diff --git a/.github/workflows/zxc-compile-code.yaml b/.github/workflows/zxc-compile-code.yaml
index 0d48bf642..0285d6da9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/zxc-compile-code.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/zxc-compile-code.yaml
@@ -102,6 +102,7 @@ jobs:
         uses: helm/kind-action@dda0770415bac9fc20092cacbc54aa298604d140 # v1.8.0
         if: ${{ inputs.enable-unit-tests && !cancelled() }}
         with:
+          cluster_name: fst
           version: v0.19.0
           verbosity: 3
           wait: 120s
@@ -122,7 +123,6 @@ jobs:
       - name: Kubernetes Cluster Info
         if: ${{ inputs.enable-unit-tests && !cancelled() }}
         run: |
-          kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=default
           kubectl config get-contexts
           kubectl get crd
 
@@ -147,13 +147,13 @@ jobs:
       - name: Helm Chart Test (Direct Install)
         working-directory: dev
         if: ${{ inputs.enable-unit-tests && !cancelled() && !failure() }}
-        run: make test SCRIPT_NAME=direct-install.sh
+        run: make ci-test SCRIPT_NAME=direct-install.sh
 
       # This step tests the Helm chart NMT mode of operation which uses the ubi8-init-dind image.
       - name: Helm Chart Test (NMT Install)
         working-directory: dev
         if: ${{ inputs.enable-unit-tests && !cancelled() && !failure() }}
-        run: make test SCRIPT_NAME=nmt-install.sh
+        run: make ci-test SCRIPT_NAME=nmt-install.sh
 
       - name: Compile
         id: gradle-build
diff --git a/dev/Makefile b/dev/Makefile
index 769ed9b36..e804fda54 100644
--- a/dev/Makefile
+++ b/dev/Makefile
@@ -12,21 +12,29 @@ SHELLOPTS:=$(if $(SHELLOPTS),$(SHELLOPTS):)pipefail:errexit
 	setup \
 	setup-cluster \
 	deploy-chart \
+	destroy-chart \
 	helm-test \
 	deploy-network  \
+	destroy-network \
 	destroy-test-container \
-	destroy-network test
-
+	deploy-all \
+	destroy-all \
+	local-kubectl-bats \
+	ci-test
 
 # Setup variables
+CLUSTER_NAME ?="fst"
 SCRIPTS_DIR=$(PWD)/scripts
 CHART_DIR=$(PWD)/../charts/hedera-network
 SCRIPT_NAME=direct-install.sh
 TMP_DIR=${SCRIPTS_DIR}/../temp
 
+CHART_VALUES_FILES= # extra values
+
 # scripts
 TELEMETRY_SCRIPT="telemetry.sh"
 GATEWAY_API_SCRIPT="gateway.sh"
+DOCKER_SCRIPT="docker.sh"
 
 .PHONY: all
 all: setup setup-cluster reset
@@ -38,69 +46,55 @@ setup:
 
 .PHONY: setup-cluster
 setup-cluster:
-	kind create cluster -n fst
+	echo "Cluster name: ${CLUSTER_NAME}" && \
+	source "${SCRIPTS_DIR}/main.sh" && setup_cluster "${CLUSTER_NAME}"
+
+.PHONY: destroy-cluster
+destroy-cluster:
+	kind delete cluster -n fst
+
+.PHONY: install-chart
+install-chart:
+	source "${SCRIPTS_DIR}/main.sh" && install_chart "${SCRIPT_NAME}"
+
+.PHONY: uninstall-chart
+uninstall-chart:
+	source "${SCRIPTS_DIR}/main.sh" && uninstall_chart
 
 .PHONY: update-helm-dependencies
 update-helm-dependencies:
 	helm dependency update ../charts/hedera-network
 
 .PHONY: deploy-chart
-deploy-chart: deploy-minio-operator-if-required deploy-prometheus-operator deploy-gateway-api
-	echo ">> Deploying helm chart..." && \
-	echo "" && \
-	if [ "${SCRIPT_NAME}" = "nmt-install.sh" ]; then \
-		helm install fst ../charts/hedera-network --set defaults.root.image.repository=hashgraph/full-stack-testing/ubi8-init-dind ; \
-	else \
-		helm install fst ../charts/hedera-network ; \
-	fi \
-
-.PHONY: helm-test
-helm-test:
-	echo "" && \
-	echo ">> Running helm test..." && \
-	echo "" && \
-	# We have to specify the specific test name here, otherwise it executes all tests from the subcharts as well.
-	# I had to remove --logs, because --logs ignores filter and tries to get logs for all test pods
-    #  - Error: unable to get pod logs for fst-graphql-test: pods "fst-graphql-test" not found
-	helm test fst --filter 'name=network-test' && \
-    EXIT_CODE=$$? && \
-	kubectl logs network-test && \
-	exit $${EXIT_CODE}
+deploy-chart:
+	$(MAKE) update-helm-dependencies
+	$(MAKE) deploy-minio-operator-if-required
+	$(MAKE)	deploy-prometheus-operator
+	$(MAKE) deploy-gateway-api
+	$(MAKE) install-chart
+
+.PHONY: destroy-chart
+destroy-chart:
+	-$(MAKE) uninstall-chart
+	-$(MAKE) destroy-gateway-api
+	-$(MAKE) destroy-prometheus-operator
+	-$(MAKE) undeploy-minio-operator
 
 .PHONY: deploy-network
 deploy-network: deploy-chart
 	echo "" && \
-	echo ">> Pod Information...." && \
-	echo "" && \
-	kubectl get pods -o wide && \
-	echo "" && \
     echo ">> Service Information...." && \
     echo "" && \
-	kubectl get svc -o wide
-
-.PHONY: destroy-test-container
-destroy-test-container:
+	kubectl get svc -o wide && \
 	echo "" && \
-	echo ">> Deleting test container..." && \
-	kubectl delete pod network-test || true
-
-.PHONY: destroy-network
-destroy-network: destroy-test-container
+	echo ">> Pod Information...." && \
 	echo "" && \
-	echo ">> Uninstalling helm chart..." && \
- 	helm uninstall fst && \
- 	sleep 10
+	kubectl get pods -o wide && \
+	echo ">> Waiting for network-node pods to be active (first deployment takes ~10m)...." && \
+  	kubectl wait --for=jsonpath='{.status.phase}'=Running pod -l fullstack.hedera.com/type=network-node --timeout=900s
 
-.PHONY: test
-test:
-	# Enable cleanup_test function so that even if test fails, we cleanup the cluster.
-	# We are only enabling this in this make target, however if necessary, similar pattern can be used in other targets.
-	# Ref: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/28597794/how-can-i-clean-up-after-an-error-in-a-makefile
-	function cleanup_test {
-		$(MAKE) destroy-network
-	}
-	trap cleanup_test EXIT # always destroy-network on exit
-	$(MAKE) setup deploy-minio-operator-if-required update-helm-dependencies deploy-network helm-test setup-nodes start-nodes
+.PHONY: destroy-network
+destroy-network: destroy-test-container destroy-chart
 
 .PHONY: setup-nodes
 setup-nodes: setup
@@ -184,8 +178,8 @@ destroy-prometheus:
 deploy-minio-operator:
 	@echo ">> Deploying minio operator..."; \
 	helm install --repo https://operator.min.io/ --namespace=minio-operator --create-namespace --version 5.0.7 minio-operator operator && \
-	echo ">> Waiting for minio operator to be ready..." && \
-	kubectl --namespace=minio-operator  wait --for=condition=available --timeout=600s deployment.apps/minio-operator && \
+	echo ">> Waiting for minio operator to be available (timeout 300s)..." && \
+	kubectl --namespace=minio-operator  wait --for=condition=Available --timeout=300s deployment.apps/minio-operator && \
 	sleep 5
 
 .PHONY: is-minio-operator-installed
@@ -203,3 +197,54 @@ deploy-minio-operator-if-required:
 undeploy-minio-operator:
 	echo ">> Deploying minio operator..." && \
 	helm delete  --namespace=minio-operator minio-operator
+
+
+######################################### Helm Chart Test #################################
+.PHONY: helm-test
+helm-test:
+	echo "" && \
+	echo ">> Running helm test...(first run takes ~2m)" && \
+	echo "" && \
+	# We have to specify the specific test name here, otherwise it executes all tests from the subcharts as well.
+	# I had to remove --logs, because --logs ignores filter and tries to get logs for all test pods
+    #  - Error: unable to get pod logs for fst-graphql-test: pods "fst-graphql-test" not found
+	helm test fst --filter 'name=network-test' && \
+    EXIT_CODE=$$? && \
+	kubectl logs network-test && \
+	exit $${EXIT_CODE}
+
+.PHONY: destroy-test-container
+destroy-test-container:
+	echo "" && \
+	echo ">> Deleting test container..." && \
+	kubectl delete pod network-test || true
+
+######################################### CI #################################
+.PHONY: local-kubectl-bats
+local-kubectl-bats:
+	source "${SCRIPTS_DIR}/${DOCKER_SCRIPT}" && build_kubectl_bats "${CLUSTER_NAME}"
+
+.PHONY: deploy-all
+deploy-all:
+	# Enable cleanup_test function so that even if test fails, we cleanup the cluster.
+	# We are only enabling this in this make target, however if necessary, similar pattern can be used in other targets.
+	# Ref: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/28597794/how-can-i-clean-up-after-an-error-in-a-makefile
+	function cleanup_test {
+		$(MAKE) destroy-network
+	}
+	trap cleanup_test EXIT # always destroy-network on exit
+	$(MAKE) setup
+	$(MAKE) deploy-network
+	$(MAKE) helm-test
+	$(MAKE) setup-nodes
+	$(MAKE) start-nodes
+
+.PHONY: destroy-all
+destroy-all:
+	-$(MAKE) destroy-network
+	-$(MAKE) undeploy-minio-operator
+	-$(MAKE) destroy-prometheus-operator
+
+.PHONY: ci-test
+ci-test: setup-cluster local-kubectl-bats
+	$(MAKE) deploy-all CHART_VALUES_FILES="$(PWD)/ci/ci-values.yaml"
diff --git a/dev/ci/ci-values.yaml b/dev/ci/ci-values.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2448729a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dev/ci/ci-values.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+# helm test container
+tester:
+  image:
+    registry: "docker.fst.local"
+    repository: "kubectl-bats"
+    tag: "local"
+    pullPolicy: "Never"
+  resources: {}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/dev/scripts/docker.sh b/dev/scripts/docker.sh
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d4db8d3d6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dev/scripts/docker.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" &>/dev/null && pwd)"
+readonly SCRIPT_DIR
+readonly DOCKERFILE_DIR="${SCRIPT_DIR}/../../docker"
+readonly LOCAL_DOCKER_REGISTRY="docker.fst.local" # same as in dev/ci/ci-values.yaml
+readonly LOCAL_DOCKER_IMAGE_TAG="local"
+readonly KUBECTL_BATS_IMAGE="${LOCAL_DOCKER_REGISTRY}/kubectl-bats:${LOCAL_DOCKER_IMAGE_TAG}"
+
+function build_kubectl_bats() {
+  local cluster_name=$1
+  local cluster_name=$1
+  [[ -z "${cluster_name}" ]] && echo "ERROR: Cluster name is required" && return 1
+
+  echo ""
+	echo "Building kubectl-bats image"
+  echo "-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"
+	cd "${DOCKERFILE_DIR}/kubectl-bats" && docker build -t "${KUBECTL_BATS_IMAGE}" .
+  kind load docker-image ${KUBECTL_BATS_IMAGE} -n "${cluster_name}"
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/dev/scripts/main.sh b/dev/scripts/main.sh
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f4866ac5f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dev/scripts/main.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" &>/dev/null && pwd)"
+readonly SCRIPT_DIR
+CHART_DIR="${SCRIPT_DIR}/../../charts/hedera-network"
+
+function setup_cluster() {
+  local cluster_name=$1
+  [[ -z "${cluster_name}" ]] && echo "ERROR: Cluster name is required" && return 1
+
+  local count=$(kind get clusters -q | grep -c -sw "${cluster_name}")
+  if [[ $count -eq 0 ]]; then
+	    echo "Cluster '${cluster_name}' not found"
+		  kind create cluster -n "${cluster_name}"
+	else
+	    echo "Cluster '${cluster_name}' found"
+  fi
+
+	kubectl config use-context "kind-${cluster_name}"
+	kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=default
+	kubectl config get-contexts
+}
+
+function install_chart() {
+  local node_setup_script=$1
+
+  echo ""
+  echo "Installing helm chart... "
+  echo "SCRIPT_NAME: ${node_setup_script}"
+  echo "Values: -f ${CHART_DIR}/values.yaml --values ${CHART_VALUES_FILES}"
+  echo "-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"
+  if [ "${node_setup_script}" = "nmt-install.sh" ]; then
+    nmt_install
+  else
+    direct_install
+  fi
+}
+
+function uninstall_chart() {
+  echo ""
+  echo "Uninstalling helm chart... "
+  echo "-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"
+ 	helm uninstall fst
+ 	sleep 10
+}
+
+function nmt_install() {
+  if [[ -z "${CHART_VALUES_FILES}" ]]; then
+    helm install fst "${CHART_DIR}" --set defaults.root.image.repository=hashgraph/full-stack-testing/ubi8-init-dind
+  else
+    helm install fst "${CHART_DIR}" -f "${CHART_DIR}/values.yaml" --values "${CHART_VALUES_FILES}" --set defaults.root.image.repository=hashgraph/full-stack-testing/ubi8-init-dind
+  fi
+}
+
+function direct_install() {
+  if [[ -z "${CHART_VALUES_FILES}" ]]; then
+    helm install fst "${CHART_DIR}"
+  else
+    helm install fst "${CHART_DIR}" -f "${CHART_DIR}/values.yaml" --values "${CHART_VALUES_FILES}"
+  fi
+}
diff --git a/dev/scripts/telemetry.sh b/dev/scripts/telemetry.sh
index 82121b54d..5fd765c5e 100644
--- a/dev/scripts/telemetry.sh
+++ b/dev/scripts/telemetry.sh
@@ -32,10 +32,11 @@ function deploy-prometheus-operator() {
 	echo "Deploying prometheus operator"
 	echo "PROMETHEUS_OPERATOR_YAML: ${PROMETHEUS_OPERATOR_YAML}"
   echo "-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"
-  local crd_count=$(kubectl get crd | grep "monitoring.coreos.com" | wc -l)
+  local crd_count=$(kubectl get crd | grep -c "monitoring.coreos.com" )
   if [[ $crd_count -ne 10 ]]; then
 	  kubectl create -f "${PROMETHEUS_OPERATOR_YAML}"
-	  kubectl wait --for=condition=Ready pods -l  app.kubernetes.io/name=prometheus-operator -n default
+	  kubectl get pods --all-namespaces
+	  kubectl wait --for=condition=Ready pods -l  app.kubernetes.io/name=prometheus-operator --timeout 300s --all-namespaces
 	else
 	  echo "Prometheus operator CRD is already installed"
 	  echo ""