Why Traditional E2E Testing Falls Short
Explore the limitations of traditional testing approaches and how testing deployed infrastructure changes the game.
End-to-end testing has been a cornerstone of software quality for decades. But as applications have evolved, traditional E2E testing approaches have struggled to keep up.
The Evolution of Modern Applications
Today's applications are fundamentally different from those of even five years ago:
- **Microservices architecture** - Applications are distributed across many services
- **Third-party dependencies** - Core functionality often relies on external APIs
- **Multi-cloud deployments** - Infrastructure spans multiple providers
- **Continuous deployment** - Changes ship multiple times per day
Where Traditional E2E Falls Short
1. Mock Dependency
Traditional E2E tests often mock external services to ensure test reliability. But mocks have significant drawbacks:
- **Drift** - Mocks quickly become outdated as APIs change
- **False positives** - Tests pass even when real integrations are broken
- **Incomplete coverage** - Edge cases in external services aren't tested
2. Environment Parity
Local development environments rarely match production:
- Different database versions
- Missing environment variables
- Network configuration differences
- Service discovery issues
3. Flaky Tests
E2E tests are notorious for being flaky. Common causes include:
- Timing issues with asynchronous operations
- Race conditions in parallel test execution
- External service rate limiting
- Network latency variations
A Better Approach
What if instead of testing a simulation of your application, you tested the real thing?
That's the core insight behind Conduii. By testing your actual deployed infrastructure, you get:
- **Real integration testing** - No more mock drift
- **Production parity** - You're testing what your users experience
- **Reliable results** - Tests against stable deployed infrastructure
Making the Switch
Transitioning from traditional E2E to deployed infrastructure testing doesn't mean throwing away everything you've built. Here's how to get started:
- **Start with health checks** - Verify all services are reachable
- **Add integration tests** - Test key user flows across services
- **Implement monitors** - Continuous testing in production
- **Set up alerts** - Know immediately when something breaks
Conclusion
Traditional E2E testing served us well, but modern applications require modern testing approaches. Testing deployed infrastructure provides the confidence you need to ship fast without breaking things.