What are the best practices for integrating unit testing into your CI/CD pipeline?

2 Write testable code

The second step to integrate unit testing into your CI/CD pipeline is to write testable code, which means code that is easy to isolate, mock, and verify. Testable code follows some principles, such as single responsibility, loose coupling, high cohesion, and dependency injection. These principles help you design your code in a way that each unit has a clear and specific purpose, has minimal dependencies on other units, and can be replaced or modified without affecting the rest of the code. Writing testable code makes your unit testing easier, faster, and more accurate.

3 Follow a naming convention

The third step to integrate unit testing into your CI/CD pipeline is to follow a naming convention for your unit tests, which means using a consistent and descriptive way to name your test classes, methods, and files. A naming convention helps you organize your unit tests in a logical and readable way, and makes it easier for your CI/CD tools to identify and execute them. A common naming convention for unit tests is to use the name of the class or method under test, followed by the expected behavior or scenario, and optionally the input or output parameters. For example, a unit test for the method addTwoNumbers(int a, int b) could be named addTwoNumbers_ReturnsSumOfTwoIntegers.

4 Run unit tests frequently

The fourth step to integrate unit testing into your CI/CD pipeline is to run unit tests frequently, which means executing your unit tests every time you make a change to your code, or at least before you commit or push your code to the repository. Running unit tests frequently helps you detect and fix bugs early, avoid regression errors, and ensure the quality and functionality of your code. You can use your CI/CD tools to automate the running of unit tests, and configure them to trigger the tests based on certain events, such as code changes, pull requests, or scheduled intervals.

6 Refactor and improve unit tests

The sixth step to integrate unit testing into your CI/CD pipeline is to refactor and improve unit tests, which means modifying and enhancing your unit tests to make them more maintainable, reliable, and reusable. Refactoring and improving unit tests helps you keep your unit tests up to date with your code changes, avoid duplication and complexity, and increase your testing confidence and value. You can use your unit testing framework and your CI/CD tools to help you refactor and improve unit tests, such as using assertions, annotations, fixtures, and data-driven testing. You should also follow some best practices for unit testing, such as using the arrange-act-assert pattern, testing one thing at a time, and avoiding hard-coded values.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?