You click a button in GitLab.
Seconds later, a pipeline runs on your merged code—it tests and deploys your changes to the next step in the pipeline. This process relies on complex development and test environments that remain mostly hidden from view.
However, developer environments form the backbone of your software development process. Dev environments can lead to a 30% reduction in customer-detected defects, according to a Mckinsey survey.
They provide controlled spaces for you to write code, experiment with features, and thoroughly test applications before release. Tools like BitBucket and GitLab abstract away many of the details.
But as a developer, it always helps to understand what the environments are, what they consist of, the types of environments, and more.
Let’s get started, shall we?
First, what are environments?
Environments in software development refer to distinct stages that applications go through during their lifecycle.
Think of environments as separate workspaces for your application. While each environment is generally an exact replica of the production environment, each one serves a specific purpose in your development process.
You'll write and test code in one environment, then move it to another for further testing, and finally to a production environment for your users.
This separation ensures that various aspects of an application, such as code, configuration, and data, are managed appropriately for different purposes.
You'll find and fix problems faster, leading to smoother releases and happier users. This structured method gives you confidence in your code at each stage of development.
What are the different types of development environments?
Let's explore the various environments that play a pivotal role in the software development lifecycle:
Development Environment
You set up a dev environment to write code efficiently, perform unit testing, and verify basic functionality before moving to the testing stage.
In the development environment, you:
Work mostly locally, but may have centralized servers to sync code
Collaborate with developers to create new functionality and implement it in existing code
Compile locally and test if things are working as expected
Do peer reviews or over-the-shoulder reviews to ensure you’re not missing something
Dev environments give you the freedom to make mistakes, try new approaches, and refine your code without worrying about breaking production systems or inconvenienceing users.
Try to make sure your development environment mirrors your production environment as closely as possible to avoid any bugs in production.
Test Environment
The test environment is where the real detective work happens.
In the testing environment, you:
Run different types of tests, including unit tests, integration tests, and user acceptance tests
Ensure the application meets expected standards and operates as intended
Simulate various user scenarios to identify potential issues
Validate the application's behavior under different conditions
Verify the compatibility of different components and systems
The test environment provides a controlled space for rigorous quality assurance. It allows you to identify and address issues before they reach end-users, improving the overall reliability and performance of your software.
Staging Environment
This environment is generally an exact replica of the production setup, including server configurations, databases, and network settings.
In the staging environment, you:
Simulate real-world usage scenarios to identify performance bottlenecks
Uncover compatibility issues between different components
Detect any last-minute glitches or unexpected behaviors
Test the deployment process to ensure smooth transitions
Validate the application's performance under realistic conditions
The staging environment provides you with a more accurate assessment of how your application will behave once released.
It serves as the final checkpoint before your software reaches end-users, allowing you to address any remaining issues and fine-tune your application's performance.
Production Environment
This setup represents the final destination in your software journey, where real users interact with your application.
In the production environment, you focus on:
Optimizing for performance, reliability, and security
Continuously monitoring application behavior and user interactions
Implementing regular updates and patches to address emerging issues
Responding quickly to unexpected problems to minimize downtime
Scaling resources to meet changing user demands
The production environment directly impacts your users and business operations. Any issues occurring here can have significant consequences, making it super important to maintain stability and responsiveness.
You'll need to balance the need for new features and improvements with the imperative of maintaining a stable, reliable system for your users.
Let’s look at two of the most important environments in the development stage now—the dev and test environments.
What is a development environment?
Like we discussed before, a development environment is where the development happens. It’s generally local, but some companies that work on sensitive information may want to setup their dev environments on a virtual server where everyone can directly code and compile on the server.
This is a workspace for developers to design, code, debug, and test software without affecting the live or production environment.
What does a development environment include:
A typical development environment includes:
An Integrated Development Environment (IDE) like Visual Studio Code or IntelliJ IDEA
Version control systems such as Git for tracking changes
Local servers and databases for running and testing the application
Containerization technologies like Docker for consistent and scalable setups
Cloud-based platforms like AWS or Azure for flexible and collaborative environments
These components have to work seamlessly and be perfectly organized to be effective for the developers to code on. That means, for local setups, providing good-quality hardware to the developers, and for virtual setups, hosting higher-tier servers with more resources to handle multiple developers working on the same IDE/workspace at the same time.
What is a test environment?
A test environment is the next stage in the development phase. Once a developer has successfully implemented a feature in the dev environment, compiled and tested it locally, it needs to be QA’d by tester on the team.
So, the developer clicks a button on Gitlab or BitBucket or pushes code on GitHub to the test branch.
Some part of the compilation testing is also done automatically, preventing any base-level errors from entering the testing queue.
Once it hits the test environment, someone on the QA team gets assigned to the PR and will perform thorough testing on the implemented feature.
What’s included in the test environment?
A test environment typically includes:
Software/servers configured to replicate the production environment
Test data and test beds for specific scenarios
Automated testing tools like Selenium or JUnit with scripts ready to perform the required tests
Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines for automated testing
Network configurations and devices for comprehensive testing
The more thorough you can make this process, the better it is for your overall development pipelines. For instance, if you layer the test environment with three levels of review, you reduce the chances of finding bugs in staging or production.
Of course, this may be difficult for smaller companies and startups, but it certainly can be quite efficient once implemented.
How do you create development and test environments?
Most companies you work with will already have dev environments with a proper tech stack handling the CI/CD pipelines and deployments.
But if you join in as a founding engineer or have to implement these pipelines for a new project in your company, this knowledge will come in handy.
Here, I’ll be using Facets to create dev environments quickly and easily. Facets is a no-code infrastructure design and automation platform that helps you set up environments across different cloud providers through its simple, friendly interface.
You design your application architecture, configure resources, and deploy environments all in one place.
Here are the steps:
Once you’ve logged in, go to the dashboard and select from the Blueprint templates for your application. Blueprints serve as pre-configured templates that define your environment's structure and components.
Environments tab from your selected Blueprint and click the prompt to create your first environment.
Next, pick your preferred cloud provider, such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. Facets is cloud-agnostic and writes Terraform behind the scenes so you can easily work with multiple cloud environments and also transition from one cloud provider to another without spending months on the transition.
Give your environment a unique name. Select your desired release stream and region to ensure proper setup.
Decide whether to provision new infrastructure or use existing resources. If you opt for existing infrastructure, specify the base environment and namespace.
Connect your cloud account to the Facets control plane or choose a pre-configured cloud account which allows Facets to manage resources on your behalf.
Fine-tune your environment by setting advanced options like time zone, environment type, CIDR range, availability zone, instance types, VPC ID, and request limit ratio.
Once all the above is configured, click "Create" to start the environment creation process.
Facets.cloud will provision the necessary resources and set up your development environment based on your configuration.
Facets streamlines environment creation and ensures consistency across your development, testing, and production environments.
The best part is that Facets makes it simple not only to create and manage environments but also to have different environments on different cloud providers and work between them if required.
There are a few additional benefits that Facets offers:
Facets helps you easily track changes and roll back to previous configurations when needed with version-controlled environments.
You can work together with team members on environment configurations, share templates, and collaborate seamlessly.
With Facets, you can monitor and optimize your cloud spending across different environments with Facets.cloud's cost insights.
It also helps you scale your environments up or down based on your application's needs, ensuring optimal resource use.
You can significantly reduce the time and effort required to create and manage development environments by incorporating Facets.cloud into your workflow.
This allows your team to focus on writing quality code and delivering features faster, boosting productivity and accelerating your software development lifecycle.
Wrapping up
You've now explored development and test environments, recognizing their role in software development. These stages help you and your team transform ideas into polished products.
After all, creating software is more than just writing code. You have to create experiences that delight users and retain them over time. And for that, you have to understand and optimize each environment—development, test, staging, and production—to enable smooth transitions from idea to production.
Now, managing these environments can be quite overwhelming, especially if you add the complexity of different teams, different cloud environments, and more.
But Facets simplifies the setup and integration with minimal effort.
You can visualize your architecture, launch pre-configured environments, and integrate them as your code progresses. All while optimizing costs and maintaining consistency across deployments.
Book a demo with Facets today and see how you can transform your development processes into an efficient system for your entire team’s success.
