Continuous Integration Test Failure Troubleshooting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Continuous integration pipeline testing failures often result in false failures due to issues unrelated to the source code, such as improper setup or teardown of computing resources, which are difficult to detect and resolve manually, especially when tests are executed in random orders.
Innovation Solution
An automated troubleshooting process that re-executes groups of tests according to predefined rules to determine the cause of failures, including executing tests in different orders and on multiple commits, to differentiate between false and true failures, and takes corrective actions such as modifying the testing sequence or skipping tests.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If tests are executed in random order during continuous integration pipeline, then testing coverage is improved, but false failures increase due to improper setup or teardown of computing resources
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary analysis by re-executing tests in different orders (e.g., alphabetical order, reverse order) before making a determination. This preliminary action allows the system to establish a baseline and compare results, enabling it to distinguish between true failures and false failures caused by test execution order or resource state issues.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by analyzing the results of re-executed tests and using this information to determine whether a failure is genuine or spurious. The feedback loop compares test outcomes across different execution orders and uses this comparison to automatically identify false failures, reducing manual intervention.
2Measurement precision
If manual troubleshooting is performed to identify false failures, then accuracy in identifying the root cause is improved, but time consumption and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically troubleshooting test failures without requiring manual intervention. It re-executes tests, analyzes results, and autonomously determines whether a failure is false or true, thereby eliminating the time-consuming manual troubleshooting process while maintaining high accuracy through systematic analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates copies of the test execution environment and re-runs tests in these copied contexts with different configurations (e.g., different execution orders). By comparing results across these copied executions, the system can identify patterns that indicate false failures without requiring manual replication of test scenarios.
3Measurement precision
If all tests are re-executed to determine the cause of failure, then comprehensive analysis is improved, but productivity of continuous integration pipeline decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies partial action by re-executing only the specific test that failed and potentially a limited set of related tests, rather than re-executing the entire test suite. This selective re-execution provides sufficient information to determine whether the failure is false or true while minimizing the impact on continuous integration pipeline productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
Some examples of the present disclosure relate to troubleshooting test failures that occurred during a testing phase of a continuous integration pipeline. In one particular example, a system can detect that an artifact failed the testing phase. The testing phase can involve each worker node in a plurality of worker nodes executing a respective group of tests on the artifact. Based on detecting that the artifact failed the testing phase, the system can determine a particular worker node that executed a test that failed during the testing phase. The system can then determine the respective group of tests that was executed by the particular worker node during the testing phase. The system can re-execute the respective group of tests on the artifact in accordance with troubleshooting rules to determine a reason that the test failed during the testing phase.