The financial services industry is experiencing a profound shift. Customers now demand a flawless experience across all touchpoints, including online platforms, mobile devices, ATMs, and physical branches. Any lapse in performance or reliability in these channels can lead to dissatisfaction. Moreover, the competition is intensifying as technology-focused companies, more nimble and innovative than traditional counterparts, are continuously disrupting the market.

There was recently some confusion in the office that I thought was worth researching and addressing. Depending on who you are talking to, you may hear the acronym DORA in one of two contexts. (OK, three if you’re talking to a preschooler!) It might be in relation to DORA metrics–that is, a set of metrics associated with DevOps Research and Assessment.

The pressure to constantly innovate and release new features can often clash with the need for a stable and reliable product. While there might be some temporary cutbacks in testing time to achieve high feature velocity, ensuring reliability doesn't have to be an afterthought. We reached out to industry experts to gather their insights on ensuring reliability during phases that demand high feature velocity. Here's what they had to say.