DevOps for Dynamics 365

DevOps demands an uninterrupted pace and doesn't allow long stabilization periods. Continuous test demands more testing more often. It automates code analysis and either returns code to developers for rework or advances the code to the next step in the DevOps process.

It also helps shift the all too common process of inserting automated testing tools run by people that didn't create the code and initiated just ahead of the deployment process to instead imposing testing rigor closer the source and with the people that own the code. Some DevOps teams refer to this as a 'Shift Left' testing approach as testing is expanded to every step prior to late stage testing.

A reality of software development is that undisciplined development programs will result in programmers cutting corners in areas such as documentation, unit testing, technical debt and other post-coding tasks. A DevOps program must bring visibility and rigor to the software delivery pipeline and throughout the end to end software development lifecycle. Here are several DevOps test tools that can help.

• Test-driven development (TDD) isn't really a tool but a test-first programming concept that links user stories to software requirements and supporting test cases. Each new CRM software feature starts by creating a succinct test that anticipates the user story requirements and exception conditions. As opposed to unit tests which are most often written after the code is developed, TDD requires the programmer to first consider outcomes and errors before writing any code. TDD tests are small, insulated units often defined as classes, or groups of related functions called modules. TDD tests can flow into larger code sets and be triggered automatically during code base reviews which occur before the build process. Errors are typically identified and resolved near the source as TDD unit tests notify the programmer of the defect before the code is forwarded to QA or downstream testers. Test driven development aids short development iterations, which makes it ideal for high velocity sprints and DevOps.
• There are many Unit Tests tools that can be applied to Microsoft CRM custom code, including IntelliTest, Test Explorer, Microsoft Fakes isolation framework, the Microsoft unit test framework for managed code, and code coverage tools. Determining the best tool(s) should be a part of your Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC). It's equally important that your methods test for the right outcomes. Unit tests should isolate and test individual functions or procedures that fulfil product backlog items. Good unit testing requires the developer to consider and verify inputs, outputs, and error conditions before code is passed to Quality Assurance (QA).
• IntelliTest is one of my favorite Visual Studio tools for Dynamics CRM code testing. This tool interrogates .NET code and generates test cases, unit tests and test data. It also delivers alerts when other programmers or code subsequently breaks one of the tests. Compared to manual methods, this tool increases code coverage testing and decreases the effort for dev staff.
• Code Analysis in Microsoft DevOps or VSTS improves code quality early in the development cycle by examining managed assemblies, applying rules to test code styles, and detecting violations of the .NET Framework Design Guidelines. My experience is that issues detected by Code Analysis result in fewer downstream errors and fewer break-fix iterations.
• Code Metrics are software measures that bring objective code scoring to custom software development. A code metric that I have found to be influential in DevOps for Dynamics CRM software programs is the Maintainability Index. Cloud CRM systems offer many advantages, but when custom code veers outside the standards or constructs of the CRM software, companies incur greater complexity, time and cost for semi-annual upgrades. The Maintainability Index displays color coded scores between 1 and 100. A green score between 20 and 100 will result in the fewest maintainability problems. A yellow score between 10 and 19 suggests significant manual efforts for CRM upgrades will be required. A red score of 1 and 9 predicts troublesome software updates and upgrades that begin to resemble the fork lift upgrade process of on-premise systems, which cloud CRM systems were to replace. Code metrics also score critical factors such as security, performance and scalability. Detecting these types of issues at the source and time of initial development saves significant time and cost as compared to detecting these issues later in the DevOps cycle, when code refactoring will be required.
• SonarQube is a complimentary code quality detection tool. This open source software supports C# and other languages commonly used to modify Microsoft CRM and detects issues with projects, methods and classes. It scores coding standards, code coverage, code complexity, support for architectural guidelines and many other factors which improve CRM software quality and aid a CRM DevOps program.
• Layer Validation applies layer diagrams to validate code design. Layer diagrams illustrate the intended CRM application architecture in Visual Studio. They include major components and functional units of the design and their interdependencies. Unlike traditional architecture diagrams, layer diagrams test and validate that custom code and its dependencies conform to the architectural design. For example, architecture design requires that the Microsoft CRM user interface (UI) modifications integrate to the API or application layer. Any custom code that results in the UI integrating to the data layer would be shown as a violation in the layer diagrams. This tool can also be used to predictively model architectural changes in the layer diagram and show the impact to code and affected dependencies. Including this step in your CRM DevOps process will reduce lengthy refactoring of technical debt that would otherwise accumulate and be detected much later in the cycle.
• Roslyn is the .NET compiler that supports dynamic compilation and execution as well as code refactoring. Roslyn is written in C# and vb.net which exposes the compiler and makes it extensible for custom code analysis (i.e. test for custom rules in your code) or refactoring with API services.
• The most comprehensive QA test tool I've found is Rainforest. It's a crowdsourced QA-as-a-Service platform for on demand testing. QA leads author functional and regression tests in concert with an array of variables. Rainforest then coordinates the testing among their 50,000+ qualified testers and delivers results in less than an hour. It's a powerful tool for going well beyond happy path scenarios and achieving higher quality testing results that are essential for mission critical software and consumer or customer facing applications. Applause is another crowd sourced QA tool that can be leveraged to apply more testing than any single QA team could do manually.
• User Acceptance Testing (UAT) is the one testing method that is seldom automated. The benefit of users manually testing the product against user stories and real-world conditions is that they not only verify product readiness, they also verify user preparedness. Steps to improve UAT include designing good test cases, using test data indicative of real data, testing beyond happy-path scenarios, testing in a pre-prod environment (i.e. an exact replica of the production environment), testing performed by actual users, and recognizing omissions are more likely new user stories than defects.

Continuous testing is symbiotic with continuous integration. The cost of identifying and resolving defects at the source is exponentially lower than the cost of detecting defects in downstream testing and then routing those bugs back to the source. Early testing detection and resolution is pre-requisite to implementing DevOps.