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.
Before 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.
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.
Life 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.
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 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.
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.
Test 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.
Software Development Life Cycle or SDLC has various types of models. Each of these models is used during the testing stage. Therefore, testing proves to be an essential component in SDLC. With the help of various types of testing including element, assimilation, user recognition and regression tests, the coders are able to provide a reliable application. The server system is any kind of system network is measured as the main terminal whereas the other procedures are considered minor terminals. Therefore, SDLC will include both the main and minor terminals while approaching the statement.There are, in fact, various phases of testing in SDLC that are indispensable. These are vital as they help in the development of the project and clears out the glitches, if any. Here’s a short description about each stage – Various Phases of Testing in Software Development Life Cycle The first phase of testing is known as the inception. At this stage the engineer gets the scope to identify the major requirements for the project. The data is generally recorded and kept in the architectural reference document. The main issues tackled in this stage are information, data and system designs. The next phase is known as elaboration. This is where the test engineers decide about the project plan. An important phase, here the complete design is being documented and stored in the System requirement document in addition to the product as well as requirement documents. In the JAD stage, commercial reviewer, planner, execution, project organization, etc are attended to. Next comes the construction stage. At this phase, the main role is played by the programmers. They build the project as per the approved plan at the JAD phase. The testers are supposed to follow the programmers for carrying out several adjustments. Several types of faults might be overlooked or misunderstood by the programmers. At this stage it is the testers who should be solving the problems. In order to develop the HLS or high level scenario, a testing group is needed. The testers are expected to ensure that all the elements in the project adhere to the standard quality affirmation. Finally, it is the transition phase where the errors found are tested once more by regression test. This helps in developing consistent systems. Purpose of testing: Testing, thus, plays a major role in developing software by identifying the errors and providing solutions to solve them. This is important so that quality solutions can be delivered to the clients. Every software has bugs and they need to be fixed. The main purpose of this process is to check whether there are any discrepancies in the development procedure. Quality cannot be sacrificed or overlooked when it comes to developing software. The resting process ensures that all the requirements are included and the final product is functional as expected. The test plan is document where all the necessary information about the project is listed. Every data required for each of the test cases are also to be found here. Thus, all the test cases can be validated in order to find out whether there are any errors in the system or the app. Once the test plan is approved it leads to the closure of the project. Thus, the cases are quite vital for designing templates. Additionally there are scripts which are subsequently converted into the cases. Early testing – a blessing: It should be noted at this stage that early testing is recommended for development processes. The quicker you find the bug, the better. It helps a lot of control the cost if bugs are found and fixed at early stages of the development. Moreover, if they are found early it takes lesser time to fix the issue. In addition, if the tests are written beforehand, it helps to fix the cases at later stages. Preparing for this early also prevents the occurrence of unknown risks and there is adequate time to deal with the delays and risks. Last but not the least, this process leads to the production of several intermediate products that can be checked to confirm whether they are meeting the standard needs of the users. Keeping user experience in mind is an essential component of this process. Hence, the software testing is an indispensable method when it comes to developing a bug free and user friendly system or app. If you are thinking of outsourcing software testing projects to offshore companies, you must evaluate them to see if they are sufficiently agile or not! We provide application software testing services. If you would like to hire software testers 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.
With 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.
Software 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.
One 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.
As 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.
Software testing (ST) is an intricate process and asks for professionals who are highly expert as well as experienced. Even then, they cannot always avoid some technical as well as silly mistakes that spoil their days. That is the reason it is imperative that they follow a specific methodology in order to avoid these mistakes as much as possible. Let us discuss some of the errors that the software professionals normally end up committing. This will perhaps help them to be aware of these mistakes.
1) Using Element of Surprise: At times, technicians or testers are too much enthusiastic to take certain decisions without prior planning with a view to impart an element of surprise and yield the best results almost overnight. They also surprise the team with fresh mandates without any proper planning and go on with a dubious budget. This, to say the least, does not work. On the contrary, it puts the entire scrutiny program in a sort of jeopardy, thereby extending the deadline and shooting up the budget of the client. There is an old saying,“Surprise your team and watch it melt!”
2) Waiting till designing the software is finished: There are a lot of technicians who do not start the scrutiny till the fag end of the application development lifecycle. This is a very serious mistake as this may surprise them with a lot of unpleasant issues that will crop up at the eleventh hour.
3) Run the tests from a single location: This is another common error that software professionals end up doing. You will find a number of professionals conducting performance tests from within firewall mostly because of budget constraints as well as other technical reasons. However, the problem in this kind of ST is that by doing this the testers are unable to gauge the performance of the application and hence are unable to ascertain the performance when the application is used in real world.
4) Using not enough hardcoded data: It is relatively easier to test an application by using a smaller amount of static and hardcoded data. However, the problem is, when you do that it does not give you the right idea of performance that you can expect from the application once it goes live.
5) Testing with the ones who are not experts: In real life scenario, each and every ST assignment generally involves two kinds of experts – testing experts and domain experts. The testing experts are excellent in understanding and picking up the flaws as well as the vulnerabilities, irrespective of the nature of the product. Domain experts mainly pick up the shortcomings and inconsistencies but cannot spot the flaws. However, there are many companies that put the entire responsibility of testing on these domain experts. Do not be like them as this will not yield the best results.
6) Focusing on single use cases: There are ST teams that wash their hands off after testing a single use case while evaluating the performance. This will invariably put the application into troubled waters when it is live as it will not give the testers the true picture of its abilities in real life scenarios.
7) Not doing the BDD: Majority of the STs are technical instead of being functional. However, experts are of the opinion that it is extremely important to test the logical behaviour instead of testing and seeing whether the technical aspects are working flawlessly. This can be conducted with the use of BDD or Behavior Driven Design, without which, application testing remains more or less incomplete.
8) Testing in dbUnit XML dataset: This is another error that the developers end up doing. Often they are seen providing the test data in dbUNit XML dataset. This particular type of data does not represent live data at all. So it is wiser to ask the functional people to provide or maintain this type of test data.
9: Misinterpretation of the QA Role: This is another very common misconception that people have. They end up thinking that it is the responsibility of the testing team to ensure the quality of the application. This, to say the least, is wrong. The testing team only tests the ability of the software in real life scenario. The quality should be taken care of by the QA (Quality Assurance) team after the application passes through the testing barrier.
10) Improper Bug Reporting: Last but not the least, poor or improper bug reporting is a terrible mistake that leads to a lot of unpleasant scenarios. Picking up bugs is not enough – you need to be expert in properly reporting about your findings to the development team so that they can be taken care of appropriately and timely.
There are other mistakes as well when it comes to application testing. It is a highly technical task and there's no wonder that it will involve a lot of technical mistakes. However, we have discussed only 10 of them that normally plague the testing of applications. Mistakes can be kept at bay with use of some common sense and a logical approach and these are the qualities that are expected from a software application testing team. When you hire software testing 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 get your application tested by our certified software testers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.
Effective test management is essential for optimizing the features, functionality and quality of a software application. The process further ensures that best product is developed by deploying limited resources, while implementing smart test management practices at various stages of the project. Many organizations, nowadays, use test management software programs to make plan and manage the testing process effectively. These programs are further effective in covering a wide variety of test activities including test planning, test authoring, test execution, test tracking and test reporting. Further, an organization can use test management software to build complex applications by deploying teams deployed across different geographical locations, while controlling both development and quality assurance (QA) cost.
Using Test Management Software to Curtail Software Development and QA Cost
1. Enhanced Software Quality:- The quality and performance of the software will have a direct impact on its popularity. So each enterprise has to deploy both manpower and resources to carry out QA activities. Some of these applications also need to be tested frequently to fix all errors, bugs and flaws through additional coding and testing. The test management software enables organizations to cover all test activities. So an organization has option to reduce operational cost by reducing manpower and resources.
2. Easy to Outsource Projects:- Most companies outsource software development and QA projects to control labor cost. The test management software makes it easier for such organizations to coordinate between the members of its distributed team residing in different location. Thus, an enterprise can easily outsource the project to a region that has favorable payroll standards. Many reports have already highlighted how test management software facilitates quality assurance efforts, and brings down QA cost.
3. Option to Hire Experienced QA Engineers:- The outcome of a software testing project is often affected by the knowledge, expertise and experience of the QA engineers. It is also important for an enterprise to hire experienced QA engineers to optimize its QA efforts. But each organization, nowadays, explores option to beat competition by cutting down project cost. That is why; most organizations hesitate to hire experienced QA engineering team to control cost. The QA management software enables companies to avail the services of an offshore team of experienced testing professionals without incurring any additional expenses.
4. Reduce Software Development Cost:- A constant increase is noted in the number of organizations adopting test driven development (TDD) approach. At the same time, many companies even automate their testing efforts to avail the Agile benefits. Each organization can use real-time test management software to release a high quality and flawless product, with reduced development time. As the tools enable developers to access the current updates, they can easily implement the coding or bug reports changes at once. Further, the most current and updated version of the software can be evaluated to identify errors in the early stages of the process. As many reports have highlighted an organization can control development cost by identifying and fixing bugs earlier in the product cycle.
5. Optimize Bug Identification Efforts:- An enterprise can get higher ROI in the long run by constantly optimizing its QA efforts. Also, each organization must use test automation tools according to specific needs of a project. The right test management software will definitely optimize the organization’s bug identification efforts. The software further helps enterprises to enhance both efficiency and productivity by adopting Agile project management techniques. Similar to Agile development model, the test management software also enables QA engineers to evaluate the software early and often. Further, the test cases can be reused in future production cycles to save both time and resources.
Each enterprise has option to choose from several test management software programs. But the organization must evaluate the pros and cons of each application to ensure that it is effective in bringing down the software development and QA cost. And for this you would need to hire software testing companies who have proven expertise and experience in handling projects relevant to your business domain.
We provide software testing services. If you would like to get your application tested by our certified software testers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.
A constant increase is noted in the number of enterprises integrating software QA as part of the development cycles. Also, many companies are adopting test driven development approach (TDD) to enhance quality, efficiency and productivity. But a number of reports have highlighted how the software QA strategies of many organizations fail despite putting time, resources and funds. Several experts have further opinioned the software testing industry needs a reality check in order to thrive in upcoming years. According to these experts, software QA industry, just like manufacturing industry, must explore innovative ways to meet the constant changes in test automation tools, testing methodologies and application architecture. At the same time, each organization also needs to understand how to make its QA strategy more realistic and effective.
How to Make Software QA More Realistic
1. Identify Key Elements of Software Testing: While making the testing strategy, you must identify the key elements of software QA like test strategy, test plan, test cases, test environment and test data. Each of these elements contributes towards optimizing your software QA. These elements can also be considered by your manual as well as automated testing strategy. Each aspects of a QA must concentrate on these elements to emulate the real user behavior and environment. Further, these elements will help you in deciding the test automation tools required to create the perfect environment for software QA.
2. Eliminate the Unnecessary Processes: While planning software QA, many people forget that many quality control techniques have evolved from the manufacturing industry. These techniques and practices often make software testing both process-driven and procedural-driven. There are always chances that some of these process-driven or procedural-driven techniques may not complement the latest trends in software testing. That is why; it becomes essential to evaluate each of these processes based on what you need to check. You must identify and eliminate these process-driven and procedural-driven methods to effectuate your QA strategy.
3. Avoid the Over-Hyped Tools: When you decide to automate your software QA, it becomes essential to invest in test automation tools and programs. You have options to choose from loads of testing tools available in the market. Most enterprises prefer the latest test automation tools to get better results. But you must remember that often companies launch marketing campaigns to hype their software testing tools. There are also chances that the latest tools available in the market may not complement your specific needs. So you must evaluate the pros and cons of each tool to ensure that it is managing both quality and coverage, while articulating the risk properly.
4. Decide the Test Cases to be Automated: You have option to automate all or selected test cases. Many experts advise QA engineers to automate the test cases that need to be tested repeatedly and frequently. At the same time, many experts even recommend enterprises to automate most of the test cases to get high quality and ROI. An organization has to invest more funds to automate its software QA completely. But one must not ignore the test cases that can be evaluated only manually. The testing strategy of an organization must seamlessly integrate both automated and manual test cases to deliver quality test data.
5. Prevent Context Leakage: Many companies outsource software QA to save both efforts and funds. However, the outsourcing of software testing projects can have a negative effect due to context leakage. Similar to software development, context is of great importance to both testing and QA reporting. Also, the QA engineers deployed by the outsourced company do not have access to the primary source of information that results in more context leakages. So you must explore option to prevent context leakage while outsourcing software QA. It is always important to coordinate with the QA team constantly to make the testing more contextual and realistic.
The software QA strategy of an enterprise must consider the latest trends in software application testing. It must emphasize on some of the best practices and industry standards to make the process more productive and efficient.
We provide software testing services. If you would like to hire software test professionals from us, we would be glad to assist you at Mindfire Solutions.
A consistent increase is noted in the number of enterprises looking for innovative and customized software testing options. In addition to increasing productivity, efficiency and ROI, the right software automation strategy also enables organization to Agile project management. Each organization also has option to use test automation tools and programs to evaluate the performance of an application at each stage of development. However, it is always important for an organization to identify various aspects of software testing to make the process more effective and efficient.
5 Important Aspects of Software Testing
1) Test Strategy: An enterprise must perform several types of tests to evaluate the quality and performance of an application. In addition to white-box and black-box testing, an organization also needs to perform unit, integration, incremental integration, functional, regression, system, load, acceptance, stress and end-to-end testing. So it becomes essential to make and implement a comprehensive strategy to decide the type of testing required along with the sequence and schedule of each type of test. At the same time, the strategy will further determine the amount of time, effort and resources required to find all defects in the application. Also, the test strategy will address the time and resource constraints to deliver desired results.
2) Test Plan: As a part of software development project, test plan deals with the tasks and activities related to testing. In addition to deciding who will perform a specific task, the plan also decides schedule, sequence and timeframe of each task. The plan also highlights the activities and tasks required to evaluate various aspects of the software application. Once the test strategy is finalized, the test plan can be made by creating a critical path by taking into consideration the required preparation work and efforts. However, the test plan, just like test strategy, needs to be modified frequently as the project evolves.
3) Test Cases: Based on an organization’s strategy, some or all test cases can be automated. However, the test cases must be developed before testing starts. Along with emphasizing on the requirements and acceptance criterions for the application, each test case also need to consider quality dimensions from customers’ point of view. At the same time, the test case will further assess the current risk to identify the flaws and bottlenecks in the project. It is also important to clearly define the expected result to make the test plan more effective in getting quality test data, while uncovering defects in the project.
4) Test Environment: The complex and complicated nature of software application make it essential for enterprises to create a comprehensive test environment. The environment must be build by emulating the real thing. However, the test environment can be scaled down by including the components essential for actually run and evaluate the application. It is always important to select separate computers, servers, networks and tools to evaluate the application. The use of dedicated test efforts will make it easier to modify or customize the environment according to specific needs. Normally, the components required to build the right test environment for a specific project is decides as part of the test strategy. These components are further rechecked as part of the test plan. However, the test environment must be developed completely before software testing starts.
5) Test Data: The quality of test data will impact the execution of test cases. So the various types of information and data used by the system need to be decided in a systematic manner. Normally, the test data includes the details required by the application to run including names, addresses and other variables. Along with the input data, the test data also need to consider the information stored on various data sources. There are always chances that the functionality of the application needs to be evaluated by inputting dynamic and additional data. So the test data must be selected and developed as part of individual test case development process.
Along with understanding various aspects of software testing, an organization also needs to explore option to identify and fix the errors, flaws and bugs in the applications as early as possible. It can always automate the entire software testing to achieve predefined objectives. And for this you would need to hire software testing companies who have proven expertise and experience in handling projects relevant to your business domain.
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.
The complex and time-consuming nature of software development has made it essential for organizations to implement a comprehensive software testing strategy. Some enterprises still use conventional and manual testing methods, whereas others automate software testing to save both time, efforts and cost. However, the software testing plan of each organization must concentrate on a number of additional points to improve both efficiency and productivity. The software application verification activities can be divided into static and dynamic testing.
Under static testing, the QA engineers refer to a checklist to ensure that the process is going according to preset standards including coding, deployment and integration. Some of the widely used static testing methodologies are inspection, review and walkthrough. On the other hand, dynamic software testing aims to evaluate the quality of an application by giving input values and checking the expected output. The commonly used dynamic testing activities include unit tests, system tests, acceptance tests and system tests. So the software testing plan must identify if a verification activities will fall under static or dynamic testing methodologies.
Key Differences between Static and Dynamic Software Testing
1. Objective: The software testing strategy of an enterprise must emphasize on both static and dynamic testing techniques. However, the objective of each type of testing will differ. The static testing techniques must be used to assess the design, code and documentation based on checklists and predefined processes. But the dynamic testing techniques must aim to identify the errors, flaws, bugs or bottlenecks in the software.
2. Execution of Code: The static testing methodologies are used to improve the software quality by identifying errors in the early stages of development. These methods identify flaws in the application checking the code, specifications and design documents manually. So code is not executed under this testing. On the other hand, dynamic testing methods aim to check the functional behavior of the application, required resources and overall performance of the system by executing the code.
3. Types of Defects: The static as well as dynamic testing must be performed to find two distinct sets of defects, errors or flaws in the application. As static testing is conducted in the verification stage, it identifies defects like syntax errors in the code, missing requirements and design defects. But dynamic testing is performed in the validation stage. So it uses several techniques to identify defects like if the variables are not constant or the output is meeting the expected standards.
4. Testing Techniques: The testing techniques used for static and dynamic testing also vary. Static testing normally used certain techniques to prevent defects by verifying the process. So it uses techniques like informal and technical reviews, walkthrough, inspection and static code review. But dynamic testing uses several techniques to identify and fix defects in the application, while doing validation process. Therefore, dynamic testing uses techniques like unit testing, system testing and integration testing.
5. Coverage: Normally, static testing can be carried out before compilation. But dynamic testing can be done only after compilation and linking. Also, each type of testing will cover different aspects of the software. Static testing will provide structural and statement coverage to improve quality through reviews and comments. At the same time, dynamic testing will cover the executable file of the code to identify and fix all types of bugs.
6. ROI: Unlike dynamic testing, static testing is performed in the early stages of development. Therefore, static testing is considered to be more cost-efficient in comparison to dynamic testing. The static testing techniques are further considered to get higher return on investment (ROI) as no test automation tools are required. However, static testing requires more meeting and manual efforts in comparison to dynamic testing.
An effective software application testing strategy must include the static as well as dynamic testing methodologies to improve software quality. The static testing methods can be used to for the purpose of verification, whereas the dynamic testing methods will involve validation.
We provide software testing services. If you would like to hire software test professionals from us, we would be glad to assist you at Mindfire Solutions.
