How can service providers accelerate service deployments while maintaining quality?

Automation is often the answer, but without a solid foundation, projects may end up unsuccessful. Many service providers have limited experience in software development, making it difficult to scale efficiently and avoid costly setbacks.

To succeed, it is crucial to establish a scalable software delivery pipeline and a well-structured organization that supports both current and future business needs.

Key Principles of Software Development

Through years of implementing successful network automation projects, we have seen firsthand what makes automation initiatives succeed—and where they fail. This experience has allowed us to identify six core software development principles that help service providers build reliable, scalable, and future-proof automation solutions.

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Principle 1: Set Up a Software Organization

A strong organizational structure is key to automation success. To achieve this:

• Use an Agile framework, such as Scrum, to ensure adaptability and efficiency.
• Define critical roles that influence outcomes, including Project Owner, Product Owner, DevOps, Testers, Scrum Master, and other Stakeholders.
• Select essential tools for project tracking, version control, and CI/CD (including artifact storage, test frameworks, and container management).
• Cultivate a high-trust team culture to improve collaboration and innovation.

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Principle 2: Develop a Comprehensive QA Strategy

Quality Assurance (QA) is more than just testing—it is about embedding quality into every stage of a project. By integrating QA from the start, you can ensure scalability, reliability, and long-term efficiency and avoid costly mistakes.

• Quality Gatekeeping through common Ways of Working – Having a clear path of how to work, from Requirement to Implementation to Deployment, will increase both efficiency and quality of delivery.
• Continuous testing enhances stability – Proactively identifying issues during development ensures a smoother deployment process.
• Coding guidelines increases maintainability – Having guidelines for coding and utilizing tools available for code review will ensure security, maintainability and sustainability of your solution.

A strong QA strategy should be embedded throughout the entire software development lifecycle, ensuring that quality is not just an afterthought but a core pillar of your automation efforts.

Learn more about why and how to create a Quality Assurance strategy here.

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Principle 3: Engage Stakeholders in Requirement Gathering

Clear and aligned requirements prevent costly mistakes and misalignment. Engaging all stakeholders early in the process ensures smooth execution.

• Use Behavior-Driven Development (BDD): A method for describing requirements in a way that all stakeholders can understand, to avoid miscommunications and misunderstandings.
• Apply the “Three Amigos” method: Bringing together business, development, and testing representatives to refine and align requirements.
• Break down requirements into testable user stories early: Keeping automation in mind from the start.

Behavior-Driven Development Workflow

The Behavior-Driven Development Workflow ensures that teams work with a shared language and mutual understanding, bridging the gap between business needs, development, and automation.

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Principle 4: Choose the Right Components

Selecting the right solution components ensures long-term efficiency:

• Network Automation: Use solutions that fulfill network intent, preferably relying on a Single Source of Truth.
• Process Automation: Opt for BPMN 2.0-compatible tools for automating manual procedures.

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Principle 5: Leverage Existing Components and Tools Instead of Reinventing the Wheelheel

Not every problem requires a custom-built solution. Many third-party components and open-source tools offer cost-effective alternatives.

• Evaluate when to develop in-house versus when to integrate existing solutions.

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Principle 6: Test Early, Test Often, and Automate

Testing is not a one-time task—it is an ongoing process. By making testing an integral part of development, service providers avoid costly late-stage fixes while ensuring reliability, scalability, and faster deployments.

• Continuously adding tests while developing does not increase cost—it increases value. Integrating tests from the start helps catch issues early, reducing the number of costly fixes and redeployments late during the development cycle.
• Conduct a test automation assessment to identify your needs and structure an effective Test automation strategy.

Take the Next Step Toward Operational Excellence

We’ve helped many service providers streamline their automation, improve efficiency, and scale for the future—now it’s your turn! Whether you’re just getting started or optimizing an existing solution, we’re here to guide you every step of the way.

Get in touch today to see how our expertise can help you achieve faster deployments, higher reliability, and long-term success.