04.4 · Capability in Engineering

Engineering quality

Practices that keep software correct as it changes: tests, reviews, debugging and steady improvement of the code.

Map6 skills

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6 skillsClick a hexagon to set your status

04.4.1Automated testingTests that run automatically and catch regressions early.
04.4.2Integration testsTests that check components working together, including real databases or services.
04.4.3End-to-end testsTests that drive the real product like a user would.
04.4.4Code reviewReviewing changes to catch problems and share knowledge.
04.4.5DebuggingFinding the real cause of a problem systematically.
04.4.6RefactoringImproving code structure without changing its behavior.

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Where to start

3 resources

docsStart here
Google engineering practices, code review ↗
Google · 30 min
How Google reviews code, from what reviewers look for to how authors should write small changes.
articleGo deeper
The practical test pyramid ↗
Ham Vocke (martinfowler.com) · 2018 · 55 min
A thorough, code-heavy guide to unit, integration and end-to-end tests and how many of each to write.
bookGo deeper · Paid
Refactoring ↗
Martin Fowler · catalog
The standard book on improving code without changing behavior. The site has a free catalog of the refactorings.

2 tools

ToolOpen source
Vitest
vitest.dev ↗
Fast open-source unit and integration test runner for JavaScript and TypeScript.
ToolOpen source
Playwright
playwright.dev ↗
Open-source end-to-end testing across Chromium, Firefox and WebKit.