How China’s New Continuous Testing Standards Are Shaping DevOps Excellence

National Policy Background

In May 2024, the Cyberspace Administration, the State Administration for Market Regulation, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the Informationization Standard Construction Action Plan (2024‑2027) , emphasizing that information standards are a key pillar for high‑quality development.

The Ministry also released the 14th Five‑Year Plan for Software and Information Technology Services , calling for concentrated effort on basic software, integrated development environment products, and the development and promotion of key testing tools such as static analysis, dynamic testing, simulation testing, and automated testing platforms.

The People’s Bank of China’s FinTech Development Plan (2022‑2025) stresses multi‑dimensional technology application testing, security assessment, usability testing, and simulation to continuously improve product development and delivery quality.

Software testing has become a strategic direction for national software technology, with many enterprises adopting DevOps and continuous testing to boost iteration speed, ensure delivery quality, and continuously improve DevOps capabilities.

Continuous Testing Maturity Model

Against the rapid promotion of DevOps standards, the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) led a consortium of banks, telecom operators, insurers, and technology firms to develop the standard DevOps Capability Maturity Model – Part 11: Continuous Testing , officially released in November 2023.

The model defines five maturity levels (1‑5) and eight core dimensions: normative system, left‑shift, right‑shift, automation, metrics, defect prevention, precise testing, decision support, intelligence, and continuous improvement.

It provides progressive testing requirements, aligns with future testing management and technology trends, and can both assess current capabilities and guide industry‑wide innovation.

In 2025, the first batch of Continuous Testing (CT) capability maturity assessments will open for enterprise registration.

Evaluation Cases

Since 2024, CAICT has conducted CT assessments, with six enterprises and nine projects from banking and securities sectors participating. Results have been publicly released.

Agricultural Bank of China – Two projects achieved CT Level 3. Improvements include stronger involvement of testers in requirement reviews, adaptable test strategies across system lifecycles, integrated pipelines with clear entry/exit criteria, higher automation coverage, and full‑lifecycle test data management.

Postal Savings Bank of China – Two projects passed CT Level 3. Automation rates rose sharply, technical debt dropped by 99%, and the time from demand to release was dramatically shortened. The projects achieved left‑shift and right‑shift testing, covering smoke, integration, and regression phases.

Bank of Communications – The “惠民就医” project passed CT Level 3, delivering notable gains: significantly higher automation testing capability, stronger test data aggregation and analysis, enhanced process control and traceability, unified platform architecture, and overall improvement in test quality and efficiency.

IT Modernization Quality Assurance Testing – Standard Assessment and Consulting System

By 2025, a comprehensive “IT Modernization Quality Assurance Testing Standard Assessment and Consulting System” will be in place, comprising eight modules:

Continuous testing process capability construction and assessment

Quality and testing specialty capability construction and assessment

Organization‑level quality standards construction and review

Testing and quality personnel training

Test organization construction and review

Test asset management capability construction

Test tool platform construction and assessment

Test environment construction and operation capability assessment

These modules address process, specialty skills, organizational norms, talent development, asset management, platform building, and environment operations to enable enterprises to build a modernized IT quality‑assurance ecosystem.

2025 Evaluation Registration

The first batch of CT capability maturity assessments opens for registration from now until mid‑May 2025, with evaluation scheduled for March‑June 2025. Enterprises can apply by sending an email with company name, contact person, and contact details to the designated address.