If you see software engineers wearing their “leave me alone” headphones, it’s often for a good reason: They only have about 10 hours a week to perform “deep work,” according to Retool’s 2022 State of Engineering Time report.
Software developer and engineer respondents cited testing changes as their most time-consuming task, which can take hours to run and significantly disrupt their work. Other duties that eat up their time include urgent, reactive work — otherwise known as “firefighting” — and integrating work between different teams and architectures.
There are only so many hours in a workday, and finding ways to save time and streamline tasks is critical to any employee’s ability to execute their job responsibilities and grow in their role. Testing specifically, is an essential part of software development, as it’s needed to identify and correct bugs before software is released to customers and during continuous code integration. While software teams can’t cut back the amount of testing that needs to be done, it is possible to reduce the time spent on this task by leveraging tools that can automate the routine process previously done manually.
Putting Bitbucket to Use for Automated Testing and Task Transparency
One key automation tool is Atlassian’s Bitbucket, a hosting server used for code and code review. Its Pipelines tool is an integrated CI/CD service that allows developers to automatically build, test, and deploy code based on configuration files in their repository. Users can leverage Bitbucket to run tests on demand when needed or schedule daily testing at a set time, which ultimately enables developers to work on other tasks.
During the testing process, Bitbucket Pipelines will automatically find and fix security vulnerabilities in the code. If a bug is found, Bitbucket helps determine the cause and impact of the error. Not only does the tool enable software developers to direct their focus on other work during automated testing, but it also eliminates the added work of discovering the source of an error when they do arise, giving teams the ability to promptly implement a solution.
In addition to streamlining and adding visibility during testing, Bitbucket can help improve an IT team’s testing workflow transparency. Bitbucket can be easily integrated into Jira Software for end-to-end visibility on tasks. Tasks that are defined in Jira automatically update as developers annotate commits with the task and push them to Bitbucket. Bitbucket Pipelines also collect insights that can improve productivity, such as how often deploys are going out, how rapidly features are being completed, and how long it takes for a project to go from task creation to deployment. As a result, business leaders have a broader purview into what takes developers the most time, and what needs to change to give developers more time back.
Overall, Bitbucket works as a centralized location for teams from which they can plan and manage projects, and ensure that nothing is missed during code development and software releases—especially testing. Plus, Bitbucket can integrate with Slack to help keep teams in the loop on code changes. Having an easily accessible source of information ensures project visibility and reduces the risk of having to “firefight” issues that were overlooked later.
Working With a Partner to Optimize Automation
Tools like Bitbucket can help IT teams save time—but implementing a new system or optimizing an existing one can also be time-consuming in itself. That’s where an Atlassian Platinum Solution Partner like Contegix can help. With deep knowledge of Atlassian products like Jira and Bitbucket, Contegix’s experts will maximize an organization’s investment by helping plan, deploy, and optimize a team’s use of the tools to help alleviate any specific pain points teams are experiencing.
By working with Contegix, an organization can remove time-consuming testing tasks off the shoulders of its IT team and give them more time for deep work that drives business outcomes forward.
Learn more about how Contegix can support your organization in streamlining and optimizing performance.