Every objective has certain elements that are fundamental to its success. These include the supporting tasks or systems that we take for granted but without which our “real” work could not get done. In order for any organization or team to meet its primary objectives, these fundamentals need to be functioning properly.

There's a simple rule for the minimum values testers should explore: “none, one, some”—or, how the software behaves if you send it nothing, one thing, or some set greater than one. It's not comprehensive, but it gives a good feel for how the feature works at the moment. Developers can also use this in unit testing.

Teams need a means of identifying potential bugs and security concerns prior to release—with speed and precision, and without the need to roll back or stage. By simultaneously running live user traffic against the current software version and the proposed upgrade, you can detect bugs while reducing risk and downtime.