the purpose of Agile and Scrum.
A technique to ensure fast build is through the implementation of incremental builds – instead of building and testing the whole system every time a change is made, only the modified components and their dependencies are built and tested.
Let’s discuss an example here, Maven, a powerful project management tool, has an option ‘–am’ which ensures that Maven builds only the current project and any of its dependencies which need to be updated, thus ensuring a fast and efficient build process.
Comparison between Different Build Systems
| Build System | Automated | Self-Testing | Fast |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jenkins | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Travis CI | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CircleCI | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ANT | Yes | No | Yes |
| Maven | Yes | No | Yes |
Conclusion
In conclusion, to ace the Advanced Certified Scrum Developer (A-CSD) exam, it’s important that you’re proficient in building an automated and self-testing system that aims at fast and repeated build cycles. This competency not only makes the development process efficient but also bolsters the principles of Agile and Scrum to deliver a functional product incrementally and rapidly.
Answer the Questions in Comment Section
True or False: Automated builds should be self-testing.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: In an ideal scenario, every time a change is submitted, the system should be built and tested automatically.
Which of the following are characteristics of a good build process? (Select all that apply)
- A) Slow
- B) Automated
- C) Manual
- D) Self-testing
- E) Requires constant supervision
Answer: B and D
Explanation: A good build process should be automated, freeing up developers’ time for other tasks. Also, it should be self-testing, meaning it should automatically run and validate tests associated with the codebase.
True or False: Having a fast build process is unnecessary as long as it is automated and self-testing.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Speed is critical in a build process. A fast build process provides quick feedback about any potential issues, allowing them to be fixed quickly.
The aim of creating a build that is automated, self-testing and fast is to
- A) Increase code change pace
- B) Decrease complexity in code
- C) Increase direct supervision
- D) Decrease feedback time
Answer: D
Explanation: The primary goal of an automated, self-testing, and fast build is to reduce feedback time, allowing developers to address issues more promptly.
True or False: In an automated build, manual intervention is a must to manage errors and issues.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: One of the key features of an automated build is that it can manage itself, including handling errors and issues.
True or False: A self-testing build validates the health of the codebase before making changes.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: A self-testing build runs tests to validate the health of the codebase. This ensures that any new code changes won’t break the system.
Which of the following can you use for automated, self-testing, and fast builds in a scrum environment?
- A) Jenkins
- B) Docker
- C) GitLab CI/CD
- D) All of the above
Answer: D
Explanation: Jenkins, Docker, and GitLab CI/CD are all tools that can be used to create automated, self-testing, and fast builds in a Scrum environment.
True or False: Automated, self-testing, fast builds help in Scrum’s principle of promoting sustainable development.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Explanation: The automation and speed of such builds reduce stress, avoid lateness and support the principle of promoting sustainable development in Scrum.
Every time a code change is submitted, the system should be built and tested automatically. This is known as:
- A) Continuous Integration
- B) Continuous Development
- C) Continuous Deployment
- D) Continuous Building
Answer: A Continuous Integration
Explanation: Continuous Integration is the practice of merging all developers’ changes to a code base into a shared mainline several times a day.
True or False: Automated, self-testing, fast builds eliminate the need for QA team.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: Automated, self-testing, fast builds can relieve some of the load off the QA team, but does not eliminate the need for them. Detailed, complex tests sometimes require human insight and oversight.
True or False: Automated, self-testing, fast builds increase the time between making a change and seeing that change in production.
- True
- False
Answer: False
Explanation: One of the main goals of having automated, self-testing, fast builds is to decrease the time between making a change and seeing that change in production.
Which of the following are benefits of an automated build process? (Select all that apply)
- A. Fast feedback
- B. High-quality software
- C. Increased time for complex problem solving
- D. Increased time for manual testing
Answer: A, B, C
Explanation: Automated build process provides fast feedback, ensures high-quality software by reducing bugs, and frees up time for developers to focus on complex problem-solving. However, it does not increase time for manual testing; instead, it reduces it.
This blog post really highlights the importance of having an automated, self-testing, and fast build process for any Scrum team.
Absolutely! A quick feedback loop is crucial for maintaining code quality and helps in identifying issues early.
How do you ensure that the build process remains fast as the codebase grows bigger?
Thanks for the insightful blog post!
Great read! This will definitely help me as I prepare for my A-CSD exam.
Can anyone suggest good tools for setting up an automated CI/CD pipeline for a Java project?
I disagree with the part that says parallelizing builds is always beneficial. Sometimes it just complicates things.
Informative post! Looking forward to implementing these practices in my own projects.