Thursday 26 November 2015

Benefits of Outsourcing Mobile App Testing

Collaboration is the safest way to do the business in an efficient and economic way and it has an outstanding track record in the industry. It creates a win-win situation for the participants or partners. Same happens with any tech project development work as well. In fact, IT industry mostly runs with collaborations and that result marvellous end product. The term outsourcing is highly used in relation with IT industry and IT projects; may it be web development work or hardware projects or mechanical projects or our concerned mobile testing projects, outsourcing is always there. Mobile apps are in the highest buzz in the industry; the iOS and android app store are having around 1.5+ million apps each; and this population proves the potential and future of mobile apps in the industry. With this population, as a smart client you must ensure that your app is truly check-worthy before it goes to production stage. And for the same, you should take the help of offshore software companies. Why? Let’s check them out..

mobile app testing, mobile app development, Windows Phone app developers, iOS app development services, expert mobile app developers, mobile app development, mobile app development servicesMore options are always better: When a client thinks of outsourcing his mobile testing project to a foreign entity; there are large numbers of dedicated mobile app testing companies come into the picture. As a result, he gets enough room and scope to choose the best one for his requirement and purpose. There are many criteria to consider before deciding which company to choose for their purpose. Considerations like budget, time frame, expertise and post production support play important roles during the process and can never be ignored. So, it is always better to have more options in hand; that will help the client in calculating and comparing their strength, weaknesses and track records before handing it over to a foreign body. In turn, he will get a better end product as per his desire and requirements.

Globalization can help you in choosing a better one: The 21st century has seen and has witnessed the true potential of Globalization; Globalization has made everyone to think out of the box and so the case with IT industry and IT projects. It has enabled the users to take the benefit of their peers who are absolutely far away from them, but can be helpful through the biggest gift of twentieth century i.e. Internet. Through internet, we can interact with anyone who is far away from us in a hassle free manner. Consequently, clients from anywhere can get the access to millions of software companies around the world for their ambitious mobile app testing project. Now, it is not necessary to say what is the importance of mobile app testing? Because, testing is the only way to get rid of all types of bugs, issues and errors; and enable an application to become near to perfect. So, there is a terrific demand of mobile app testers in the industry and there are many software companies working dedicatedly for this purpose. Now, with outsourcing, a client will get more chances to interact with better options in the market and this will help them in choosing the best one for their requirements.

Expert testing companies can provide utmost care to your brain child: With the aggressive growth of mobile devices and mobile apps; industry has witnessed a tremendous competition among the app developers to sustain in the industry. You can throw a keyword into the search box of any smart app store; and you will get many apps that are closely related to that. This increased population has made the industry to strive for a tougher competition in ecosystems like Android, iOS and Windows etc. So, it becomes essential to give as much priority as possible to your concept before it goes live in order to make sure that, it can really withstand the challenge. This can only be possible through extensive and professional testing of your app with the expertise from the industry talents. Offshore software companies are usually having expert professionals to deal with the ever changing demands of the industry and must be used effectively for your mobile app testing for maximum benefit for your business.

Talented professionals at lower wages: Outsourcing is usually done in between two geographic locations, for example USA and India or such pairs. If country differs; currency will differ and hence the wages of software testers will differ. The most trusted outsource destination of the IT world is India where one can find thousands of software companies having dedicated software professionals working around the clock to fulfil the demands of their client and of course of the industry. They are highly talented, experienced and potent enough to bend your app to perfection with their third degree testing approach. Their expert mind makes no mistake in finding a loophole in your ambitious project and they ensure you are getting the best quality mobile app at the end of the course most importantly at much lower cost.

Cost savings is on the way too: Already discussed about the low wage talented professionals, i.e. due to the currency difference. You may astonish to know that the difference is somewhat in the range of forty to sixty percent less as compared to any western country and that too without compromising on the quality of testing! Moreover, no need of infrastructure development, no hiring process and better support are there as added benefits for your
mobile app testing. What more you need? With all these benefits, you can get a good and healthy mind to think beyond your project work and could concentrate more on your business and personal life.

Experienced hands mean better quality of testing: Offshore
mobile app development companies usually keep many expert professionals in order to provide best in industry quality service. They used to have many expert teams having more experience in certain domain or field. If it matches your requirements, you are certainly going to get the best in the industry quality service for your brain child i.e. Mobile app concept. Their experience will help your app to be perfect enough to handle the user’s mood of the industry in an efficient and effective manner and that will bring more benefits and revenue for your business.

Quality support: Offshore software companies are usually highly professional and trustworthy; because, they need a good reputation in the industry to move on and sustain in the industry. They will not only work for your reputation in the industry, but to save their own dignity in the industry. So, you will get more for less. They will give you much better quality of service not only during the app testing process, but also after the project is over with very affordable fee and it makes a lot sense for a wise entrepreneur.

Wednesday 28 October 2015

Software Testing: How Important It Is?

A flawed software application can have a huge impact on the developer’s revenue, credibility and reputation in the longer run. So before delivering the software to the client, each company needs to ensure that it is working flawlessly and meeting all requirements or specification of the client. There are many instances when minor flaws in software have resulted in both human and monetary loss. That is why; software testing has already becomes an integral and significant part of the software development life cycle (SDLC).

agile software development, expert QA/Testing services, qtp automation testing, outsource software testing, outsourcing software testing, performance software testing, qa and software testing, qa and testing servicesThe agile software development principles further do not consider software development and software testing as two separate processes. The agile methodology emphasizes on the programmers and testers working as a single team, and work together to improve the quality of the software. As an integral part of SDLC, software testing process aims to assess the completeness, correctness and quality of the software before its delivery. At the same time, the test results help businesses to check if the software meets all requirements or specifications of the client.

Why Software Testing is Important for Modern Businesses?

A number of studies have indicated that the cost of fixing bugs in the software increases, if they are not identified and fixed early. When the defects or bugs in the software are detected early, it becomes easier for programmers to eliminate them. That is why; most companies nowadays introduce testing in early phases of SDLC. They further deploy independent QA professionals to assess the software during various stages of development.

Nowadays, IT companies to develop custom and mission-critical software applications. A minor bug in the mission-critical software application can result in both financial and human losses. For instance, a minor flaw in the software used by an aircraft can result in irreparable losses. That is why; the IT company must perform a variety of tests to identify and eliminate all defects, bugs or flaws in the application before it is delivered to the client.

Each modern user has option to choose from thousands of identical software applications. So to keep the users interested and engaged, each enterprise must deliver high quality software. When the software is tested thoroughly and repeatedly, its quality can be assesses more effectively. Based on the test result, the company can launch a high quality product that will stay in the market in the longer run.

Software testing further becomes essential for businesses due to the differences between the development and production environments. While developing the product, programmers focus mainly on its features and functionality. But the features and functionality will have different effect on individual users. When the application is assessed in the testing environment, it becomes easier for QA professionals to assess the user experience accurately. As testing environment and production environment are identical, the performance of the software can be assessed more accurately.

Often clients require developers to include new features in the software during different phases of development. Each time a new feature or functionality is added to the application, the code needs to be tested thoroughly. The QA professionals perform regression testing to ensure that both legacy and new features are working flawlessly. The tests will further help the business to assess the quality of the updated product before it goes live.

The modern websites and web applications must be compatible with multiple operating systems, devices and web browsers. So the enterprises must assess the web application’s performance on various devices, platforms and browsers. The seasoned testers use advanced tools to assess the website’s compatibility across multiple platforms and devices. The test results further help developers to make changes to the code to enhance the website’s compatibility and accessibility.

Many businesses deploy independent QA professionals to protect their goodwill in the competitive market. The online forums and social networks have made it easier for modern users to highlight the defects or flaws in a particular software application. So the enterprise needs to ensure that the end user detects no bugs of flaws. When the software is tested thoroughly, the chances of bugs detected by users are eliminated. Thus, software testing will help developers to impress users and stay in the business over a longer period of time.

With more and more businesses adopting agile development methodologies, software development and testing have now become inseparable processes. Each business has to invest in comprehensive software testing to get higher returns, enhance its reputation, and retain clients.

Mindfire Testing Practice has a unique combination of skilled software engineering & testing teams with proven expertise in testing tools and methodologies for a wide range of solutions. If you have any testing requirements and are looking for an ideal IT partner offering
expert QA/Testing services, send in your queries to sales at Mindfire Solutions dot com and we would get back to you in 72 hours.

Monday 26 October 2015

How Safe is it to Hire an Independent Testing Company for your Software Application?

Software testing is a pretty new kid on the block which is slowly becoming an integral part of the software development lifecycle. While it is still a huge debate whether or not the software testing procedure actually helps in saving money or not, its importance is becoming clearer day by day. Contrary to a popular myth, software testing actually ends up saving a lot of company money, time as well as hassle by detecting errors which can then be rectified before the product has been in production or shelved. It also helps in the process of maintaining customer satisfaction by providing them with quality products with a minimal bug level.

qualified testing professionals, offshore software testing services, qtp automation testing, outsource software testing, outsourcing software testing, performance software testing, qa and software testing, qa and testing servicesAlthough most people think that software developers are capable enough to test particular software and no external team is required to do the same, thus saving up, in reality qualified testing professionals are a different lot of people altogether. These people have a whole different outlook as compared to the developers and variable skills. Software testing is actually a lot more than just clicking away on an application to just check whether it is working well or not. Also, it is less likely that the developers will detect their own flaws. The software developers are trained to detect bugs and performance issues and do it with perfect ease.

It is best to hire an independent testing company for your software application from the very beginning of the developmental process. This will help in detecting any flaws that are created from the beginning itself so that the errors don’t pile up at the end of the process. Continuous detection of the flaws will also help in the continuous rectification and thus in strengthening the whole application.

Apart from being perfectly safe and reliable with your software application, the independent testing company will also provide you with a range of services which will ensure maximum test coverage. Another huge advantage of hiring an independent testing company for your software application is the fact that they are dedicated to software testing only and are pro at the job. So you won’t have to take a headache of the process and yet your job will be done with perfection, allowing your staff to concentrate solely on the developmental procedure.

When you have decided to hire an independent testing company for your software application, make sure that you do a background check on the company to get a hang of their reputation or the quality of service they provide. These companies usually maintain confidentiality so that your application is absolutely safe with them and since they are good at their job, so you are secure on the service front too. You should check for their experience too. While instructing them about the work, be absolutely clear on what you expect to see as a result of the testing procedure. These companies are very fierce when it comes to safeguarding the client’s data and they usually a pretty updated and fierce security system so that the critical information of the client’s application is not leaked in any way.

Now that you are absolutely sure about the safety of hiring an independent testing company for your software application, you can now choose from the array of service providers available, so that they fit your requirements and create bug free software.

Whether or not to have an independent testing team is no more a bone of contention. However, outsourcing it or having an in-house team is most certainly a topic for debate. After weighing in your pros and cons, if you decide to go ahead with outsourcing software testing, then Mindfire Solutions has to be your ultimate choice. With the entire gamut of
offshore software testing services provided by Mindfire Solutions, you can never go wrong by choosing them for QA of your software products.

Friday 23 October 2015

10 Common Mistakes a Software Tester Makes

Lack of Proper Planning is the biggest mistake of testers. Planning makes everything near to perfect if not perfect. Many times, we find software testers don't have any prior planning for their test case instead they directly jump for the Testing procedure. Unplanned Testing means dread of bogus application and that happens with 99% practical scenario. So, testers need to plan their Testing approach from the very beginning so that they can build a strong Testing approach for the application architecture that will definitely help them in executing the process in a well-organized manner. Moreover, they should study each and every module of the software application and accordingly prepare their plan to test those modules. Every module differs from other and so their Testing approach should be different. Let’s see the rest 9 common mistakes that a Software Tester makes during the Testing process”.

Lack of proper communication with Client and other resources:


skilled QA/Testing professional, QA/Testing services, qtp automation testing, outsource software testing, outsourcing software testing, performance software testing, qa and software testing, qa and testing services, qa software testingUsually, testers remain idle most of the time during the development process of the application. But, this is really a serious concern. Usually, client changes his requirements in between and the Project Manager discusses the same with the developers. If the tester remains isolated from the system, then he will be unaware about the modified or revised requirements of the client and this will definitely create trouble while testing the application as per his previous or outdated knowledge. So, it’s the duty of the tester to take participate in the client communication so that he will remain in touch with the application throughout the development process.

Overlooking the UML (Unified Modeling Language):

UML i.e. the core design of the application plays the most important part in software application development. It informs how the application will look in different scenarios? How it will behave in different scenarios? And how the validations should be given within the modules or forms? If anyone from the project is unaware about the core design of the application, then it leads to an inefficient way of development process and it hampers the Testing process as well. So, it is necessary to understand each and every component of the application from the core design before you start coding or Testing the application. It also makes the
skilled QA/Testing professional aware about the importance of various fields and modules of the application and gives enough scope to design his Testing approach far ahead of time.

Giving more priority to Positive Testing over Negative Testing:

This is yet another problem with testers since a long. They used to give more priority to Positive Testing and neglect the Negative Testing for the application. This is a terrific issue and can never be accepted for any enterprise standard solutions or applications. In fact, Negative Testing has more importance than Positive Testing; because with strong Negative Testing we can perform the Positive Testing without our knowledge; but the reverse is not possible! So, every tester should focus more on Negative Testing than Positive Testing. One more thing, as a smart tester you should also check for boundary value testing for better quality of Testing.

Avoiding Load Testing:

Load Testing has significant importance in web industry particularly if our application is dealing with smart phone browsers. In fact, it is necessary for every type of applications including desktop applications. Imagine an application that takes too long for a request process; then? Isn't annoying to you, and just imagine what would happen to the innocent user? He will simply close your application and look forward for a better alternative. So, it's highly recommended to create and develop highly efficient and optimized application that can really have some value for the end user. Now, it can only be possible if the application has undergone several stage of load testing during its development phase. So, every tester should be highly enthusiast to perform the load Testing; because by the process, you can end up with better user experience.

Hurry to release:

I don't know why this happens with most of the software testers? They remain idle during the development process done by the developers but try to finish the Testing at the earliest. In that way, the performance and productivity of the software tester decreases tremendously. Because the same module will need to be tested again in future when get noticed by the same tester or the client side tester. It makes the process absolutely inefficient and unorganized. It's always better to perform a single perfect Testing instead of multiple counterfeit Testing.

Cross platform or browser Testing:

Today's industry is severely influenced by the presence of modern web browsing devices like smart phones and tablets. There are many browsers available in the industry and new and innovative browsers are also getting born with time. Is your application renders properly in those browsers? Test it properly first else the user will dismiss your application. Moreover, your application should give similar user experience in every platform mostly in Android, iOS and Windows. It's the duty of software tester or web tester to test the compatibility of your application for all these platforms and devices. Cross platform Testing, Cross browser Testing and responsiveness Testing can help them out!

Never trying to learn the exact scenario:

This is yet another issue with software testers; don't know is it due to confidence or over-confidence or ignorance. Whatever the reason may be; as a smart software tester you should be cautious enough for your assignments and you should have that much passion for your job; otherwise all your effort is vague. So, before Testing make sure you are truly competent to test the application. Make sure you are the right person to test the application. This only can be possible by the virtue of your knowledge that you have earned over the application by hard study and effort.

Asking help from developers- the biggest mistake:

Imagine if the goat will make friendship with the grass; similarly, if the tester asks question to the developer to help him in testing the modules or understanding the module, then what will happen? This is absolutely wrong. From the developer's point of view, the application is good enough to go live else why should he commit the code to the production stage? So, your doubt needs not to be cleared by the developer during Testing; you can do the same before the Testing process as a smart and serious tester.

Lack of genuine intention to explore bugs:

This is really a passion and should be within every tester to be a successful one. If something that you are doing is not giving you pleasure then, it's not worth a profession. So develop the thirst within yourself to explore more and more bugs, issues and all so that the application will be more perfect and your productivity will increase.

Mindfire Solutions has been providing exemplary
QA/Testing services to its clients across industries and geographies and has carved a niche for itself in the testing domain. To avail our services to test and develop your desired applications, send in your requirements to sales at Mindfire Solutions dot com.

Monday 19 October 2015

How Good or Bad is Negative Testing

Nowadays each IT company has to deliver high quality software applications to retain clients in the longer run. So most companies deploy seasoned QA professionals to verify and validate the software thoroughly to ensure that it is working according to the client’s requirements and expectations. While assessing the software, the testers have to test it from positive as well as negative point of mind. That is why; the QA professionals have to perform both positive and negative testing to assess the quality of the software more effectively.

certified QA/Testing professionals, expert QA/Testing services, qtp automation testing, outsource software testing, outsourcing software testing, performance software testing, qa and software testing, qa and testing servicesAs the name indicates, positive testing is performed to verify and validate the software based on valid input data. While performing positive testing, the testers focus on the behaviour of the application based on expected inputs. On the other hand, negative testing is performed using invalid input data. While performing negative testing, QA professionals have to check how the software behaves with negative or unintentional user input. Thus, the primary objective of negative testing is check if the software shows errors when it is not supposed to, and does not show errors when it is supposed to.

Negative testing can be described more effectively through an example. For instance, the software has a field that is required to accept only integer value. So the testers have to perform negative testing to check if the application shows a validation error message each time users enter a non-integer fields. The
certified QA/Testing professionals have to assess the software behaviour of the software by entering invalid or negative inputs like alphabets and special characters. Thus, negative testing helps QA professionals to identify if the application is crashing under different situations.

Common Negative Testing Scenarios

Both desktop and web applications include fields marked as required. So the testers need to assess the application’s behaviour when the required field is empty. They can simply display a message box to the user, and compel him not to leave the required field empty. They can perform negative testing to ensure that the application responds correctly when the required field is empty.

Most software applications accept user inputs through forms or dialog boxes. The controls allow users to submit a variety of data including text, numeric and date. So the testers have to perform negative testing using inappropriate input to ensure that the user input perfectly complements the field type. They can assess a date field by entering “02/30/2015” or validate an age field by entering “abc”.

The applications also contain fields that need to accept user input up to a particular limit. For instance, a textbox accepting the user’s age must not accept 220 or -10. So the testers must test the performance of the application by entering invalid data into such fields.

Some applications even require integer fields to accept data in certain range. For instance, a website may allow users to enter numbers in a specific field ranging from 10 to 100. To assess the applications behaviour accurately, the testers have to enter numbers less than 10 or more than 100. They can write negative tests to ensure that the users are not allowed to enter numbers less than 10 and more than 100.

Sometimes developers have to restrict the size or length of user input. For instance, they have to create fields to accept user’s name with a specific number of characters. In such scenarios, the QA professionals have to perform negative testing to assess the software’s behaviour when the number of characters into the field by a user exceeds the allowed limit.

Some websites provide information only to registered users. So each user needs to login before accessing any internal web page. The testers have to perform negative testing to ensure that the web pages cannot be accessed by random visitors.

On the whole, negative testing and positive testing complement each other. The QA professionals must perform negative testing to enhance test coverage and find more bugs in the application. The testing will further help the enterprise to deliver a more reliable and stable software application that does not crash under different situations. However, negative testing must be performed once positive testing is completed, but before the software goes live. The testers, however, have option to perform negative testing based on any input value to get more accurate and reliable test results.

Mindfire Solutions has been providing
expert QA/Testing services for the last 16 years and is adept at using both Negative and Positive testing techniques for ensuring the quality of the software applications. If you are interested to hire the software testing services of Mindfire Solutions, send in your requirements via email to sales at Mindfire Solutions dot com and we will get back to you in 72 hours.

Thursday 8 October 2015

Web Application Testing Best Practices

Software testing is an important part of the software development lifecycle that is slowly gaining importance in the IT industries these days. As the software techniques and procedures are advancing, there have been certain best practices of software testing that has been developed for the optimum checking of the software so that it can be made error free to the maximum possible limit and customers will be satisfied with the product you are offering them.

expert Testing/QA professionals, web application testing service, qtp automation testing, outsource software testing, outsourcing software testing, performance software testing, qa and software testing, qa and testing servicesAlthough the software testing process for web application is by far one of the most important phases of the software development life cycle that starts before the developmental phase and ends after the developmental phase has been over, yet the process is one of the least invested areas which is often ignored.

The software testing life cycle comprises of the following common phases.

1. Unit Tests: Unit tests are usually performed to check if the various modules of the software (which are basically the building blocks of the software) are performing well individually. It makes sure that the separate units are functioning as they should on their own.

2. Integration Tests: These tests include the likes of “white box” testing which are accomplished by the testers who are close to the development team or are pa part of the development team. These tests checks how the various components or modules of the software work along with each other. Instead of individual action, they actually check the system as a whole with the various integrated components.

3. System Tests: System tests or qualification tests should be performed by a team which is remote to the development team. Best left in the hands of the “off shore” testing team, these test checks how the system would work in varying real life situations. They are run on the basis of the “black box” logic which pays least importance to the individual modules or the integration of some of the module. It pays attention on how the various components combine together to give rise to the whole system.

4. Acceptance Tests: Acceptance tests are conducted by the pilot users who will be using the software in the near future when it gets launched. These tests include the likes of “alpha” and “beta” testing when the users are allowed access to the software at an early stage of development so as to see whether the web application provides the desired function and fulfils the requirements of the organization or not.

Apart from the various phases of the test, there are also the varying nature of tests which are to be kept in mind by the
expert Testing/QA professionals:

1. Functional Tests: Functional tests checks if the web application is providing the required functions to the various customers.

2. Platform Compatibility Tests: Platform compatibility tests are the ones which are responsible for checking the feasibility of the web application in various OS or browsers that the customers may be using to access it.

3. Robustness Tests: Robustness tests checks the functionality of the web application in unfavourable conditions which it may face in the real world like the sudden shutting down of the machine.

4. Performance Tests: Performance tests are usually performed after the web application has been completely configured to check the performance issues that may have cropped up during the developmental phase of the same.

5. Scalability Tests: Scalability tests are performed to check the performance of the web application under increased load.

6. Usability Tests: These tests are performed to check the web application’s user friendly nature.

Thus we have discussed some of the best practices that you can follow in order to test your web application.

Mindfire Solutions has been providing expert
web application testing services to its clients for the past 16 years. And we have always made sure to follow these best practices as we continue making the code bug free. If you would like to hire our expert testing professionals then do send in your requirements to sales at Mindfire Solutions dot com and we would respond to you in the next 72 hours.

Tuesday 6 October 2015

Penetration Testing: Should We Do It?

Before getting to whether we should or should not do penetration testing, we should have a fair idea of what penetration testing actually is. Most often penetration testing is confused with the likes of “vulnerability scan”, “compliance audit” or “security assessment”, but in reality it is a world apart from the above tests. Penetration testing is the type of tests which not only brings forth the vulnerabilities of developed software but at the same time, exploits these vulnerabilities to show the extent of damage that may be caused due to these flaws.

automated testing practice, certified QA/Testing, qtp automation testing, outsource software testing, outsourcing software testing, performance software testing, qa and software testing, qa and testing servicesPenetration testing may look like automated testing practice and can be conducted with the help of the automated tools available in the market, but the core of the test lies in the hands of the individual testers or the testing teams which pushes the detected short comings to its end limits. Although the highly precise automated tools are well capable of testing your software, they were made by human and the unique human mind may conjure newer techniques of penetrating your software which makes manual tests a vital part of penetration testing. The main aim of penetration testing is to detect the real world attacks that the software may face due to the pertaining security breaches that are available. It fixes a target and attacks it with various vectors to explore the probable chances of attacks that may occur.

Penetration testing is important for a particular type of software due to the following factors that gets determined by the testing procedure.

1:: It gives the developers a reality check about the feasibility of the vector sets that attack a said target.

2:: It helps in the determination of high risk vulnerabilities which occurs as a result of integration of several low risk vulnerabilities, which occur in a particular sequence.

3:: There are certain vulnerabilities which do not get detected without automated testing procedures and applications which scan the vulnerabilities of the software being tested.

4:: It helps in assessment of the magnitude of risk that may be inflicted up on the business or the software due to attacks that are successful.

5:: It helps in determining the ability of the network defenders in detecting and preventing the various attacks that may be brought up on the software.

6:: It proves why it is important to pay attention to and invest more in security personnel and technology to C-level management, investors, and customers for risk management purpose.

7:: It shows why the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) requires both on-going penetration testing (after any system changes) as well as yearly testing.

8:: Penetration testing is essential in determining the validation of the newly engaged security system over the incumbent one. Along with forensic results, penetration testing recreates the attacking vectors in order to check if the system is prone to further breach or is perfectly capable of defending itself against further attacks (both the existing and new kinds).

So, now you see the various aspects which can be resolved with the help of the penetration testing issues. However, the true worth of the test depends on the criteria or purpose of the software that has been developed and the organization using it. It is for you to judge (taking the various purpose of your software into consideration) as to which kind of penetration testing you need to perform on your software. In case of low security software you may want to utilize the basic tests which are time saving and cost effective, but in case of high security software, you may want to avail the pro penetration testing to completely secure your software.

Mindfire Solutions has the largest
certified QA/Testing team in India and has been continuously delighting customers over the past decade with bug-free code. If you are interested to hire an experienced QA team for ensuring your codes are clean, drop in a mail with your requirements to sales at Mindfire Solutions dot com.

Thursday 24 September 2015

Software Testing: Is It Really Necessary?

“To err is human” goes the famous saying. Yes! We are human and not God. So it is very natural for us to commit mistakes which can be reverted as well. While developing a software, it is but natural to write flawed codes which will give rise to bugs. But these mistakes can be rectified too, thanks to software testing. Software testing is the process by which the bugs and shortcomings of the software which has been developed are caught and hence rectified for the creation of a better software altogether. It goes without saying that software testing is one of the most important part of the software development life cycle and is absolutely necessary.

automated testing services, certified QA testing professionals, software testing, experienced testing teams, outsourcing software testing, performance software testing, qa and software testingAs most of the mistakes in software development are developed due to erroneous assumptions and blind spots, so detecting your own mistakes can be impossible at times. So software testing does the job for you. Usually, software testing is done by a different set of people, with different skills, than the ones developing the same and hence the mistakes are easily detected.

Following are some of the points which make software testing absolutely necessary.

1:: It helps in detection of all the bugs and glitches that were created when the coding or development of software was in process.

2:: Software testing is necessary because it helps in betterment of the software and hence helps in increasing customer reliability and satisfaction of the customers.

3:: The best way to gain the confidence of the customers is by providing them with a quality product and software testing helps you to create such products which are high in term of quality as they have been already checked for bugs which could have caused the error.

4:: Another necessity of software testing lies in the fact to check whether the software is delivering the desired results for which it had been created in the first place. Delivering a high quality product also reduces the maintenance cost of the same, thus ultimately reducing the overall cost of the process.

5:: Software testing brings forth the stress level and optimum performance issues of the software, which can be improved upon if any kind of lacking is noticed. This will help in improving the performance of the app on a whole.

6:: Software testing helps in reduction of post production error rectification. Once the software is up for mass production or has been shipped to the stores, it becomes very expensive to recall the product to revert the errors. Software testing helps in prevention of this loss.

7:: Software testing helps you to deliver quality product in a short period of time so that you can hold on to your customer base and thus make improvement in the business.

Although these are just a few points which emphasizes the necessity of software testing in the software development cycle, the whole scenario is beyond the description of words. The immense importance of
software testing is slowly being discovered and more and more companies are taking heed of the topic. If the various tests available are taken into consideration, then a software can be made absolutely flawless with the help of software testing. It also helps in the betterment of performance.

Now that you have a hang of all the necessities, you should absolutely include software testing in the product development cycle.

Mindfire Testing Practice has a unique combination of skilled software engineering &
experienced testing teams with proven expertise in testing tools and methodologies for a wide range of solutions. Should you be in need of the quality testing services at Mindfire Solutions just drop in a mail with your requirements to sales at Mindfire Solutions dot com.

Wednesday 23 September 2015

Will Automated Testing Replace Manual Software Testing in Future?

Software testing is, in a way, the pillar of success when it comes to software development. The testing procedure starts even before the developmental test, with the help of the feasibility testing process to check the plausibility of the software and ends with the beta test which is done after the whole developmental life cycle has been completed.

automated testing services, certified QA testing professionals, qtp automation testing, outsource software testing, outsourcing software testing, performance software testing, qa and software testing, qa and testing services, qa software testingAs the importance of software testing in the software development life cycle becomes more and more evident, the myths related to the same topic are clearing up. In this age of technology, everything is being automated. Manual processes are being replaced by automation and it is a huge myth which states that manual testing of software will be replaced by the automated testing procedure in the near future. However, it is very obvious that both manual and automated testing procedures hold their importance in the software testing life cycle.

But before we get into the replacement myth, let us get a fair idea of what actually automated and manual testing are. Automated testing of software is nothing but a method by which certain coded scripts will check the software for the performance and bugs which were fitted in the code. Manual testing on the other hand comprises of a lot more than just conducting some tests. It also deals with planning the whole process and documentations of the available results.

Companies providing
automated testing services may come up with certain written codes which test your software in a mechanical manner. But it also helps in saving time and money. In cases like regression testing where you check the integration of existing system with newly added features or smoke testing where you perform basic level testing of the software, automated testing is a boon. Automated testing should be conducted anywhere which requires same kind of scripting just to see whether the system is performing as per requirement. This will save the hassle of performing step by step manual testing of the system.

But manual testing has its own importance. The primary job of a manual tester is to create the testing plan so that maximum test coverage is achieved in order to provide the customers with as bug free software as possible. There are certain parts of the software which simply can’t be tested without the manual testing procedure. They are as follows:

1. Functional Testing.
2. Usability Testing.
3. Requirements Analysis.
4. Tacit Test Procedures.
5. Domain Testing (or data testing).
6. Risk Testing.
7. Sympathetic Testing.
8. Lateral Thinking.
9. Bug Investigation.
10. Perspective/Prospective.
11. Consistency Oracles.
12. Playing.
13. Claims Testing.
14. Galumphing.

These are just the tests that have to be done in the manual process. Apart from this, manual testing also has to record and analyse the testing results for future use of the same.

After weighing the scenario, it is pretty obvious that although automated testing procedures have made a marked progress, it will never be able to completely abolish the manual testing procedure as automated testing lacks one major thing that appears to be a huge advantage of the manual testing and that is brain. The trick lies in balancing the two kinds of testing and rip the advantages of both ultimately gaining a super good software as a result.

Mindfire Solutions has the largest number of
certified QA testing professionals in India and has been providing quality software testing services since the last 15 years. If you would like to avail our expert testing services just send in your query to sales at Mindfire Solutions dot com.

Tuesday 22 September 2015

The Future of Manual Software Testing

When it comes to software testing, most people have a myth that a good developer will definitely suffice to become good testers too. However the scenario is quite different in reality. A good developer doesn’t necessarily mean a good tester. Software testing is a hugely different league of jobs which include the testing of the performance of the software, bugs available as well as the stress level which the software can endure. Based on the report provided by the software testers, the developers tweak the software to make it better and get customer satisfaction.

automated and manual testing, software testing services, qtp automation testing, outsource software testing, outsourcing software testing, performance software testing, qa and software testing, qa and testing services, qa software testingBefore getting into the future of manual testing, let’s take a sneak peek into manual testing. Manual testing of software is nothing but testing and detecting the various defects that software may have by testing it manually. The various stages of manual testing are as follows:

1. Unit Testing
2. Integration Testing
3. Software Testing
4. System Testing
5. User Acceptance Testing
6. Release or Deployment Testing

It also deals with the planning process of the tests to be held in order to check whether the software is in good working condition or not and also in preparing a detailed report of all the glitches that needs fixing to make the software better and in turn gain customer satisfaction by providing them with a quality product. Documentation is a very important part of software testing procedure as it helps a lot in future references.

Today’s world is hugely dependent on technology, which seems to take over almost all the aspects of our life. A similar scenario is seen in the case of software testing too. Most people are harbouring the idea that it is now time for automated testing to take over and manual testing of the software is going to take a back seat in the industry. But when it comes to actual working scenario, although automated testing has made quite some advancement in its field, manual testing can’t be rejected altogether. On one hand, automated testing is perfect for tests like regression testing or unit testing, but similarly other tests like usability and exploratory tests require manual testing to accomplish the desired result.

It is true that most companies are opting for automated frameworks for testing their software and needs automated testers to maintain or upgrade these frameworks, but they also need manual testers for certain jobs. Yes! It is obvious from the current trends that purely manual testers are suffering on the job front, but the cases with purely automated testers are same too. Most companies are looking for hybrids who have a diverse knowledge in both
automated and manual testing techniques. These people can take good care of the automated framework as well as tackle the manual side of the testing too.

Manual testing of software is very important to check the aspects which will be handled or faced by the end users, like user friendliness of the software or the ease with which the people will be able to handle the software. Also, when it comes to planning or strategizing the software testing procedure, which is a critical operation, manual testers have a huge role to play. Apparently if you have good skills and updated, cutting edge knowledge about your subject, you are bound to have a good future even in the field of manual testing.

Mindfire Solutions has been providing quality
software testing services and has a team of qualified and certified QA professionals who have provided excellent services so far. To avail our quality testing services drop in a mail to sales at Mindfire Solutions dot com.

Thursday 20 August 2015

Role of Open Source Tools in QA Testing

Nowadays businesses needs more quicker time-to-market to their software products with no major expenses towards testing tools, at the same time they like make sure that the software bugs do not eat up their expenditures. They want affordable testing solutions which don’t compromise on quality to produce accelerated time-to-value. In the last ten years, the software testing industry has advanced from a small section of the application development lifecycle towards a market onto itself. A lot of industry standard testing tools at the moment are around to deal with various issues with the QA process, which range from simple unit testing to the end-to-end life-cycle management. Market evolution has resulted in increasing end-to-end charges for testing tools. However this is encouraging IT organizations to look for open source testing tools, that are usually more economical from being a total price of ownership point of view and still provide similar kind of functionality. Open source tools at the moment are an important aspect of the IT spectrum, and feature penetrated just about every facet of the software testing world. The day to day functions influencing the usage of the open source tools within the software testing industry. It may help a business cut down on investing in testing tools.

software testing consulting services, Selenium testing experts, qtp automation testing, outsource software testing, outsourcing software testingUsually, QA teams have a preference for working with commercial products more than open source software. Easily understandable with little bit of training, nearly all have very clear documentation along with tutorials. Support user-base via several channels for the issues, patches and progress. Teams spread expense of tools throughout the life of the usage. Tool needs long-term commitment, thus minimizing possibility of moving to a different tool. Popular commercial tools will have more amounts of people in the knowledge base. Open Source reduced total expense of ownership, reduces dependencies upon particular products or toolsets. Promote quicker time-to-market, Simple procurement, easy to usage, tool customization. Approach and the affinity in order to add to the community, thus promoting open as well as extensible architectural pattern of software. The below advancements have boosted the ante towards open source tools. The latest recession has tightened the organizational budget, getting open source tools a lot more attractive. Minimum ownership cost, flexibility, improved innovation, reduced development along with faster procurement and as factors behind choosing open source. Open source had grown to reach the top in the executive agenda, quicker, economical, as well as much better. Open source is strategically put in use to get competitive benefit. Open source offers greater innovation possibilities for IT professionals.

Many businesses have attained great results through using open source tools with the methodology of Agile development too. The reason is because of the character these tools perform in providing early code-driven tests and also consistent integration mechanisms, that are secret to the success in Agile projects. QA organizations eager to get maximum advantages by the open source tools come with similar questions about the most effective way for switching to open source testing tools. QA organizations should look into the below stated most important factors of the testing tool of open source configuration, deployment and the usage process. The majority of tools are designed to serve a particular purpose, having said that, option of source code indicates that organizations will be able to customize the tools as needed, by a little effort. Bugs found can result in big issues any time a project is under way, while a lot of support is given by vendors for the particular commercial tools, tool support has limitations to general forums as well as the tools community. Administration and maintenance expenses rise with the rise in project complexity & size, many organizations often ignore this component at the time of budgeting and end up having major deviations. Tools come with non-intuitive user interfaces, which make it difficult to give dedicated training. However, training material is usually found in communities, forums, and blogs. Various options of open source licensing mechanisms such as GPL, LGPL, and so on should be understood and then accordingly used. It's not easy to straightaway integrate open source software along with other tools. Limited derivation of metrics and limited reporting options tend to be the other issues for the QA teams and for IT management.

Open source tools could drive great quality as well as predictability within the testing life cycle, consequently cutting down overall application development expenses through keeping tool investments down. They help in fill the gaps within the life cycle, especially if IT has process maturity relative towards its whole process to application life-cycle management solutions. An important role is played with the open source tools during product development, particularly in Agile development processes in which time-to-market is vital. Lots of QA organizations look ahead to blending their processes by open source as well as with commercial testing tools. A very good combination of the two will be advisable to ensure cost optimization and the testing stability.

Mindfire Solutions has been providing
software testing consulting services to its esteemed clients for over 15 years now. We have dedicated teams for web and mobile app testing. We have senior Selenium testing experts, who have been doing web application automation testing since 5 years. If you need any kind of assistance in your software testing process please feel free to get in touch with us now and our software testing team will revert back with a free quote within one business day. Also as a special offer, you can avail the limited period Risk-Free Trial Offer.

Friday 7 August 2015

How Effective is Selenium for Penetration Testing

Need of Penetration testing: Testing is an integral part of software development life cycle. It is believed that without testing we can’t get a reliable product at the end of the development process. This implies the importance of testing and software testers in the industry. Understanding the fact, the top IT farms are now focusing more on their testing department in order to provide better quality of products for the industry. Today we are concerned about penetration testing. Well penetration testing is a type of testing approach that is performed to find each and every tiny loopholes of the application through a thorough inspection. It is usually done during the last phase of the software application to find if there are any security weaknesses, loopholes or database instability issue in the application. In other words, we can say penetration test is for testing the application if it is vulnerable to any security threats. Well in 21st century all our day to day life are mostly influenced by cyber world and hence most of our activities can be traced from internet. But it is really a bad thing to be trapped by a hacker. To avoid this, we must take the help of Penetration testing so that our user’s data remains in a secure environment. For the same, we can follow many testing tools but, selenium has its unique charm in the industry especially when we are dealing with web applications.

software testing consulting services, web application automation testing, selenium web testingWhy Selenium? Selenium is a next generation automation testing tool which is totally dedicated for the web industry. We can test any type of web applications through selenium irrespective of technology and platform. Well 21st century is highly dominated by new browsing devices like smart phones and tablets. Moreover top IT giants of the industry have introduced their operating systems for these types of devices like Android, windows and IOS. Hence a tester must ensure his web application not only fit for all these platforms but also serious enough about the security of user’s data in those applications. It becomes a complex situation for the testers to deal with all these platforms. To avoid this issue selenium can perform like a gem for the automation testers. Moreover it is extremely helpful for penetration testing along with other testing procedures.

Selenium for Penetration testing: As we discussed above, penetration testing is performed to find if there is any security loopholes available within the application. Fortunately selenium testers can perform penetration testing over any type of web application irrespective of language, technology and platform. The automation tester must have some basic knowledge on the language in which the web application is being developed. Because he has to write the test case in that language and then he can run the test case for efficient penetration testing. Well the selenium tester must ensure all possible security measures are taken in the application by writing and executing a strong test case for the web application.

Efficiency of Selenium as an automation testing tool: As an automation testing tool, selenium provides enough room for the testers in preparing and executing highly optimised and extremely efficient test cases that can avoid a single loophole in the application. Moreover it can save a lots of time, effort and money for the testing process and hence increases the productivity of the automation tester.

Mindfire Solutions has been providing
software testing consulting services to its esteemed clients for over 15 years now. We have dedicated teams for web and mobile app testing. We have senior Selenium experts, who have been doing web application automation testing since 5 years. If you need any kind of assistance in your software testing process please feel free to get in touch with us now and our software testing team will revert back with a free quote within one business day. Also as a special offer, you can avail the limited period Risk-Free Trial Offer.

Friday 31 July 2015

The Value of Professional Certifications in Software Testing

Software testing is a process to start a program or an application for finding out any software bugs. It can also be mentioned as the procedure of validating and also verifying which a software program or application or may be a product. It fulfills the business and also technical needs that led it’s design and the development. It may be used with the exact same characteristic.

Process - Testing is a process instead of a single activity.


software testing companies in India, software testing services, web application testingLife Cycle Activities - Testing is a process which occurs all through the SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle). The method of designing tests at the start of the life cycle may help prevent defects by getting introduced to the code. Often it is known as 'verifying the test basis through the test design'. The test basis contains documents including the needs and design specifications.

Static Testing - It could actually test and find out issues while not executing code. Static Testing is carried out in the time of verification process. This particular testing comprises of analyzing of the documents which includes source code along with static analysis. It is helpful and affordable method of testing. For instance: reviewing, walkthrough, inspection, and so on.

Dynamic Testing - When it comes to dynamic testing the software code will be executed to show the results of running tests. This is carried out at the time of validation process. For instance: integration testing, unit testing, system testing, and so on.

Planning - It's important to plan as what exactly we wish to do. We manage the test activities, testing progress report as well as the software status in test.

Preparation – We need to decide on what testing we are going to do, through choosing test conditions along with designing test cases.

Evaluation - At the time of evaluation we should look into the results then evaluate the software in test together with completion criteria, that will help us to figure out whether or not we have completed testing and also whether or not the software product pass the tests.

Software products along with connected work products - In addition to the testing of code, the testing of need and the design specifications as well as the linked documents such as operation, user as well as training material is also essential.

If you are a test engineer or maybe a QA engineer it is quite important to have minimum of one Software testing certification. It will help in order to grow the software testing skills, in addition it is useful for testing people to have the promotion within their respective area in large MNC’s. Mentioned below are the some very important certifications for software testing. Look at the description in order to figure out the reasons why you need to decide to go with such certification.

Certified Quality Analyst (CQA) - To have Professional standard of understanding into the principles along with practices of quality assurance within the IT profession.

Certified Software Test Engineer (CSTE) - This is meant to make standards for the early qualification and gives direction to the testing function with an impressive educational program.

Certified Software Test Professional (CSTP) - In order to educate people from various field sound and the effective testing skills and methods and also to certify the individuals as Professionals in Software Testing. Quality Engineer Certificate (CQE) - This is meant for people who are aware of the principles of product as well as the service quality evaluation and the control. Certified Software Quality Manager (CSQM) - This is for the people who know quality principles and also the standards relating to organization as well as human resource management. Quality certainly is the buzzword in modern-day's highly demanding software sell. Quality is usually an important measure of the project success. That is the thing which a customer takes note of eventually. Top-quality products lead to customer satisfaction‚ whereas low quality ends up with customer dissatisfaction. Certified Software Quality Engineer (CSQE) - This certified is perfect for all those who have an in depth knowledge of software quality development along with implementation, possess a detailed idea of software inspection & testing, verification, & validation, and additionally could implement software development as well as maintenance processes and the methods. Quality Improvement Associate Certificate (CQIA) - This is meant to assess basic understanding of quality tools as well as their uses from people who are engaged in quality enhancement projects, while this is not necessarily are sourced from traditional quality sectors. Software testing can transform the success of your business process. Businesses can be helped by software testing in many ways which include constant growth, reputation building, and satisfied clients along with a passionate workforce. Low-quality software will cost you huge amounts of money along with a bad impression to any business's track record. Organizations usually overlook the operations of software testing, because of its lack of idea about the advantages it would possibly provide for their business. Towards building and launching an effective service or product, it is important that the business owners to have certified professionals in the software testing crew and enable their organization from relevant software certifications. Mindfire Solutions, an ISTQB Gold certified partner company, is one of the leading
software testing companies in India and has been providing software testing services to its esteemed clients for over 15 years now. We have dedicated teams for enterprise, web and mobile app testing. If you need any kind of assistance in your software testing process, please feel free to get in touch with us now and our Software Testing Team will revert back with a free quote within one business day. Also as a special offer, you can avail the limited period Risk-Free Trial Offer.

Monday 20 July 2015

Profession Wise, Is Software Testing a Dying One?

Software testing is extremely vital: Few days back, I received a strange comment for software testers from a developer in one of my blog. He was very much unaware of the demand and importance of software testers in the industry. He had a perception that software testers are not that much intelligent nor are they that much useful as that of a developer. I am very astonished to find such a comment over a public blog without any proper prior knowledge. As per my view, many of software developers lack the knowledge of all the dimensions of a successful software application. For successful software application or product, if any one plays the most important role is none other than a tester. Tester helps the product or application to be refined enough so that it can be of acceptable standard for the end user. Without an efficient software tester, we can’t reach at an outstanding end product. The best part is that industry has already understood this fact and hence they have taken their testing standard to a next level. They are investing more bucks on their Quality and Assurance (QA) team than ever. This is to help in developing high standard software applications in the industry which are not only of high quality but also extremely reliable.

software testing consulting, Risk-Free Trial Offer, software testing servicesSoftware testing is neither dying nor losing its importance in the industry: Hence at a moment when we are finding top IT giants of the industry focusing more on their QA team, we can’t think of software testing being dying in the industry. Rather we can visualise an extremely bright future for them in the industry. Well manual testers are losing their importance little bit in the industry in some specific situations due to introduction of automation testing tools recently. Still for other situations, there is a terrific demand of manual testers in the industry. If you are learning any automation testing tool then you will definitely get a better position in the industry in coming years.

Software testing is just getting more pace and efficiency with modern tools!! With automation testing tools, the testing process has become much more efficient and effective than before. It has eliminated all types of common errors including common human errors from the testing process which is a usual situation in manual testing approach. Moreover the testing process has gained pace and we can test any complicated application in less time and effort without compromising on the quality of testing.

Software testing professionals are having a bright future ahead!! There is no second thought about software testers in the industry that they are responsible for a better cyber world with highly optimised and effective software applications or products. They can make or modify a software application so that it can be user friendly and useful than before through their smart approach of testing the application. They can enhance the user experience of different smart apps like native apps or web apps for different platforms like Android, IOS and windows etc to a large extent that will definitely bring a dimple on the face of your user. Hence we can see a bright future for testers in the industry.

Mindfire Solutions has been providing
software testing consulting to its esteemed clients for over 15 years now. We have dedicated teams for enterprise, desktop, web and Mobile Application Testing. If you need any kind of assistance in your software testing process or you need to hire software testers, please feel free to get in touch with us now and our software testing team will revert back with a free quote within one business day. Also as a special offer, you can avail the limited period Risk-Free trial offer.

Thursday 16 July 2015

Why Is It Important to Have a Test Plan in Software Testing?

Planning makes a task execution in a systematic manner: Planning is something that must be implemented before execution of any assignment. In fact planning gives an ideal path for the execution process. No matter which situation we are dealing with, we can make it simple by proper planning. Hence there is always need of planning in every domain and in every situation. In IT industry planning has even more importance just like any other industry because it not only reduces the time of execution but also increases productivity to a large extent. Hence planning is always done before we kick start any project work in IT industry for a smoother operation in future.

software testing consulting, Risk-Free Trial Offer, software testing servicesTest plan for finding a suitable way to execute the testing process: Testing is the most important phase of software development life cycle. In fact, it is the only process that starts before the development process, remains during the development process and ends after the development process. This indicates the potential and power of testers in the industry. Anything is useless unless until it is used in a productive manner and the same hold good for software testing as well. For a productive testing we must ensure a quality testing through proper screening and planning. For the same we have to test plan before we kick start the testing process. Test plan give an inside look of the project and hence helping in developing a better testing approach.

We can avoid loopholes: With test plan we can presume and assume all types of upcoming uncertain issues of the application. We can get into the application from the very beginning and can have a clear mind over the uncertain and unexpected problems that may arise during the development process. We can foresee those expected and unexpected issues from the very beginning and accordingly we can prepare our test cases. This will definitely help in avoiding minor to major loopholes in the application from the very beginning. Well it is impossible to predict all the uncertain issues from the beginning but still we can at least find most of them and this will definitely help in developing a better product or service.

Efficient testing can be achieved with test plan: There was a time, when testing was performed by manual testers who use their experience and expertise in finding bugs and issues in the application; with time, the complexity of software applications have increased significantly. As a result, testers are forced to rely on some reliable software tools for efficient testing i.e. automation testing tools. This helped them in quick and efficient testing. Similarly, test plans can also help in efficient testing by eliminating unnecessary tasks, processes from the application.

Effort will be minimized and productivity will be maximized: With test plan, we can reduce the effort of both tester and developer! Why developer? Yes, when we have a pre-planned testing approach, we can save the effort of tester and this will help in avoiding unnecessary iterative processes to a large extent which in turn reduce the effort and time of the developer. Hence it becomes a productive process for all.

Mindfire Solutions has been providing
software testing consulting to its esteemed clients for over 15 years now. We have dedicated teams for enterprise, desktop, web and Mobile Application Testing. If you need any kind of assistance in your software testing process or you need to hire software testers, please feel free to get in touch with us now and our software testing team will revert back with a free quote within one business day. Also as a special offer, you can avail the limited period Risk-Free trial offer.

Friday 10 July 2015

What Is the Best Tool to Start with Automation Testing?

Success of automation testing is based mainly on the selection of appropriate testing tools. It requires a lot of time for someone to select the appropriate automation tools found in the market. This is usually a one-time exercise which will reap success in your project in long run. You may get an opportunity to evaluate and choose an appropriate automation tool for your projects. The job would be challenging since you need to deal with your testing requirements and cost limitations, however it would be a worth working experience.

software testing consulting services, application automation testing, Risk-Free trial offerThe following would be the key elements one should consider prior to making a choice on any sort of testing tool.
  • Have you got the required skilled resource in order to allocate the automation tasks?
  • What exactly is your budget?
  • Will the tool suit your testing requirements? Do you find it ideal for the project environment also for the technology you will be using? Will it support all of the tools and objects made use of in the code? At some point you might face some problems for simple tests because of inabilities in the tool in order to find the objects used within the application.
  • Is the tool offering you with free trial version that may help you evaluate before making a selection? Moreover has the tool got all features found in trial version?
  • Is the present tool version reliable? Does the company of vendor set up with effective customer support along with online assistance resources along with the user manual?
  • Exactly how is the learning curve of a tool? Is that learning time suitable for your needs?
  • Would you like an automation tool just for your project requirements or else are you looking for one common tool for every project within your company? It will be an ideal choice if you choose a tool which can work with many coding languages in your projects.
  • Which kind of testing types will it support? Tool that supports the most testing kinds (Unit, functional, regression and so on.) is usually a much better choice. Never choose a tool simply because the tool is supporting every testing kind. It is equally important that the tool needs to be good enough to automate your challenging needs.
  • Will the tool be used for simple interface to generate and maintain test scripts? Record & playback tool along with the capabilities for edit recorded scripts can be a good solution.
  • Will it offer easy interface although effective features in order to complete complex tasks?
  • Is it not difficult to give input data for the complex or to the load tests? Tool supporting test data source through a number of data files which includes Excel, text file, XML and so on can be great help to the automation testers.
  • Will it really give you an effective reporting along with graphical interface? Good along with concise reports can usually help you in concluding the test outcome very quickly.
  • Will it integrate properly to your any other testing tools such as project planning or with your test management tools?
  • What is the refund policy of the tool vendor?
  • Existing customer feedback or the reviews about the tool.
  • Is an initial training provided by the vendor?
Selecting an automation tool depends on which platforms you wish to do automated testing with. When it comes to Mobile you may go with cross platform testing using Appium or Robotium. Subsequently for the web application you have Selenium.

You can find many types of automation tools to choose from. In order to select the right tool to get your job done depends on what exactly are your requirements, what platforms (OS and Browsers) you wish to automate, what environments (QA, Production, Staging, Development) you would like to automate. Moreover, it depends on your application technologies, for instance client server, mobile based, web based, or desktop based. Among the most commonly used automation tools in the industry are Selenium, QTP/UFT, TestComplete, Telerik Test Studio, Squish, Appium and so on.

Selenium and QTP are considered the most popularly used options for functional testing available at present. Many consider QTP as the most ideal functional testing tool that supports on a number of coding languages as well as platforms while Selenium is the most effective functional web testing tool. soapUI and FitNesse also are well-known automation tools. FitNesse happens to be an open-source tool that specializes primarily in evaluating program objectives and the outcomes. It is usually meant for automating User Acceptance Testing while enabling the end users to write test cases. SoapUI is another open-source tool which does web service testing for the service oriented architecture, enabling any development team to perform compliance, automated regression, functional along with load tests.

Mindfire Solutions has been providing
software testing consulting services to its esteemed clients for over 15 years now. We have dedicated teams for manual and automation testing. If you need any kind of assistance in your manual software testing process or you need any kind of assistance in web application automation testing, please feel free to get in touch with us now and our Software Testing Team will revert back with a free quote within one business day. Also as a special offer, you can avail the limited period Risk-Free trial offer.

Thursday 2 July 2015

Do Software Developers Need to Learn the Basics of Testing

Testing is an integral phase of SDLC: Software development life cycle is a complicated process and there are many phases in the development process. But testing is the most important phase of this life cycle. Testing starts before the development process with feasibility test and ends after the development process. This indicates the importance of testing in the software development life cycle. Software can never be successful without proper testing of the application. Hence testing is treated as the success pillar of any software application or product. So we are experiencing a continuous increase in demand of software testers in the industry.

software testing services, web application testing, Software Testing TeamExtra knowledge or skill is always an added advantage: No one can ignore the importance of extra knowledge in one’s life. Hence everyone loves to learn more and more. The same holds good for software developers as well. When you are working as a software developer in the IT industry, you should gain some additional knowledge that are closely related with the development process like efficient client interaction, testing and set up related tricks etc so that you can handle few common issues or situations in case the concerned professionals are not with you. This will definitely help you, your client and your organisation during a critical situation as a life safe guard.

Developer possessing testing knowledge is preferable in most cases: Testing is an integral and important part of software development life cycle and we can’t ignore its importance at any cost. But if a developer has some basic fundamental knowledge on software testing then, it will be definitely treated as an added advantage. We are not discouraging the importance of dedicated testers in the industry; but we are encouraging software developers to have some basic testing knowledge so that they can handle some urgent issues in the absence of testers. Moreover we have seen in many cases these part time testers (software developers) saving a significant amount of time, effort and money of the industry in a magical way. So as a smart software developer, you should also possess some basic testing knowledge for the benefit of the industry.

Productivity can be increased with the combo knowledge: In many small scale software development projects, we usually find budget constraints playing an important role in the development process. In those situations, if we have a software developer having sound knowledge in testing then it will definitely help the client and hence the project to be of better quality. The software developer can act as both developer and tester and hence he can eliminate the entire or partial cost of a software tester from the project. As a result, the cost sensitive project can get some room in expanding its functionality through that extra amount of money. This will definitely help in decreasing the cost of the project and also increasing the productivity of the project. So we should encourage software developers to learn fundamental testing methodologies for the benefit of the industry.

So, are you learning some basic testing tips and tricks? Yes! When are you going to learn the basic principles of software testing? You should start it from now to serve the industry in a better manner.

At Mindfire Solutions, we have been providing
software testing services to its esteemed clients for over 15 years now. We also have dedicated teams for enterprise, desktop, mobile and web application testing. If you need any kind of assistance in your Software Testing process, please feel free to get in touch with us now and our Software Testing Team will revert back with a free quote within one business day. Also as a special offer, you can avail the limited period Risk-Free Trial Offer.