Strategies to Release Error-Free Software Programs
March 14th, 2021
There are a number of different strategies that you can use to ensure that you always release polished software programs that aren’t filled with bugs and glitches. It can be extremely frustrating for users to install a program and experience several glitches as they interact with the program.
The good news is that there are many different ways to protect the quality of your development process and you are going to have the opportunity to learn about several tips and tricks that can be used to release error-free software programs.
The Advantages of Using a CI/CD Pipeline
CI/CD Pipelines have several important advantages that you can take advantage of. One of the largest advantages is the ability to continuously deploy smaller updates to your software through a pipeline that strictly checks your code through automated checks.
This generally allows for more automation and efficiency. You will also appreciate that faulty code will oftentimes be noticed during the automated code testing process and this will generally prevent the immediate deployment of the updated code. This is a great system that can usually ensure that your efficiency and quality remain high when deploying code for a software program.
In the event that a glitchy update to your software slips through the cracks and actually gets published onto your software, CI/CD pipelines usually make it much easier to track down errors and glitches because of the ability to use version management to isolate issues. This will allow you to find the portion of code that is creating problems in a timely manner.
CI/CD pipelines are supposed to run in an efficient manner with an automated process taking much of the load off of individuals. You should expect to take advantage of a lot of efficient features, but there are also some disadvantages to using a CI/CD pipeline as well.
Security within CI/CD pipelines is not as thorough as it needs to be in some circumstances, which can cause some problems. It’s important to continuously monitor the status of your CI/CD pipeline to ensure that everything is running effectively without the potential for a security breach.
With a CI/CD pipeline, if you notice a possible breach in your security, you should shut down access to various portions of your pipeline immediately to prevent any breaches to your software program.
Automated Code Checks
By using automated code checks, you are forcing all of your new code to be checked through a consistent process that promotes quality and efficiency. While a few faulty pieces of code may still slip through the cracks, it will be much easier to track down any issues when using automated code checks and version management.
You should not be intimidated by using automated code checks and other similar tactics to protect the quality of your build deployments to your software program. This is a great efficient way to immediately boost the consistency in the quality of your code.
Bug Reporting
One of the best strategies that you could use is to have an effective ‘bug reporting’ system integrated into your software so that users can report bugs that they notice and have the feedback immediately be deployed to the development team through an automated process.
This is an incredible way to allow your very own clients to help you resolve glitches or bugs that might pop up into your software.
If you use this strategy correctly, you could have bugs and glitches fixed within hours of having them reported through the system that you have in place.
Your ultimate goal should be to string together a system that allows you to receive feedback, debug errors, and implement a fix, all in a short period of time. If you can craft this important system within your software’s development pipeline, you will be taking advantage of one of the best strategies in the industry to ensure that your software remains efficient.
Virtual Machines
A lot of software bugs only show up on very specific computer specifications. This can make it nearly impossible to track down rare glitches or bugs that only harm certain types of computers. By using a virtual machine, you can easily test a variety of simulated computer configurations to see if you can reproduce an error.
It’s not the most efficient way of releasing error-free software but it can be used in some rarer situations where you might be trying to fix specific bugs that relate to a very specific situation.
There are many only tools that you can use to simulate computers through a virtual machine and it is highly recommended that you take advantage of this useful strategy when producing code for a software program that can be installed on many different types of computers.
Quality Assurance Testing
The final topic that you might be interested in learning more about is quality assurance testing. This process is generally handled by a dedicated team of developmental testers that sit down and try to prevent common bugs from plaguing your software program.
Some companies will simply use automated testing to find all of their software bugs, but it’s nearly impossible to track down all software glitches with just automated testing. A quality assurance team within your development pipeline can serve as an important lifeline to prevent major glitches from being deployed into your software.
Don’t neglect quality assurance testing unless you absolutely have to rely on automated testing instead. There are so many crucial reasons for having a dedicated team of quality assurance testers because it will almost certainly help you to consistently release error-free builds for your software.
Final Thoughts
Now that you’ve had an opportunity to learn about several different strategies that you can use to release error-free software programs, it’s probably a good idea to summarize some of the information within this post.
These extensive pipelines are generally integrated with a ton of redundancy. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing if your ultimate goal is to strip down your software program of any glitches or errors.
It’s probably impossible to eliminate every single minor bug from your code, but by using these incredible strategies, you are certainly increasing the chances of releasing error-free code in the future.
Gabe Nelson is a content specialist of over 7 years of experience. Just out of high school he set off crab fishing on the Bering sea in Alaska. From there he went back home to finish his college degree at the University of Montana. He has written hundreds of content pieces in numerous niches. Currently, he lives in Missouri with his wife and kids.
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