How CITIC Bank Earned Top‑Tier DevOps Platform Certification and Boosted Delivery Efficiency

Large enterprises have demonstrated that standardization and tool empowerment are key to success; the DevOps standards and platform-based continuous delivery pipelines can significantly improve quality, efficiency, safety, and market competitiveness.

On December 26, 2022, the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology announced the latest batch of DevOps and AIOps standard assessment results.

CITIC Bank participated with two projects: the Testing Service Cloud Platform and the Wuyue Tian Quality Control Platform, both of which passed the "system and tool platform excellent" level assessment of the DevOps Capability Maturity Model.

CITIC Bank became the first enterprise to achieve platform‑level assessment for system and tool testing, passing all seven modules in a single evaluation: performance testing, UI testing, mobile automation testing, test data management, interface/service testing, test case management, and test plan management, indicating a leading domestic capability in DevOps‑related fields.

To date, CITIC Bank has three projects that passed the DevOps continuous delivery standard assessment, two of which passed the platform‑level assessment for seven modules, and one that passed the module‑level assessment.

Interview Highlights

Q: Please introduce your organization and the projects evaluated.

Liangjun Liu (General Manager, Software Development Center) explained that the center is a direct subsidiary of the bank, responsible for global application development, testing, and maintenance, and that it follows the bank's strategic plan to build core capabilities in wealth management, asset management, and comprehensive financing, driving digital transformation through technology innovation.

Q: How does the "assessment‑driven" approach help your organization?

Since early 2019, CITIC Bank has been practicing DevOps and agile transformation, completing four standard assessments, which greatly enhanced maturity in continuous delivery and system‑tool practices, and encouraged broader adoption across the bank.

Q: What are the key features of the two platforms?

The Testing Service Cloud Platform provides test case and test plan management for the entire bank, ensuring high‑quality delivery. The Wuyue Tian Quality Control Platform includes interface/service testing, UI testing, mobile testing, performance testing, and test data management, offering a layered automated testing system and a digital performance map.

Q: Why are system and tool empowerment critical for enterprise success?

System and tool capabilities act like an engine for a car on a race track, driving faster, higher‑quality delivery, expanding dimensions such as online test management, automation, data management, and performance testing, resulting in doubled capacity and a 150% increase in delivery speed.

Q: What challenges did you encounter during the assessment?

Challenges included coordinating multiple systems and tools across two platforms and seven modules, requiring unified interfaces and data standards; rapid response to ad‑hoc transformation requests; and overcoming entrenched mindsets through deep discussions with testing experts.

Q: What are the next steps for DevOps at CITIC Bank?

The bank plans to further enhance digital quality control capabilities, deepen organization‑level agile practices, and maintain continuous improvement of quality to meet rapid business value delivery requirements.

Platform Overviews

Testing Service Cloud Platform

Provides one‑stop test management, including test case and test plan modules, supporting full‑type, end‑to‑end online testing for high‑quality delivery.

Wuyue Tian Quality Control Platform

Includes interface/service testing, UI testing, mobile application testing, performance testing, and test data management modules, offering a comprehensive automated testing ecosystem and a digital performance map.

The interface testing module supports simulation for over 252 business systems across four classification levels, covering more than 30,000 transactions bank‑wide.

The UI testing tool "StarWeb" provides record‑playback based web automation with customizable data sources and multi‑concurrent cloud execution.

Mobile automation leverages OCR for 99% recognition accuracy, significantly improving test success rates and reducing execution time.

The performance testing module offers intelligent pressure source scheduling, flexible scenario orchestration, and multi‑protocol support for one‑stop stress testing.

The test data management platform "Tianfu" has provided over 600,000 data queries, constructed more than 700,000 test data entries, and supported over 3 million automated test data services.

DevOps Capability Maturity Model

The "Research and Development Operations Integration (DevOps) Capability Maturity Model" series standards were jointly developed by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, cloud computing open‑source industry alliance, high‑efficiency operation community, BATJ, and major financial and telecom enterprises, becoming the first comprehensive DevOps standard globally and recognized by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The model covers process (agile development management, continuous delivery, technical operation), application design, security and risk management, system and tools, business value management, collaborative development and operation, and continuous testing.

Statistics as of December 26, 2022 show the number of joint‑stock banks that have participated in DevOps capability maturity assessments, with CITIC Bank being a leading example.