When businesses are developing a software system for their organization, they will likely come across a set of obstacles and challenges. This can include inaccurate testing estimates, an unstable testing environment, and debugging that takes forever.
These problems can inflict damage on the design of your software product. But in today’s era of software-delivery-focused companies, engineering leaders have mastered quality assurance and software testing with emerging technologies.
The demand for high-quality software systems is at an all-time high; after all, it only takes a mere second for a visitor to decide whether they like a website or not. Software engineers are learning to implement new innovative practices to ensure that their software products are well-researched and align perfectly with the business goals.
If you’re on the lookout for significant expertise in carrying out quality software testing processes, then Vates is here to help. As one of the top IoT solutions and consulting firms in South America, our IT professionals provide robust software solutions at competitive rates.
We can help make modifications to your company’s existing IT infrastructure or build a new platform from scratch. We can ensure that your software products are fool-proof and ready to be launched into the market.
Read ahead to learn all about software testing and how you can create robust software products.
The Process of Software Testing
The software testing process can be divided into different phases. These phases or processes are also known as the software testing lifecycle (STLC).
The first part of the STLC is planning. During this stage, software developers must conduct extensive research and collect relevant details about the product. Software engineers create a list of software aspects that require testing. This can include:
- User interface
- Project functionality
- Performance criteria
- Software and hardware interfaces
- Security systems
- Any risks and issues that could arise
If you’re performing a test after a bug fix, you will want to ensure that you have a comprehensive understanding of the errors and issues so you can take the necessary steps to mitigate them.
The planning stage is one of the most crucial steps in the software testing process. You must address all urgent issues and divide the testing tasks according to their priority.
Once the planning part is done, it’s time to create a solid foundation. This process includes creating a stable testing environment, obtaining relevant test cases, and collecting relevant information on the product features. Software testers also decide on the appropriate tools and techniques that are required for testing during this phase.
The next phase is when the software testers start performing the tests after planning and preparing for them. The execution stage is when they run algorithms and utilize digital tools to perform the tests and gather important data.
The results obtained after these tests should meet the requirements of the software products. All successful and failed test cases are documented.
The last phase of the software testing lifecycle is called reporting. This stage involves appropriately documenting the results of the testing process and sending them to the developers who are creating the product. They will require a comprehensive report of all the test runs along with a list of reasons why the tests failed.
Manual Testing
Manual testing is when software testers manually run cases for testing. This process is done without automation tools, and testers try to search for bugs. If bugs are found, they’re reported to the developers for mitigation.
Manual testing is mostly focused on performance testing, usability, and assessing the quality of the software product. Manual testing plays a pivotal role in software testing. It enables the testers to generate quick results and immediately add any missing elements.
Manual testing can be performed by three testing methods.
1. Exploratory Testing
Exploratory testing gives testers the freedom to run an application and then check if it meets their set of requirements. This is a type of dynamic testing where testers perform the predefined testing procedure and find out what their product requires.
2. Regression Testing
Regression testing can be performed both manually and automatically and is used for verification. This test ensures that a recent bug fix or code change to a web application is working without faults.
This method utilizes some or all predefined and executed test cases, which are then re-executed to verify that the operations are fully functional.
3. Test Case Execution
Test cases allow testers to validate whether the application they’re working on is functional through a sequence of steps. For a test case to be successful, the testers must have excellent writing skills and a robust understanding of the software product.
These test sequences can be created by a QA or DevOps team. You can execute codes and compare results to ensure that your product is free from bugs and glitches.
Automated Testing
Automation testing is run automatically to identify gaps and find errors in a software system. This efficient method of software testing significantly minimizes errors and bugs without the need for constant human intervention. It results in fewer errors during the testing process and doesn’t take too much time either.
This type of software test can involve processes like acceptance testing, functional testing, and integration testing. These processes are quicker with shorter software delivery cycles and reduced testing time.
While automation testing is beneficial for smoke testing and stress testing, it’s not best suited for checking the user interface, compatibility, installation, documentation, and recovery. Some aspects of the software product will require manual testing since it gives you reliable results.
Automation testing can also be done with three different methods.
1. Unit Testing
Unit testing is the process of individually testing the different components of an application. With unit testing, testers can ensure that each individual unit for the program is performing as designed.
Unit testing is typically done by software developers because this method requires a foundational understanding of the source code and the internal programs. This testing is efficient when it comes to identifying which code isn’t functioning properly as the code base grows.
This method will also provide guaranteed documentation for the software product. This can be useful for the developers to learn about the functionality of each unit.
2. API Testing
API testing or the application programming interface is when the testers directly check the APIs.
An API is a software feature that enables one application to communicate with other applications. This method of testing helps to determine whether the APIs are fully functional or not. This even allows us to check their performance, reliability, and security.
If APIs are not checked properly, it can cause issues with the primary application as well as other integrated applications.
3. Automated Regression Testing
Regression testing can be done both ways, automatically and manually. It helps in verification and is repeatedly performed to check the quality of the software product.
The Importance of Software Testing
Now that you’ve understood the entire process of testing software and the different methods of testing, let’s take a look at the importance of software testing.
Software testing can help you save a lot of time and money. Before you decide to launch your software product into the market, making sure it’s completely bug-free and error-free is important.
Identifying errors and problems early in the software development lifecycle will cost less to fix compared to fixing issues once the product has been completed.
It’s best to hire professional testers who have extensive experience working with software testing and quality assurance. At Vates, we provide affordable and high-quality software testing and QA services that will ensure the integrity of your product. We have a combined experience of over thirty years in providing robust software solutions and can provide flexible testing services to identify errors before you launch your software product.
Software testing maximizes security for your software product, ensuring it is without any vulnerabilities and loopholes. Insecure software can be prone to cyber-attacks and unauthorized interference, which can put your business at risk.
A rigorously tested product will be more reliable and help you generate higher revenue. It will improve workflow productivity and enhance the consumer experience. Secure software will also help build brand loyalty and protect any information that you keep safe from hackers.
When you’re trying to scale your business, client satisfaction is a priority. With software testing, this can be easily done. A robust software product will help you establish a solid reputation and will help you earn the trust of your clients.
Ready to elevate your business to the next level? Reach out to us at Vates today.
At Vates, we have a team of industry-leading software developers and testers who can ensure you have a bug-free and smooth software development process. We can provide your in-house IT team with robust analysis and descriptive reporting to build you a software product you can rely on.
Our range of services includes system integration services, Jira service management, Agile software development, IoT consultation, and much more.
Get in touch with us today to learn more about our nearshore software development firm.