Performance testing is often a barrier to accelerating software delivery. Because you need a production-like environment, performance testing often waits until the entire application is complete. But you shouldn't wait until then to get started. You can begin testing earlier to reduce rework and address issues sooner.

The focus on automation and “continuous everything,” from integration, deployment, and now all the buzz about continuous testing, makes the daily activities of a tester in DevOps challenging. Testers may be used to controlling quality—or thinking they do—but they need to pivot to assuring their teams focus on quality.

As testers, are we disciplinarians? We shouldn't fall into the trap of controlling quality or becoming quality police. Instead, we should be true facilitators of quality, enabling the product team to own it in their own right at every stage. Isn’t this what teachers do, too, in the learning process? What is our role?