What are quality gates?

Teams that enforce consistent evaluation at key stages can identify and address issues early to reduce the risk of defects in later stages. Quality gates are integral to maintaining high standards in software development and fostering confidence in the final product.

In Agile software development, quality gates are seamlessly integrated into iterative workflows to maintain quality while ensuring rapid delivery. These gates are used in each sprint or iteration to evaluate deliverables, such as code commits, builds, or user stories, against agreed-upon quality benchmarks.

Agile quality gates often include continuous integration and testing pipelines that automate checks for issues like failing tests, security vulnerabilities, or incomplete documentation. They support the Agile principles of delivering working software frequently while maintaining a sustainable development pace. By embedding quality gates in Agile processes, teams ensure that each increment of the software is reliable, functional, and ready for deployment.

Examples of quality gates include automated checks that act as a safeguard to ensure the software meets quality expectations before moving forward. These include checks on code quality, build validation, security compliance, test results, and performance benchmarks:

• Code quality: Evaluate metrics like code coverage, complexity, and adherence to coding standards with tools like SonarQube.
• Build validation: Ensure successful compilation and resolution of dependencies in continuous integration pipelines.
• Security compliance: Scan for vulnerabilities through tools like OWASP Dependency-Check or Snyk.
• Unit and integration test results: Verify that critical tests pass to confirm functionality and integration integrity.
• Performance benchmarks: Measure execution time, resource usage, or response times to meet performance expectations.

Quality gates are essential for businesses to maintain high standards, reduce risks, and optimize resources in software development. They help catch defects early, minimizing costly rework and delays in the later stages of the project. Quality gates foster trust with stakeholders and end users by ensuring compliance with industry standards and organizational policies. 

Additionally, these gates enhance team productivity through the automation of repetitive quality checks that allow developers to focus on innovation. Ultimately, quality gates contribute to delivering reliable, secure, and high-performing software that strengthens a business's reputation and competitive edge.

Enji features tools that support the creation and maintenance of quality gates in any context. Through background data collection, Enji supports quality gates without interference and conducts non-stop monitoring.

• Routine Alerts give leaders and managers automated updates
• Individual and Team Code Metrics present code-specific data in a single dashboard

Every team and business is different, and Enji offers teams customizable quality gates and metrics that meet their needs and situations. As expectations and contexts change, teams can adapt Enji to report necessary information without extra communication.