Tech Lead Journal

#184 - Contract Testing Essentials: A Comprehensive Guide - Lewis Prescott


Listen Later

“Contract testing is a form of testing where you are verifying two systems have the same shared understanding about the expectations."

Lewis Prescott is the coauthor of “Contract Testing in Action”. In this episode, join us to demystify contract testing and its critical role in modern software development. Discover how contract testing ensures reliable software integration, particularly in complex microservice architectures.

Lewis explains the core concepts, the difference between consumer-driven and provider-driven approaches, and how contract testing fits into your testing strategy and CI/CD pipeline. We also touch on the practicalities of implementing contract testing, including tool options like Pact, and how it can also be applied in event-driven architectures.

Whether you’re a seasoned developer or just starting, this episode offers valuable insights to help you level up your software development approach.  

Listen out for:

  • Career Journey - [00:01:56]
  • Problems Contract Testing is Solving - [00:04:57]
  • Contract Testing Use Cases - [00:07:20]
  • Contract Testing Components - [00:09:52]
  • Shared Understanding of the Expectations - [00:11:42]
  • Benefits of Contract Testing - [00:15:02]
  • Contract Testing in Testing Pyramid - [00:18:29]
  • Contract vs Unit vs Integration Tests - [00:19:37]
  • Contract Testing for Public APIs - [00:21:28]
  • Types of Contract Testing - [00:22:46]
  • CI/CD Workflow with Contract Testing - [00:25:33]
  • Provider Workflow - [00:31:55]
  • Getting the Buy-In - [00:33:31]
  • Owning the Broker - [00:36:00]
  • Pact & Other Tooling - [00:37:19]
  • Versioning Contracts - [00:39:34]
  • Consumer-Driven Contract Testing - [00:42:15]
  • Contract Testing for Event-Driven Architecture - [00:46:53]
  • 3 Tech Lead Wisdom - [00:49:40]
  • _____

    Lewis Prescott’s Bio
    Lewis Prescott is a Test Specialist at IBM. He has 9 years experience in software testing, is a recognized champion of Contract Testing and course author at Test Automation University, as well as an active mentor in the testing community.

    Follow Lewis:

    • LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/lewis-prescott-12409a44/
    • Website – pactman.co.uk
    • 📚 Contract Testing in Action – manning.com/books/contract-testing-in-action
    • Book’s forum – livebook.manning.com/forum?product=cruz2
    • _____

      Our Sponsors

      Enjoy an exceptional developer experience with JetBrains. Whatever programming language and technology you use, JetBrains IDEs provide the tools you need to go beyond simple code editing and excel as a developer.
      Check out FREE coding software options and special offers on jetbrains.com/store/#discounts.
      Make it happen. With code.


      Manning Publications is a premier publisher of technical books on computer and software development topics for both experienced developers and new learners alike. Manning prides itself on being independently owned and operated, and for paving the way for innovative initiatives, such as early access book content and protection-free PDF formats that are now industry standard.
      Get a 40% discount for Tech Lead Journal listeners by using the code techlead24 for all products in all formats.


      Like this episode?
      Show notes & transcript: techleadjournal.dev/episodes/184.
      Follow @techleadjournal on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.
      Buy me a coffee or become a patron.

      ...more
      View all episodesView all episodes
      Download on the App Store

      Tech Lead JournalBy Henry Suryawirawan

      • 4.7
      • 4.7
      • 4.7
      • 4.7
      • 4.7

      4.7

      12 ratings


      More shows like Tech Lead Journal

      View all
      Hanselminutes with Scott Hanselman by Scott Hanselman

      Hanselminutes with Scott Hanselman

      377 Listeners

      Software Engineering Radio - the podcast for professional software developers by se-radio@computer.org

      Software Engineering Radio - the podcast for professional software developers

      272 Listeners

      .NET Rocks! by Carl Franklin and Richard Campbell

      .NET Rocks!

      246 Listeners

      The Changelog: Software Development, Open Source by Changelog Media

      The Changelog: Software Development, Open Source

      282 Listeners

      The Cloudcast by Massive Studios

      The Cloudcast

      152 Listeners

      Thoughtworks Technology Podcast by Thoughtworks

      Thoughtworks Technology Podcast

      42 Listeners

      Software Engineering Daily by Software Engineering Daily

      Software Engineering Daily

      627 Listeners

      Soft Skills Engineering by Jamison Dance and Dave Smith

      Soft Skills Engineering

      270 Listeners

      AWS Podcast by Amazon Web Services

      AWS Podcast

      203 Listeners

      Syntax - Tasty Web Development Treats by Wes Bos & Scott Tolinski - Full Stack JavaScript Web Developers

      Syntax - Tasty Web Development Treats

      984 Listeners

      CoRecursive: Coding Stories by Adam Gordon Bell - Software Developer

      CoRecursive: Coding Stories

      189 Listeners

      Kubernetes Podcast from Google by Abdel Sghiouar, Kaslin Fields

      Kubernetes Podcast from Google

      181 Listeners

      Practical AI by Practical AI LLC

      Practical AI

      189 Listeners

      The Stack Overflow Podcast by The Stack Overflow Podcast

      The Stack Overflow Podcast

      64 Listeners

      The Pragmatic Engineer by Gergely Orosz

      The Pragmatic Engineer

      52 Listeners