How ICBC Revamped Its Dev/Test Environments for Agile, Scalable Operations

In the software development lifecycle, a reliable development‑testing environment is essential for turning code into business value, yet it must remain flexible, frequently updated, and resource‑efficient.

1. Characteristics of Dev/Test Environment Operations

The environment features frequent version deployments, diverse configuration needs, high test interference, and limited resources, requiring free connectivity, on‑demand availability, and controlled access.

2. Practices at ICBC Development Center

Guided by the principles of co‑construction, co‑governance, and sharing, the center built a collaborative, refined, consolidated, and intelligent operation framework to enhance stability and availability.

Strengthen collaborative governance – Establish a distributed, integrated operation organization across regions, create joint‑ownership teams, and develop standardized processes and intelligent operation platforms.

Deepen refined management – Implement layered environment and application‑level policies, enforce full‑lifecycle control, and build metrics for quality and efficiency while optimizing resource consumption.

Implement consolidated operations – Provide one‑click issue submission, assign dedicated operation managers, and adopt a “service‑oriented” mindset to improve response speed and user satisfaction.

Build automated, intelligent operation systems – Automate environment provisioning, standardize configurations, and introduce intelligent monitoring to shift from reactive to proactive, digital‑first operations.

3. Current Challenges

As core applications migrate from mainframes to distributed architectures, complexity and inter‑service dependencies increase, demanding tighter, business‑oriented operation teams, fuller automation across the lifecycle, and upgraded skill sets for distributed environments.

4. Improvement Strategies

4.1 Explore front‑back separation in operation mode

Shift from application‑centric to business‑centric operation by assigning business‑view operation managers, separating front‑end service (environment provisioning, issue handling) from back‑end service (automation, platform research) to raise consolidation efficiency.

4.2 Accelerate digital transformation of operation

Build a collaborative operation platform, strengthen tool support, and standardize processes to break silos across teams, applications, and systems, enabling end‑to‑end automation and high‑efficiency cooperation.

4.3 Refine resource management mechanisms

Introduce cost‑aware resource usage metrics (CPU, memory, VM, network, power) similar to public‑cloud models, creating a transparent evaluation system that guides efficient allocation and prevents unchecked consumption.