Tuesday 23 December 2014

The Future of Selenium Automation Testing

selenium web testing, selenium test automation, hire selenium testersAutomated testing is replacing the manual process gradually as it increases effectiveness as well as efficiency. In this regard, the Selenium Automation Testing has become popular with the developers. Selenium is an open source tool that receives huge support from the developers. In fact, in the recent years, it has developed as a popular automation testing tool as organizations are increasingly adopting it as software testing tools commercially. The major factor why it is so popular is because of the cost. Enterprises today are opting for cutting costs. Under such circumstances, Selenium proves to be a better tool when compared to the costlier ones. Open source is always a cost effective, long term solution even if it comes with a steep learning curve.

There are various reasons why the future of Selenium looks quite promising. Every organization is looking forward to optimize the feel, look as well as performance of the apps in order to deliver an impressive user experience. In this regard, Selenium testing is perfect. Other reasons are as following:

Free and open source: It was released under Apache 2.0 license by ThoughtWork. Therefore, the framework is open source and it is conveniently downloaded by the users. Moreover, there are no fees to be paid. Its free nature aids in cutting down the testing costs. It can be easily accessed by small, medium as well as large companies as well as independent quality analysts.

OS and Web Browser support: For the web apps it is necessary to run across all the browsers as well as the operating systems. This is required to keep the visitors engaged. The professionals need tools that will enable them to evaluate the app performance quickly on the popularly used browsers. It presently supports Firefox, IE and Chrome. The web browsers can be launched simply and then run the tests. For recording and playing back the test scripts Mozilla Firefox can be used. Various operating systems this framework is suitable too, including, Linux, Windows, Solaris and OS X.

Selenium IDE comes to rescue: There are advanced tools in the Selenium IDE that enables the professionals to record, edit and debug the tests. There is no need of any extra effort. There are tools that might test the web application tests. There are options where the test scripts are manually edited to optimize the test management. The auto completion features can be used to edit the test scripts and proceed with the command.

Selenese – the programming language: The language in which test scripts are written is called Selenese. However, the testers can choose to write the scripts by choosing a language of their choice as well. Various programming languages, like, Java, Ruby, Perl, C#, PHP, Python, etc are also supported by Client API. Hence, the professionals can choose the client API keeping in tandem with their programming language.

Proper support and documentation: Proper training is required for the professionals when they migrate to the new web application. Adequate documentations are provided with its tools. Therefore, the professionals can use the guide to comprehend the functioning of the tools. If you are working with Selenium IDE then you will find complete functional references to which the testers can refer to. In addition there are several organizations that provide support related to this software tool to the clients.

In addition to these, the companies also have the choice to choose from an array of Selenium components keeping in sync with the requirements of the web applications. Besides the Client API and IDE, the professionals can also make use of Selenium Remote Control.

Finally, the greatest strength of this automated testing lies in its flexibility. There are several ways in which new functionalities can be added to the framework as well as the test scripts. This kind of customization popularizes its usage. Being open source, it can be downloaded and modified anytime. Thus, as far as the near future is concerned, it is here to stay. To get maximum benefits of testing, you may consider hiring services of a selenium web testing company.

We provide selenium test automation services. If you would like to hire selenium testers from us, we would be glad to assist you at Mindfire Solutions.

Monday 22 December 2014

What Is Negative Testing and Goals of Doing It

web application testing, QA testing services, hire software testing consultantThe main motto behind conducting tests on a particular software product is to ensure that it will be able to run on all systems and under computing environment of any type. The process of software development has Quality Conformance Testing as an essential part. Throughout the different stages of the developmental process as well as on the final product, various tests are performed before dispatching the item to the end user or the client.

Basically two types of tests are carried out. The first is Positive and the second Negative. While the first caters to tests that verify and validate the product, the second ensures deeper customer satisfaction. Every testing firm has their primary goal edged out in possessing the most optimal product.

Negative Testing is performed to ensure that the application or the software product does not fail to perform in the event of giving the same an unexpected input. Here, the process of validating the system is carried out against the data input that is invalid. This test checks whether an application conforms to its expected behavior even with the negative inputs. It thus ensures the handling of invalid input or a user behavior of unexpected type by a particular application.

Goals of Negative Testing

Negative testing is generally carried out for checking the stability of a particular software application against the influence exerted by different types of data set with incorrect validation. Negative testing usually aims to find the loopholes or the flaws inherent in an application. Thereby, it takes active measures to improve the quality of the same. It results in spotting out the faults that can lead to significant failures or crashes.

This testing is undertaken for exposing the weakness of the software as well as its exploitative potential as well as to showcase the corruption of the data or breach of security. It is usually performed for the purpose of breaking the system and verifying the response of the application in case of unintentional inputs.

Another purpose of this testing is to observe and measure the response of a system to the external problems. It stresses the system beyond the normal limits for which it has been developed besides using the same in an incorrect way. It stresses the system beyond the margins of normal use cases resulting in denial of subsequent service.

Also referred to as Dirty Testing, it is performed to ensure greater satisfaction level of the customer by checking the resistance of the software like if it is carrying out a function that it is not supposed to. For example if particular software opens an application by accepting a password of all letter variables when the requirement is to have at least a number. It tests the software beyond the normal operational limits to be specific it denotes testing a software above its upper specification limit or below the lower one.

It aims to diagnose the expected causes of system failure such as crashes, breach of security, etc as well as to check the validation and rejection of the input. These tests are significant to the companies as they check that the given software is stable enough and is working with respect to its expected functional criterions. These tests are carried out to ensure and verify the proper functioning of the software and thus ensure satisfaction of the customers and clients alike.

The test houses with the help of specialized process to assure the quality of the product carry out different tests to find out maximum flaws or defects while undergoing the testing process. It is done to ensure that the end user or rather the client does not come across any abnormality with respect to the functioning of the same in its computing environment. Test your applications by hiring testing services of a web application testing company that fits your budget and time.

We provide QA testing services. To hire software testing consultant from us, please reach out to us at Mindfire Solutions.

Thursday 11 December 2014

Software Testing and Its Future - Where Are We Heading?

We provide <a href=http://www.mindfiresolutions.com/web-application-testing-website-testing.htm>software testing services</a>. If you would like to <a href=http://www.mindfiresolutions.com/testing.htm>hire software testers</a> from us, we would be glad to assist you at Mindfire Solutions.Why Software testing? Every project has a chief aim to produce an outstanding and reliable product for its end users and so the case for any software application or product. While the developer develops different modules of a software application he understands the program flow and the logic of the application. But the end user is totally unaware of the logic section. Hence, the end user may find it difficult to browse the application without understanding the background logic. To create a virtual connection breeze between the developer and end user there is a set off people known as testers. Testers check the application from the user’s point of view to provide better user experience to the end user. So in order to get a good reliable and user friendly product we must give importance to the testing operations for an application.

Future of software testing: Previously the testing operation was performed by QA testers i.e., quality assurance professionals. They use to test the application manually with their experience, expertise and knowledge. This is really a tedious job for the testers to check each and every aspect of the application manually which is not only time taking but also an inefficient process. Understanding the same, the automation testing gets evolved in 21st century. With different automation testing tools like QTP testing, selenium testing etc; it makes the overall testing experience a pleasant one with efficiency and time saving.

Why future rely on automation testing? With the rapid progress of the smart phones and tablets in the industry, the testing process becomes extremely difficult for a tester to check the reliability of an application in different platforms like Windows, Android and IOS simultaneously. To achieve the same if a QA tester tests the application manually then it would be a tough and inefficient method for the application because the tester may leave some loop holes in the application which may lead to crash of the application while being used by the user on different platforms. To avoid this embracing situation, the future testers are depending on the automation testing tools for efficient testing. Automated testing can help in not only decrease in the effort for the tester but also at the same time increases the efficiency and productivity.

Different types of automation testing tools: There are basically two different popular automation testing tools namely Selenium Automation Testing and QTP Automation testing tools. Well both maintained their own priority in respective fields but this is the duty of the tester to choose the best testing methodology for his project considering the cost, type and size of the application. QTP automation testing can be used for any application for windows platform. It needs the knowledge of VB script for the tester to make the automation testing successful for applications for windows platform. On the other hand, Selenium is a modern era automation testing tool which can be used for only web application testing but for all platforms i.e., Windows, Android, IOS. Moreover Selenium automation testing is an in expensive way of automation testing due to its low cost of ownership.

Hence, for any software application testing except web applications we can rely on QTP automated testing whereas for modern web applications testing that run on Android or IOS platform, Selenium automated testing is a boon. Test your applications by hiring testing services of an application software testing company that fits your budget and time.

We provide software testing services. If you would like to hire software testers from us, we would be glad to assist you at Mindfire Solutions.

Wednesday 10 December 2014

A Look at Some Basic Things about Selenium Automation Testing Tool

selenium automated testing, selenium web app testing, selenium testerIn the software industry once a product reaches the phase where it has to be tested manually, every organization toys with the idea of automated testing in order to save the cost that is associated with manual testing. The cost is undoubtedly, an important factor for any project. As a result, several enterprises prefer the open source test automation tools instead of opting for commercial tools that are quite costly. In addition the open source automation testing tools offer competitive features for testing the both the web and software applications automatically. In this regard, there are several testing tools that are perfect for Web, regression, UAT, etc. As far as the open source tools are concerned, Selenium is, perhaps, the best option that you can get.

Why use Selenium?

This is a basic question that any organization might ask. With so many open source tools available why choose Selenium? The reason behind the popularity of Selenium lies in its multiple functions. Firstly, it is applicable for both GUI as well s the functionality. It can also be applied as a unit testing tool as far as JavaScript is concerned.

Components present in Selenium

This tool has several tests components within its test package. However, there are 3 major tools that help in developing the automatic testing process for web applications – Selenium Grid, IDE and RC. The IDE is used as a Firefox extension that is used to record the test suites and cases. The Selenium RC is utilized to run tests on various systems and browsers. Finally, the Grid can run many instances of the RC at a time. In addition, there is the Qualitia and Tellurium that acts as a wrapper for the tools’ engine.

Let’s take a look at these components in details:

Selenium IDE: This is a completely integrated development environment for testing. Implemented as a Firefox add-on, it also enables editing, debugging and recording tests. Initially, known as the Recorder, the IDE was donated to the Selenium project in the year 2006.

With the help of this component scripts can recorded and edited automatically. This provides a support to the auto completion and helps to move the commands quickly. The recording is done in Selenese (a special language for scripting). It offers the commands in order to perform the actions in a browser. It is also used for retrieving data from the result pages.

Client API: Besides using Selenese there are various other languages that can be used for writing tests. The tests then make us of the Client API to communicate with Selenium. This client is presently used for Ruby, Java, Python and C#.

Remote Control: This is a server that has been written in Java. It easily accepts the commands through HTTP for the browsers. The RC makes it possible for the programmers to write automated tests in any kind of programming languages, especially for the web applications. This enables netter integration of the Selenium in the already existing unit test framework.

WebDriver: This is recognized as the successor of RC. The Selenium WebDriver accepts commands that are either sent through Client API or Selenese. These are finally sent to the browser. The USP of this tool is that it can start a browser instantly as well as control it.

Selenium Grid: This is a server that enables the tests to utilize the web browser instances that are running on the remote machines. Here one of the servers will act as the hub. The tests will contact the hub so that to access the browser instances. There is a list of servers in the Grid that helps to achieve this end. It will also allow the tests to run parallel on the multiple machines, manage the various browser versions and its configurations from a central point.

These are some of the basic aspects about the Selenium tool that would actually help the programmers during the automated testing process. To get maximum benefits of testing, you may consider hiring services of a selenium automated testing company.

We provide selenium web app testing services. If you would like to discuss with a certified selenium tester from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Wednesday 26 November 2014

Appium Vs. Robotium - a Simple Comparison

Appium Testing, quality assurance testing, Appium tool expertsAn enterprise has to focus on several factors to effectively automate its mobile testing activities. It is also important for the business to compare the available automation tools, and pick the right one according to the specific needs of the project. Many businesses even prefer using open source tools to effectuate automated testing of mobile apps without increasing project overheads. Both Appium and Robotium are open source testing frameworks that are used widely by enterprises across the world.

Appium Automation Framework

As an open source framework, Appium is used widely by testers to create automated tests for major mobile platforms. The cross-platform test automation tool supports a variety of platforms including Android, iOS and FirefoxOS. Likewise, Appium can also be used for testing native, hybrid and mobile web applications. It runs tests by using a WebDriver interface. So the testers have option to write test cases in number of programming languages included in the WebDriver library including C#, PHP, Java, Python and Ruby.

Robotium Android Testing Tools

As an open source automated testing tool, Robotium is used frequently to evaluate a variety of Android applications. It is popularly regarded by programmers as the “Selenium for Android”. The UI testing tool further supports major versions and subversions of the Google mobile operating system. Robotium is actually a library of unit tests. While user Robotium for testing Android application, testers are required to test cases in Java.

Important Points of Distinction between Appium and Robotium

Support for Mobile Platforms: Appium is a cross-platform test automation tool, whereas Robotium is a test automation framework for Android. Robotium supports different versions and subversions of the Google mobile operating system. So it can be used for testing a wide variety of Android apps. On the other hand, Appium supports iOS and Firefox OS along with Android. It allows testers to use of standard automation APIs on different platforms. The standard automation APIs do not require the mobile apps to be modified or recompiled during testing.

Type of Application: Robotium can be used for evaluating both native and hybrid mobile applications for Android. But Appium can be used to test mobile web apps along with the native and hybrid mobile applications. It can also be used by testers to control Chrome and Safari on mobile devices. So Appium can also be used to evaluate mobile websites across these web browsers.

Option to Choose Programming Language: Robotium is designed specifically to test software for a specific mobile platform. So it does not allow testers to write test cases by choosing from a set of programming languages. While using Robotium for Android application testing, the testers are required to write test cases only in Java. But Appium is designed with a WebDriver interface that supports several programming languages. Thus, Appium enables testers to write test cases in any of the WebDriver-compatible languages including Java, PHP, C#, Ruby, Python, Perl, Objective-C, Clojure, and JavaScript with Node.js.

Performance: Both Appium and Robotium lack Record and Play functionality. But Robotium requires testing professionals to work with the source code while automating tests. So testers have to invest additional time and efforts to write test cases for Robotium. Further, the Android application testing framework cannot effectively interact with system software, and does not provide screenshots. At the same time, the performance of Appium is impacted due to reduced XPath support on mobile devices. Also, many testing professionals feel the test reports generated by Appium to be poor and inadequate.

In nutshell, a business can use Appium to test a wide variety of mobile applications, whereas Robotium can be used for testing only Android app. But a business must evaluate the pros and cons of these open source mobile testing frameworks according to the requirements of the application to be tested. To develop a stable product/application, please look out for the testing experts from a reputed quality assurance testing company.

We provide Appium Testing services. If you would like to talk one of our Appium tool experts, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Monday 24 November 2014

The Future of Software Testing - How Will It Be?

hire testing software companies, software testing services, hire software test engineerWith more and more IT companies adopting test-driven development (TDD) approach, the software testing services have become an integral part of product development life cycle. But to effectuate software testing, the QA professionals have to make and implement strategies by considering key factors like competitive pressured, shorter time to market, and constant changes in technology. Along with delivering a flawless software application, the testing strategy will also aim to beat competition by shortening time to market. However, the future of software testing will also be impacted by several emerging trends in testing and QA.

Emerging Trends that will Impact the Future of Software Testing

Test Automation: An enterprise can avail several benefits by automating its testing efforts. The test automation tools make it easier for QA engineers to repeatedly evaluate different aspects of the software. In addition to improving the quality of the software, the tools will further help businesses in quickly covering based throughout the development. Also, the test automation will help enterprises in beating competition by reducing both cost and time to market.

Emphasis on Security: Security is one of the key factors in both manual and automated software testing. But many reports have highlighted that the testing strategy of most companies focus primarily on performance and emphasis. The reports also highlighted that test strategies of more and more companies are now focusing on security. As the application needs to be accessible on various platforms and devices, it has become essential for business to protect it from hacking, cross scripting attacks and other cyber crimes.

Context-Driven Testing: The enterprises have realized that the same testing strategy will not meet the needs of different applications. So many companies, nowadays, opt for context-driven testing. The companies require QA engineers to develop an arsenal of skill for different contexts through formal training and on-the-job observations. The enhanced skills and expertise of testers will make it easier for them to make test strategies by evaluating and interpreting a particular situation effectively.

Growth of Mobile and Cloud Testing: A number of reports have highlighted a steady increase in the mobile and Cloud testing activities. With more and more businesses using mobile devices for operation transactions and customers, it has become essential for them to ensure mobile security. Likewise, many businesses opt for Cloud based testing to create and maintain the testing environment effectively without investing additional time, effort and funds. However, the companies will be required to address several data security and performance challenges to adopt cloud based environments successfully.

Agile Environment: With most software applications being developed in agile environment, the businesses have to use right test tools and methodology to complement the development. The agile development requires enterprises to test various aspects of the software continuously before the delivery phase. So the testers have to adopt testing in production approach to assess the software in an agile development environment.

Test Center of Excellence: Many IT companies will use Test Center of Excellence (TCOE) as the main criterion to choose independent software testing vendors. Several reports have highlighted that most companies, nowadays, prefer hiring vendors who have already fully operational TCOE’s. However, a software testing company needs 3 to 6 months for developing a TCOE. Also, it can avail the benefits of the TCOE only after 3 years. That is why; more software testing companies will build TCOE to impress clients.

Cost and Process Optimization: Many IT companies, nowadays, focus more on QA and testing activities than core product development. So the QA and testing activities will become more process-centric in future. Also, the businesses will adopt a collaborative testing model that will require the involvement of different stakeholders including client. The increased focus on software testing also make the businesses allocate more funds for QA activities. The optimization of testing process and cost will further make many companies hire independent software testing services.

Many experts even predict that more and more companies will invest in independent software testing services, open source test automation tools, and agile testing models. Likewise, many companies will switch to Cloud based testing to avail cost benefits along with higher flexibility and feasibility. When you hire testing software companies, you must ensure that the team has proven experience in handling medium and large sized testing projects over a long period.

We provide software testing services. If you would like to hire software test engineer from us, we would be glad to assist you at Mindfire Solutions.

Wednesday 19 November 2014

Better Testing Produces Better Applications - True or False?

independent software testing, software application testing, hire software test engineerBetter quality testing procedures always improve the quality of the applications – there is no doubt about this. Besides, they also offer a string of added advantages to the developers. They provide a wide range of coverage that is critical for detecting the bugs or loopholes pretty early along the course of the development. A thorough evaluation procedure also drastically reduces the cost of failure, saves time through a process of repeatability as well as quick or early verification. It also results in much better or improved resource productivity. Hence, it can well be said that at the end of the day, better assessment procedures do improve the quality of the applications.

In fact, implementing the best software testing procedure for any app development is the best as well as the most promising way to not only improve the quality of the apps but to enjoy their benefits to the fullest.

The applications that are under development have a tendency of changing constantly and becoming more and more complex with the passage of time, during the course of development. Their features also keep on growing, thus increasing the need as well as the pertinence of the evaluation.

Still, in case of a number of application things do not take place in this way. In the case of these apps, all the features need to be tested upon implementation of even a single extra feature. This is required to ensure optimal behavior of the application in question along with a seamless experience of the end user, for at times it is seen that incorporation of even a single extra feature has changed the functionality of the entire software or application. Here is where, the need for the best checking procedure, preferably an automated testing procedure, is so important for the overall betterment of the application in question.

There are a number of smaller or startup companies that cannot be considered as typical software houses. Still, they develop various types of software applications to fulfill their domestic requirements. These companies spend a sizeable amount of time for testing various features of the software application they develop, simply by running them and figuring out their functionality with different types of inputs, while keeping a close watch on the outputs they deliver, judging whether the outputs yielded are as per the predefined design. Though these companies leave no stones unturned in the evaluation, still there remains enough room for speculation, so far as the feasibility of the tests conducted are concerned, or the real time working of the codes. This is due to fact that these companies often do not follow any testing manual and conduct the testing on an ad hoc basis, which at times leave enough room for the presence of loopholes.

Thus, using a proper testing manual and time is extremely effective, though it is not that expensive at all, for ensuring the quality of the application. Rigorous and high quality testing is always great when it comes to finding out whether a newly created code is affecting any aspect of the functionality of the software. Moreover, a comprehensive and structured evaluation infrastructure is always better that ad hoc software testing that is practiced by the smaller and the startup companies. While ad hoc testing is generally done manually where there is room for the tester committing mistakes, the bigger names with a structured testing infrastructure generally follow automated evaluation mechanism, where each and every flaw is spotted and rectified accordingly. These high quality assessment setups are naturally more effective and elaborative than the manual testing, though at times their scripting system might be expensive. Still, they are indispensable when it comes to betterment of a software or app. This is mainly for three reasons.

Firstly, these automated testing procedures are excellent in finding problems pretty early in the development cycle. It is a common perception in SW development that the earlier the bugs are spotted, the cheaper it is to debug them. Thus, the best automated testing procedures suit this perception as they pick up the loopholes and plug them at the earliest and in an extremely effective and quick way.

Secondly, the best automated testing systems keep a close vigil on the code from two dimensions – time and space. They keep a watch on the code in the dimension of time for once a unit test is written, it ensures that the code that is written will work at present as well as in the future.

Thirdly, these high quality evaluation systems ensure that the developers get the freedom of going all out to alter the existing code. Over the course of time, the software systems get increasingly change resistant, as the developers get a bit reluctant to change the old or established code. However, this tendency can always be justified by the fact that any change in the old code can result in disintegration or split up of some other part of the application or software as a side effect.

Thus, the presence of a better evaluation procedure always improves the quality of the application from all possible aspects. To get maximum benefits of testing, you may consider hiring services of a independent software Testing company.

We provide software application testing services. If you would like to hire software test engineer from us, we would be glad to assist you at Mindfire Solutions.

Tuesday 18 November 2014

Factors Affecting Test Efforts in Software Testing

independent software Testing, IT software Testing, hire software Test engineerEach enterprise wants to get maximum ROI by launching the perfect software application. But each enterprise has to consider several factors to launch a popular software application. Most companies, nowadays, deploy a team of seasoned software testers to ensure that the software is error free. Likewise, many companies even invest in various test automation tools to identify and fix all bugs or flaws in the application before its release. However, to effectuate software testing efforts, a business must be armed with the right people, tools and processes. At the same time, it is also important for the organization to identifying the factors that affects test efforts in software testing.

Factors Affecting the Software Testing Efforts of a Business

Project Documentation: Good and detailed documentation adds value to the software development project. But both time and efforts are required to create detailed documentation. Sometimes the meticulous documentation of specific test cases can delay the testing process. When the testing professionals are required to maintain detailed documentation during test execution, they have to invest additional time and effort. So they test data that are fragile or need to be maintained frequently will have an impact on the testing efforts.

Increase in Software Application Size: To beat competition, enterprises keep adding new features and functionality to the software during different stages of development. These new features often increase the overall size of the project. Sometimes the increase in the project size also makes the business in increasing the size of the project team. The frequent increase in the size of the project and project team can affect the testing of large and complex software applications.

Software Life Cycle: The development life cycles of the software can also have a direct impact on the testing efforts. Each time any new features or functionality is added to the product, the testers are required to conduct rigorous regression testing. Sometimes changes in the late stages of development require the business to incur additional regression testing cost.

Maturity of Process: Like new processes, mature processes can also affect the overall software testing efforts. The testers have to manage changes in mature processes with additional care. Any changes in the mature process during the middle or end of the project also require the testers to repeat all tests, while keeping the test execution cost under control.

Time Constraints: Each company to wants to beat competition by reducing the time to market. The shortening of time to market often affects the organization’s overall software testing strategies and test efforts. The time pressure also makes some testing professionals to take unwarranted risks. To eliminate the unwarranted risk factors, the test efforts need to be planned and organized at regular intervals.

Availability of Skilled Testers: Along with tools and methods, people are also in integral part of the software testing process. Along with writing test cases, the testers will further execute the processes. So the testing efforts are impacted by the skills of individual testing professionals and the team. It is always important for the business to pick seasoned software testers, and align their skills according to the specific needs of the project.

Test Results: The test results help managers in taking some key decisions about the software release. Sometimes the test results are also evaluated by various stakeholders to take the right decisions. So the testing strategy of an organization must aim to deliver relevant and accurate test results. However, the quality of the software will be affected if the bugs or flaws highlighted in the test results are not fixed at the earliest. Any defect in the software identified during the testing must be fixed in the same cycle. Otherwise, the defect will have a huge impact on the overall test efforts.

On the whole, a business must focus on several factors to effectuate the creation of test plans, and estimation of test schedules and efforts. The test efforts will also be impacted by the software testing approach or strategies of the business. But the software testing strategy of the organization must focus on the factors affecting the test efforts in software testing. To get maximum benefits of testing, you may consider hiring services of a independent software Testing company.

We provide IT software Testing services. If you would like to hire software Test engineer from us, we would be glad to assist you at Mindfire Solutions.

Monday 3 November 2014

How Selenium Brings Down Development Cost and Time ?

An internet application should be accessible on various web browsers in order to become popular. This is important because users choice for the web browser is different from one another. Programmers need to make sure the app which they build should work perfectly over a wide range of internet browsers. The cross browser compatibility of an web application could be checked with extensive regression testing. However regression testing needs more time as well as resources. Because of this, organizations choose for reliable test automation tools such as Selenium & Cucumber in order to avoid cost & time consuming regression tests. These tools allow developers to develop many automated test suites which will run against various internet browsers. Additionally, they also have way to run automated test suits within the build pipeline or even schedules build process. No matter what the approach is, the tools work well on finding bugs quickly and also gives quick feedback.

Developers are offered with various tools by Selenium, that are needed for testing different factors of a web application. The tool is additionally used commonly by developers in browser test automation. Therefore Selenium works well for checking the performance and the behavior of any application around various supported internet browsers. Selenium in addition includes a collection of tools which run flawlessly on popularly used operating systems and also on across web browsers. The testers could even manage those tools with a variety of frameworks and also with programming languages. In addition to web browser automation, Selenium could also be used in web based administration tasks.

Since the tool supports many web browsers, it is more comfortable for developers to add the tool in the browser's native components. A company in addition has choice to select Selenium IDE, Selenium Remote Control or even Selenium WebDriver based on the type and needs of every web application development project. The IDE may be used like a simple Firefox add-on to do simple record & playback in the web browser. Besides making bug reproduction scripts quickly, the IDE even creates script for the automation aided exploratory testing. Additionally, the Selenium WebDriver and also Selenium Remote Control are utilized for browser-based regression automation to optimize. These suites moreover help the developers for distributing and even scaling test scripts over different conditions.

Apart from Selenium, Cucumber is another popular test automation tool which provides behavior driven development. Developers may use Cucumber to explain the expected behavior in the internet application in a plain text. Even Though it is written in Ruby, Cucumber works with various programming languages like Java, C#, Ruby, .NET, FLEX & Python. Therefore it becomes simpler for the developers in order to test applications that are written with any of the above mentioned supported programming languages. Entire Cucumber testing process is often split into 6 wide steps. However the programmers aren't needed to write any kind of code when solving a bug. Each of these Cucumber & Selenium needs to be utilized together in order to efficiently check out the application's cross-browser compatibility. These popular tools should be utilized together for the automated behavior-driven development testing in order to reduce the entire development expense & time period. A steady rise is observed into the amount of companies switching to behavior based development approach. The agile methods additionally facilitates developers on quickly test the way an internet application functions over various browsers. To get maximum benefits of testing, you may consider hiring services of a selenium web testing company.

We provide selenium website testing services. If you would like to discuss with an expert selenium tester from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Friday 31 October 2014

Software Testing - Why, What and How

offshore qa testing, software testing services, hire software quality assurance testerSoftware testing is a method through which the functionality of a software program can be reviewed. Thus, this method allows an opportunity to the enterprises to comprehend the risks or the advantages related to software implementation. The test techniques are modeled to find out bugs in the application or program. However, the techniques are not limited only to this purpose. There are various kinds of testing but primarily two types are used – dynamic and static. Since the possibilities of software testing are vast, certain strategies are used to select the tests that will be feasible keeping in mind the resources and time frame.

Understanding the product is important

The software testers offer important insights and data about the present condition of the system. This information helps in minimizing any ambiguity associated with the program or app. In order to release a product in the market, it is essential to understand about the various aspects of the product, like, its usability and its compliance with other apps, etc. Thus, this process helps in making objective assessments regarding conformance of the product to the desired specifications or requirements.

Validation is a necessity

This method further verifies that the product meets the requirements that include reliability, performance, usability, security, functionality, etc. This is done to ensure that the building method is right. Moreover, it confirms that the system built is in accordance with what the users want. To put it briefly, validation is necessary to make sure that the software that is being developed is correct. Besides making the right decisions, the information from software testing is also helps in dealing with risk management.

Testing helps in quality check

It is vital as the process helps in improving the quality of the product. While tracing defects or bugs is one of the many aims of testing but it is not sole purpose. It is equally crucial that the product meets the requirements that were specified initially. It must be in sync with the purpose for which it is being developed. Quality enhancement enables the company to minimize reduce cost of service and support after the product is released. It also generates a good will amongst the customers when you deliver them a product that has minimal issues and reduces their costing as well.

How to carry out testing?

Whilst there are several benefits associated with this method, but the big question is how to carry it out successfully? A number of professionals are involved in this process – developers, managers, quality analysts, testers, tech leads, etc. The project is planned with the software requirement specifications (SRS). The main responsibility lies with the tester to develop the product from the specifications provided. The developers begin the coding once the design is complete. There are different modules in which the project is divided. The testers are also responsible for writing tests as per the assigned modules.

How do the errors function?

Committing errors are part and parcel of life. The process of testing is also not devoid of them as these are developed by human beings. However, simple errors can lead to a complete failure of the system. Thus, the cost involved with errors can be huge. Therefore, it is important to build products that are reliable. Mean Time between Failure (MTBF), Mean Time to Failure (MTTF) and service level agreements are some of the tools that are used to measure reliability.

How much software testing can be done?

This is also a crucial question. It has been proven that everything cannot be tested in software. There are exhaustive testers but exhaustive testing is a not a reality. The primary aim of testing is to justify the cost against the risks involved with the product. This method is dependent on how the project is planned and executed. It is also vital to assign the required tests first id there is time crunch.

To conclude, testing is an indispensable part of software development. How it will be carried out and what extent depends on the completion of the project, resources and the available time. To get maximum benefits of testing, you may consider hiring services of a offshore QA testing company.

We provide software testing services. If you would like to hire software quality assurance tester from us, we would be glad to assist you at Mindfire Solutions.

Wednesday 29 October 2014

Increase the Efficiency of Mobile Apps through Test Automation

automation testing, test automation services, hire automation testing expertsThe rapidly growing popularity of smartphones, tablets and phablets is encouraging enterprises to invest in mobile app development. But often enterprises find it a daunting challenge to make their mobile apps popular. To make a mobile app popular, an organization must optimize its look, feel, performance, and compatibility. At the same time, the enterprise also needs to ensure that the application is delivering flawless user experience.

Before its release, the business must identify and fix all errors, flaws or bugs in the app. Many reports have highlighted that a business can increase the efficiency, effectiveness and coverage of testing by using a variety of test automation tools. Also, automated mobile testing helps QA engineers to increase the app’s performance and efficiency, by overcoming some of the common and significant challenges.

How Mobile Application Test Automation Helps in Increasing the App’s Efficiency?

Check the App’s Compatibility with Mobile Devices: To become popular, each mobile app needs to function flawlessly on a wide variety of mobile apps. The enterprise needs to ensure that the app is compatible with different versions of smartphones, tablets and phablets. With new handheld devices being launched at frequent intervals, it is not possible for testers to assess the compatibility of the app with different mobile devices and platforms manually. But they can use several mobile test automation tools to assess the look, feel and performance of the mobile app across a wide range of mobile devices.

Assess All Aspects of the Mobile Apps: Normally, manual software testing methods avoid tests that are lengthy and through. But the test automation tools make it easier for QA engineers to improve the software quality in increasing the depth and scope of tests. The test case will run automatically, while having access to all aspects of the mobile app. So the test cases can check if the app is behaving expectedly by evaluating the data tables, memory contents, file contents and internal program states. The testing tools can also be used to carry out lengthy, detailed and complex tests without affecting the app release schedule.

Evaluate New Features and Functionality: To beat competition, the business wants to add innovative and critical features to the app through different stages of promotion. So the performance of the app needs to be tested thoroughly each time any new feature in includes. The manual regression testing methods are slow and time-consuming. So the shortened time to market restricts the manual regression testing scope. But the QA engineers can use several tools to conduct regression testing repeatedly, and the functionality and performance of the app remain unaffected by the changes.

Facilitate Testing Repetition: To identify all flaws, errors or bugs in the application, it must be tested thoroughly during all development cycles. The repetitive testing efforts will ensure that the application is performing flawlessly. The test automation tools allow QA engineers to conduct the tests repeatedly without putting any extra time and effort. They also have option to reuse and modify the test cases to assess the app’s performance through different development cycle. Also, test automation helps enterprises in saving both cost and time.

Expand the Test Coverage: The manual testing efforts often restricts the test coverage due to availability of limited resources. But automation of mobile testing efforts delivers good test results on time. The use of automation tools further help the enterprises in expand the test coverage without deploying any additional testing professionals. The expanded testing makes it easier for developers to identify all flaws, errors and bugs in the app, and get these fixed as early as possible. An enterprise can further use cross-platform automated testing methods and tools to automate the testing of large and complex mobile applications.

However, a business also needs to decide the right mobile test automation tools and methods. It also needs to implement a detailed mobile testing strategy by focusing on a number of best practices and challenges. The mobile testing efforts must the automated properly to make the mobile app popular within a short span of time. To get maximum benefits of testing, you may consider hiring services of an Automation testing company.

We provide test automation services. If you would like to hire automation testing experts from us, we would be glad to assist you at Mindfire Solutions.

Monday 20 October 2014

Ways to Estimate Testing Method and Cost

offshore software testing, qa and testing services, hire software testersOne inevitable question that the client will ask is, “By when can you complete the project?” In such a situation it is important that a valid and realistic completion time is provided. There are several dynamic factors to be considered while working on a project which includes time, resources, funding, etc. Deciding upon an exact time of delivery and cost is always not possible. These factors often work as limitations for a project. Hence, there are certain estimation techniques that are required to plan, judge the scope and constrain the status of the project. These techniques can drastically improve the estimating practices; thus, reducing the risks. These ensure that the success rates for the projects are increased. Whether you are developing and launching a new website, developing a new product or updating an existing one, the involvement of skilled people, funds, testing, implementation, revision, etc are required. Thus, it is vital that you know the right ways to estimate the testing methods and cost before you begin working on the product.

Estimation techniques prove helpful

Estimating is an indispensable tool as far as managing and anticipating projects are concerned. You know this, right? This is the tool that will help to manage the uncertainties involved in developing products. These techniques aid in identifying the cost as well as time that are relatively accurate. This way the risk associated with the projects are reduced as there are lesser chances of going beyond the budget in a big way, running out of time and resources.

Identify the factors that can challenge the estimation

Before you set anything straight you need to point out the basic problems. The same rule applies while estimating the testing methods. Inspite of creating relatively correct effort and time predictions, it might seem difficult to turn them into reality. Thus, the need is to identify the factors that obstruct the progress. There are 3 basic problems including the presence of unknown variables that might make anticipating difficult or, even, impossible. Secondly, sometimes there are miscalculations that lead a company to believe it can manage a project within an available time. But in reality, it does not turn out to be that way as it is not possible to achieve more than is feasible within a stipulated duration. Thirdly, mostly, out of enthusiasm and a desire to please the client, a miscalculated estimation is projected. Once, these issues are taken into account, it becomes easy to provide a more believable and acceptable estimation for testing and cost.

Bug cycle should be considered

While estimating testing method, it should be kept in mind that the bug cycle is also a part of it. Therefore, a test cycle might take more days than what was estimated at the beginning of the project. In order to avoid such a situation, it is vital that the build is a stable one. In case the build has uncertainties, the developers will require more time to fix it. Hence, the test cycle gets extended.

Revise the estimations

Software development is an elaborate process. Once you reach the testing stage, several factors have arisen and more issues could arise during the process. Hence, it is imperative that the estimation is revised often. This should be done in the early stages so that there are no discrepancies once you freeze the estimation. It is always advisable not to extend the estimation for testing method unless major changes are required.

Take care of the inadequacies beforehand

If it is felt that a proposed duration or budget is inadequate, it is always better to suggest adjustments at the initial stages. These adjustments can be carried out by balancing the four criteria, like, quality, cost, features and schedule. The project rollout should be a planned one from the very beginning so that there is no need to scramble with the schedule at the later stages. You can also include some buffer time as that would help to deal with the delays, if any. However, this buffer time should be realistic.

Learn from your pas

To ensure that your ways are sure to spell success, the best way is to learn from your past. Your experiences with the previous projects will help immensely if you refer to them. Analyze your previous estimates and decide on the new ones accordingly.

These are just some of the basic ways in which you can estimate the testing method and cost – both are two major factors in developing a project. With accurate methods for estimation working on the project becomes smoother. As a result, the product development will be successful. To get maximum benefits of testing, you may consider hiring services of a offshore software testing company.

We provide QA and testing services. If you would like to hire software testers from us, we would be glad to assist you at Mindfire Solutions.

Monday 8 September 2014

The Growing Options for Mobile Testing

mobile automation testing, mobile app testing service, expert mobile testersWhen it comes to evaluation or testing of mobile devices, there is no dearth of options that are available. However, in spite of the considerable growth in the number of solutions of mobile testing, a significant extent of evaluation is done manually. This is mainly because of scalability and financial issues. Yet, another option that is seeing high growth in terms of popularity is outsourcing.

Then there is Crowdsourced mobile testing, which is an extremely low-cost version of outsourced mobile assessment. This particular type of evaluation comes up with flexibility. It also supports multilingual evaluation of a broader cross section of the devices. It is mainly used by the freelancers. This helps in cost cutting in a significant way.

With the requirement of mobile testing increasing in leaps and bounds, there is an ardent need for various options as well as strategies. As if in response to the growing needs, newer strategies are being developed. Today, it is possible to run all the emulators as well as in-house evaluations. Still, it is needed to conduct the evaluations in the live fields. With so many requirements coming up in the realm of QA, new ideas, options, approaches as well as tools are coming into play.

There is Gorilla Logic that has come out with the version 5 of FoneMonkey, which is famous for its open-source functional evaluation framework. Then there is another option – the uTest that is popular among the fraternity of crowdsourced evaluation. Another option is Selenium. This is actually a portable evaluation framework that is meant for the web applications. However, this can be modified to make it applicable for the mobile devices.

Apart from all these, there is the option of simulator-based evaluation, though this particular type has drawn criticism from certain quarters, and hence is generally avoided. There is a cloud based testing solution that conducts the Selenium tests, which takes care of the management along with the provisioning issues through the commodity hardware. Other options that are available are:

Apptimize: This one is designed to be used in iOS as well as Android. For the monthly active users, the framework will cost $50/month. The framework helps in updating as well as` changing without the need to resubmit at the App Store.

Leanplum: This tool is available mainly for iOS, PhoneGap, Android, as well as Unity. It costs $79 per month for the evaluators who use this tool. It also helps in visual editing of the applications.

Taplytics: At present, Taplytics is only available for iOS, and the cost of the tool is $20/month for the QAs who avail this tool’s help. Again, this tool also helps in visual editing of the applications.

Artisan: Artisan is available for iOS as well as Android. The cost of the tools is $1,000 per month for the users who take the help of this tool in an active way. Artisan is one of the two A/B QA frameworks that you will find as a part of the larger analytics package. Artisan also enables visual editing of your app.

Vessel: Vessel is available for Windows phone, Android, iOS, PhoneGap or HTML5. Vessel.io costs $150 per month and comes with a larger analytics pack, which enables visual application editing.

Swrve: Swrve provides an enterprise QA solution.

Arise: Arise is available for iOS as well as Androidand is available at 99 Euros for its active users.

Splitforce: Splitforce is basically a tool designed for iOS and Unity. The cost of this tool is $299 for the users who take help of this tool.

Optimimo: Optimimo is designed exclusively for Android and it available at $49 per month for the ones who use it actively.

Amazon A/B Testing: This framework is designed and developed on AWS, and is available for iOS, Android as well as Android Kindle Fire. It is an open source framework and is hence, free, with no limits as regards to apps, the number of team members and active users. To get maximum benefits of mobile testing, you may consider hiring services of a mobile automation testing company.

We provide mobile app testing service. If you would like to get your application tested by our expert mobile testers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Sunday 7 September 2014

Is Appium the best choice for Mobile Automation Testing?

Appium testing, quality assurance testing, expert automation testersUsually testers have to learn several programming languages to evaluate the efficiency of a particular mobile app over various platforms. However Appium enables the experts for testing mobile apps with Selenium WebDriver. Therefore, they've choice to write tests by using various programming languages that works with the WebDriver such as perl, Python, PHP, Java, Objective-C, C#, Ruby, & JavaScript with Node.js. Additionally, they may choose any kind of testing framework to improve the speed as well as the ability of the testing work. Several organizations depend upon open source testing automation tools such as Appium for automation both the native & hybrid mobile apps. Currently, Appium is supporting many platforms such as iOS, Android & FirefoxOS. Therefore, the developers could easily automatighte both the native & hybrid apps by focusing on various platforms. Additionally, Appium also is considered as very flexible in the mobile app automation.

The user even have choice to get the advantages of Appium Inspector, a record & playback tool for automate the native apps. This particular tool is created in an approach much to Selenium IDE for the Web browsers. This generates test scripts based on the steps carried out in inspector. Appium may even check the DOM, and also generate test scripts in the programming language chosen from the user. But, the Appium Inspector isn't compatible in Microsoft Windows currently. Being an HTTP server, Appium works well in creating & handling WebDriver sessions. It could additionally create & handle several WebDriver sessions for many platforms such as iOS & Android. This tool could be used to begin a test case on a device which starts communication from the server, and also gets proxy commands by the primary Appium server. Then again, the manner and the mechanism in order to run test case in the device is different in each mobile platform. Hence it runs the test case simply by listening the commands by the server. Monkeyrunner alternatively is an API built on Python, enables to generate programs that can manage certain devices with the user point of view.

Some other testing frameworks found currently are Robotium & Robolectric. Robotium runs tests within emulators for all those against Android API. On the other hand Robolectric is an unit test framework. This runs within IDE. One more testing framework is called Espresso which is used for the certain purpose. This is an API used in order to test against the Android UI. Yet another well known testing framework which has been preferred for many years known as Flurry. For those who would like to get a report and detailed crash reports, can choose Flurry. Although the above testing alternatives are great, while building a hybrid app, you may not be able to utilize those at all. When you are in for the cross platform automation framework that can help you building tests in whatever language you want both for Android and also for iOS, you may then opt for Appium.

Stephen Janaway is a Test Manager by profession. He works on mobile & web testing, test automation & software delivery optimisation. He has mentioned in a blog that he has used Appium and found it to be good. Since it went to version 1.0 it seems to have become more stable. He further stated that the important fact in mobile automation currently stands where it had been since five to six years back with web automation. There are plenty of solutions, few works better than the other, few are better supported than the others, and few are high priced than the others. He stated that they opt Appium simply because it is cost-free as well as it is open source, it features a well-supported and active Google group, it doesn't need anything to be installed in the device and no server or even code changes not required, it works with the two Android & iOS. It is more challenging to carry out some gestures, and others compared to several of the other solutions available that we piloted Calabash that was good in this respect, he concluded. To get maximum benefits of testing, you may consider hiring services of a Appium testing company.

We provide quality assurance testing services. If you would like to get your application tested by our expert automation testers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Monday 1 September 2014

QuickTest Pro and its frameworks - An Insight

custom QTP testing company, quicktest pro testing services, certified QTP testersQuickTest Pro (QTP) can be defined as Unified Functional Test or UFT software that is specifically designed as well as developed to deliver various automatic testing for different software applications or domains.

Alternatively, it can also be said that QTP is a framework for test automation, which sets a series of guidelines for the developers to follow while scripting, with a view to achieving the intended results.

The guidelines that QuickTest Pro sets for its users include the following:

1:|| Setting coding standards.
2:|| Structuring the data sheets along with determining the way the workbooks along with each and every sheet under them can be grouped.
3:|| The structure of the folder that needs to be followed for storing the test scripts, the reusable libraries, the results of the test runs and so on.
4:|| The way the results of the test need to be stored as well as displayed and whether there is any need to save the test runs in a separate way. If so, how.
5:|| THE QTR also shows the way the team members need to access shared libraries, not the mention the ways they need to be updated.

The Salient Features

Let us now discuss the salient features of QTP and its framework.

The framework needs to be designed in a specific way, to ensure that it comes to the aide of the developers, while achieving maximum possible re-use. For instance, in case any code is to be reused more than once, a separate function needs to be created for that particular code so that the function can be called up whenever there is a need to do so subsequently.

The codes need to be easily understandable and user-friendly so that they can be maintained without any hassle whatsoever. This is very important as whenever a framework is used for a fairly long period of time, it is natural that different people will take part in the ongoing project from time to time. Hence, it is important that the framework is structured in such a way that people who just join do not find it difficult to ascertain the flow of work or what has been going on.

A good framework should also contain a good data parametrization, which makes sure that the test data should be separated from the codes. This also ensures that the same code can be used multiple times for different data sets.

It is also imperative that the results of the tests make sense. At the same time, it is important for them to be easily understandable. This helps in providing results that are detailed as well as high end. Another advantage of this is that in case the client is not interested in detailed results, it becomes possible to provide just the scripts that which contain information about the cases have passed the test along with the ones that have not.

It is also important to employ appropriate mechanisms for error handling. One option can be to provide screenshot for the cases that have failed the evaluation.

In cases when the evaluation scripts are running in batch mode, the framework needs to provide a choice by the virtue of which, in case a script fails to pass an assessment, the framework will roll out of the script automatically instead of getting stuck there, with a view to execute the subsequent assessments.

There should also be the provision of automatically sending emails and SMS, once the execution of the test scripts is done with. This feature needs to be configured in a way so that the as soon as the execution is over, the framework will by default send a message to the stakeholders about the completion. However, the mail can also include the test results so that there is no need to send the results in a separate email. To get maximum benefits of testing, you may consider hiring services of a custom QTP testing company.

We provide Quicktest pro testing services. If you would like to get your application tested by our certified QTP testers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Why the Rise in Use of Selenium?

selenium automated testing, selenium web application testing, selenium testerA number of recent reports have highlighted the rise in the use of Selenium as a software testing framework for internet applications. Despite being a portable framework, Selenium enables QA engineers to write test scripts in a wide range of programming languages including C#, Java, PHP, Perl, Ruby, Python and Groovy. The testing professionals can further use the record/playback tool provided by Selenium to write test scripts without learning any new programming language. The open source framework further makes it easier for testers to evaluate the performance of a web application by running tests on some of the widely used web browsers.

Major Advantages of Using Selenium for Web Application Testing

Supports Multiple Languages and Test Frameworks

While using Selenium, QA engineers have option to choose their preferred programming language and test framework. At present, Selenium supports several widely used programming languages including C#, Java, JavaScript, Objective-C, PHP, Perl, Ruby, Python and Groovy. The programmer can further import Selenium client libraries into popular language IDEs like Eclipse, Visual Studio.Net and Net beans. Selenium also supports several software testing frameworks including NUnit, JUnit, TestNG, RSpec, Test::Unit, pyunit and unittest. Thus, it becomes easier for QA engineers to write test scripts without acquiring any new skills.

Facilitates Cross Platform Browser Testing

To deliver flawless user experience, QA engineers have to assess the performance of the web application across multiple browsers and operating systems. The testers have option to install Selenium as a custom Firefox extension. Selenium further supports widely used web browsers like Internet Explorer, Chrome, Safari and Opera. At the same time, the framework also supports major platforms like Microsoft Windows, Linux and Apple OS X. So the developers can write the test scripts once, and execute those on several operating systems and web browsers.

Can be Used for Comprehensive Testing

Selenium can be seamlessly integrated with other test suites including QMetry, Hudson, Saucelabs and Selenium Grid. So it becomes easier for QA engineers to integrate it with their testing ecosystems. Despite being a portable testing framework, Selenium can be used to perform comprehensive testing including functional, regression, UI and UAT. The testing professional can further enhance Selenium and use the enhanced framework to carry out load testing, production monitoring and similar complex tests required to make the web application flawless.

Supports AJAX and TDD

A constant increase is being noted in the number web applications delivering richer user experience by using AJAX technologies. So the QA engineers are required to test the application by using a framework that strongly supports AJAX technologies. As Selenium supports AJAX technologies strongly, it can be used to assess the complex internet applications. Selenium can also be used to test the applications developed by using Agile and extreme programming (XP) methodologies. That is why; an enterprise can use the web application testing framework to adopt Test Driven Development (TDD).

Option to Access Selenium Ecosystem

The QA engineers also have option to access a large Selenium ecosystem that consist both open source tools and commercial services. For instance, they can access functional test services like BrowserStack, Sauce Labs and TestingBot to carry out Selenium cloud testing without putting any extra time and effort. Likewise, they can use Neustar to avail load testing and website monitoring services based on Selenium. The availability of open source tools and commercial services also contribute towards the rise in use of Selenium.

Reduces Testing Cost

Many enterprises, nowadays, opt for open source software development and testing frameworks to curtail overall project cost. Despite being a powerful and dynamic web application development framework, Selenium is still open source and free. Like Sahi and Watir, Selenium also allows users to avail the test automation framework and tools without paying any licensing fees. The low cost and open source nature of Selenium also makes it effective in bringing down the web application testing cost.

The QA engineers also have option to choose Selenium IDE or Selenium WebDriver. Selenium IDE is designed as a Firefox add-on to record-and-playback the interactions with the web browser. On the other hand, Selenium WebDriver can be used to create browser-based regression automation, while reusing the test scripts in multiple environments. To get maximum benefits of testing, you may consider hiring services of a selenium automated testing company.

We provide selenium web application testing services. If you would like to discuss with a certified selenium tester from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Thursday 28 August 2014

Software Testing and Its Different Kinds

application software testing, QA and testing services, hire software testing engineerAs an integral part of software development process, software testing is done to assess the quality of the product. Also, software testing makes it easier for developers to identify the differences between given input and expected output. Based on its objectives, an enterprise can conduct a wide variety of software testing. However, software testing can be divided into two basic types, i.e., black box testing and white box testing.

Back box of functional testing focuses on output based on requirements and functionality. The testing normally ignores the internal mechanism of the system. On the other hand, white box or structural testing considers the internal system design, and determines the working of internal software and code. Thus, both white box and black box testing can be of different kinds.

Different Kinds of Software Testing

Unit Testing: Unit testing is considered as a white box testing. The testing is conducted to evaluate an individual unit or a group of related units. The testing aims to evaluate the output produced by the implemented unit against the given input.

Integration Testing: Integration testing can be categorized as both white box and black box testing type. The testing is conducted when several components are grouped or combined to produce expected output. If the software and hardware components are related, integration testing evaluates the interaction between these components.

Functional Testing: As a black box testing, functional testing is done to check if the application meets the specifications, and performs all the required functions correctly. The QA engineers have to perform a series of tests to validate the application’s feature by feature behavior.

System Testing: System testing is considered as a type of black box testing. The testing is conducted to check the performance of the software in different environments. A software application needs to be tested in different environments to check its compatibility with different operating systems. Therefore, full system implementation and environment is essential for conducting system testing effectively.

Stress Testing: As a type of black box testing, stress testing is conducted to evaluate the performance of the system, component or software under unfavorable conditions. So stress testing is always conducted beyond the limits of specified requirements. Normally, same process is used for both stress and performance testing. But stress testing applies a much higher level of simulated load.

Performance Testing: As a black box testing type, performance testing is done to assess the software’s speed and effectiveness. The testing further ensures that the software is generating the expected results within a specific period of time, while adhering to the performance requirements.

Usability Testing: The testing is conducted to determine the user-friendliness of the software application. So application flow testing is also done from the perspective on end users. The testing aims to determine if the software can be used by the by new users without any hassle. It also helps developers in deciding if additional documentation is required to make the software more user-friendly.

Regression Testing: During the development process, the any module, functionality or the software as whole needs modification. Regression testing is done after a component, system or group of related units is modified. The testing ensures that the modifications are working properly, without affecting the expected results.

Acceptance Testing: The software application is also required to meet the specifications required by the customer. So acceptance testing is conducted to check if the software meets the requirements specified by the customer. Normally, acceptance testing is performed by the customer or user before accepting the application.

Beta Testing: The final testing is conducted before the commercial release of the software. Normally, beta testing is done by end-users or external teams. The black box testing aims to cover unexpected errors before the commercial release of the software.

Nowadays, each enterprise has to conduct many kinds of software testing to deliver flawless user experience. It can further automate some of the testing efforts to optimize the software by identifying and fixing all errors, bugs and flaws within a stipulated timeframe. To get maximum benefits of testing, you may consider hiring services of a application software testing company.

We provide QA and testing services. To hire software testing engineer from us, please reach out to Mindfire Solutions.