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.