Devops for QA : Is programming required?

Recently I got this query

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I am working as a Testing team lead in manual testing so i don’t have a programming knowledge. Now, I want to learn DevOps. Before join in this course i want to clarify my doubts.

1. Is it possible to learn as a manual tester because I don’t have a programming knowledge?

2. Do I need to write or implement more coding or scripts?

3. Once I finished DevOps course and certification, can I work and perform well?

4. Most importantly, can I pick up the DevOps tools as a non programming knowledge?

Already I discussed with some institutions and friends circle, every one tells their different opinions. Some of the institutions told me that I need to implement 8 to 10 commands only.

I can understand they are speaking as a money minded. So eagerly I am waiting for your valuable reply from you. Please reply me as soon as possible. Thank You.

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Here is what I am planning to reply.

Hi,

Thanks for your email. It shows that you are curious as well as ignorant of what Devops is?

Devops is set of three basic principles of increasing flow, taking regular feedback and continuous learning with experimentations. It is not only about tools but tools plays a vital role implementing devops principles.

Automation is one of the major component of devops, in fact people has made devops and automation synonymous to each other which is wrong but quite popular.

Devops foundation certification course is about getting yourself familiar with the concept of devops and comprehension of major terminologies around devops. It is not a tool introduction course. So no programming knowledge is required to take this course and give exam for this certification. There will not be a single question which will ask you to write any code. It is more about holistic approach to implement devops in any project or organization.

Having said that, Let me be clear on very specific part of your email. Yes, you will need to have basic understanding of scripting control structure to be successful in testing automation. You can not claim to be a good devops QA person if you can not do some automation. Requirement of programming skills will vary based on the selection of automation tool. Some tools like Cucumber have very domain specific languages to work with while some tools like selenium require javascript level knowledge.

Required level of programming control structures also depends on your role in the team, if you are working as a test case writer, then you need to be good at it, on the other hand, if you are in lead or manager level, you just need to develop an ability to read code.

Now let me answer your all questions one by one, and I may end up repeating myself.

1. Is it possible to learn as a manual tester because I don’t have a programming knowledge?

Yes it is possible depending on your role in devops implementation cycle but programming knowledge will give you added advantage at every level. You do not need to be a master of programming, only some control structure and a mind to apply your logic in writing your test cases will be good enough.

2. Do I need to write or implement more coding or scripts?

Again, It depends on your role, a manager level person will rarely needs to write code, but it is good to know your things.

3. Once I finished DevOps course and certification, can I work and perform well?

Devops foundation certification will give you insight and roadmap to be successful, actual success depends on you and how you use this knowledge.

4. Most importantly, can I pick up the DevOps tools as a non programming knowledge?

Answer is yes, as devops also include agile and some other practices, you can play good role in other respective fields which does not require any programming knowledge.

Devops institute has also launched a very specific course for QA persons only.

These are some of the pics from own training sessions.