QA Software Testing, Quality Engineering Practices

[diyatestingupdates-blog]

The healthcare industry is awakening to a new dawn of technology-driven, value-based patient care. Read how technology is transforming the industry through and through.

[diyatestingupdates-blog]

The banking customers do not want only digital means of transacting, but an omnichannel experience. Read how digital transformation is impacting the retail banking business.

[diyatestingupdates-blog]

Business Transformation is essential to achieve QA transformation, which can be attained effectively with an Agile approach.

[diyatestingupdates-blog]

The aviation industry is starting to react to the digital wave that has taken every other industry by storm. Read how technology will shape the future of the industry.

[diyatestingupdates-blog]

The non-reliability of airlines directly affects customer satisfaction levels. Read how airlines can optimize their customer strategy and deliver personalized experiences in this blog.

[diyatestingupdates-blog]

The best approach to testing security of aggregator mobile apps

The advent of 3G or 4G enabled smartphones and the running of sophisticated mobile apps on them have virtually changed the consumer behaviour globally. The behaviour, underpinned on factors like convenience, speed, cost savings, privacy, and security provided by the mobile apps (Android and iOS based,) has led to a spurt in the development of such apps.  If numbers are to be believed then out of five billion mobile users globally, the total mobile apps downloaded equalled 2.6 million and 2.2 million across Android and iOS platforms in the first quarter of 2019 (Source: businessofapps.com.)

The popularity of mobile apps has largely been attributed to the usage of aggregator apps, which pull, show, and interact with content sourced from various locations. The examples can be cited that of Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Flipboard, among others. Since the APIs of these apps interact with numerous content sources, there is every likelihood of them becoming the conduits for malware. Moreover, many of these apps incorporate the digital payment feature, which helps customers to conduct financial transactions on the go. However, notwithstanding the benefits of using such aggregator apps integrated with the digital payment feature, the spectre of cyber threat looms large. As more number of app makers try to feed into this huge demand for apps, ensuring their security has become the primary concern. Let us understand the top security threats that can befall any aggregator mobile app and how mobile application security testing can pre-empt the same.

Top security threats to aggregator mobile apps

The propensity of people to use aggregator mobile apps in the workplace or other places has exposed such apps to hacking. As no digital device can claim to be 100% secure and hackers always on the lookout to compromise a device, the role of application security testing becomes prominent.

1.      Unsecured Wi-Fi connection: One of the biggest security threats is in using unsecured Wi-Fi connections at public places like airports, bookstores, coffee shops etc. As the number of smartphones connecting the endpoints at workplaces increases, hackers get a goldmine of opportunities to compromise enterprises by leveraging the vulnerabilities of mobile apps. However, in spite of the warnings, people continue to use such unsecured networks and subject themselves to cyber attacks. A robust mobile application security testing can plug vulnerabilities that hackers may exploit when people use apps to connect to their workplaces.

2.      Built-in malicious codes: As aggregator apps source information from multiple locations using APIs, not all APIs or locations can claim to being secure. Many unsecured apps may contain malicious strains of malware, which upon usage, can allow hackers to siphon off sensitive data and information on a platter. Such mobile security threats can be prevented by downloading apps from official app stores. Besides, the apps contained in the apps stores should have undergone stringent end-to-end mobile application security testing.

3.      OS vulnerabilities: Smartphone manufacturers continually update the operating software to incorporate features, functionalities, and technologies. This is mainly to obtain a better system performance, a key determinant in achieving user satisfaction. Importantly, users often do not update the operating systems of their aggregator mobile apps thus leaving them vulnerable to cyber attacks. To ensure the mobile apps remain secure against any emerging security threats, their operating systems must be updated. Also, should their mobile devices do not remain compatible with the latest version of the operating system, it is better to get a new one.

The best approach to testing the security of aggregator mobile apps

Once your aggregator mobile app accepts personal data from the user, it becomes your responsibility to safeguard the same. This calls for conducting rigorous software application security testing to identify and plug vulnerabilities and protect data breaches. The best security practices or approaches any enterprise can take to secure its mobile app are:

·         Simulating attacks on the app systems to assess their vulnerabilities and strengths.

·         Analyzing internal controls to identify the presence of potential malware.

·         Assessing and monitoring the APIs to identify any security flaws.

·         Evaluating the risks through security threat modelling and building a mobile application testing strategy based on parameters such as threat sources, attack interface, expected attacks, business impact, and disaster management to nullify them.

·         Undertaking the collaborative approach of DevSecOps to turn security testing into a continuous activity throughout the SDLC and beyond. DevSecOps introduces security factors early on in the development cycle. It helps to cut down vulnerabilities and security risks, and ensures the management and other stakeholders are in sync with the overall business objectives.

Conclusion

The rising scare of cybersecurity threats has led businesses to adopt stringent mobile app security testing. By incorporating an approach like DevSecOps where every sinew of the organization is tasked with ensuring the security of an aggregator mobile application, the vulnerabilities and risks intrinsic to the system can be promptly identified and acted upon. Businesses should ensure that the shortening of development lifecycles as brought about by DevOps and Agile, should not let mobile app security testing take a back seat.

Diya works for Cigniti Technologies, which is the world’s first Independent Software Testing Services Company to be appraised at CMMI-SVC v1.3, Maturity Level 5, and is also ISO 9001:2015 & ISO 27001:2013 certified.

[diyatestingupdates-blog]

The weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas see an exponential surge in terms of sales every year. Ensure that your ecommerce platform run smoothly under heavy load with performance testing. Read more.

[diyatestingupdates-blog]

Although there are a lot of factors at play that determine the viability of a customer-focused strategy, big data analytics significantly increase the probability of a favorable outcome.

[diyatestingupdates-blog]

The business value of Mobile Test Automation

Today, every second person seems to have a smartphone teeming with a plethora of apps. These apps may deal with communication (WhatsApp, Facebook, Snapchat, etc.) transport (Uber,) games (PokeMon, Candy Crush, etc.) food and beverages (Swiggy, FoodPanda, etc.) online stores (Amazon, Flipkart, etc.) banking, and many others. It goes without saying that these apps have made lives convenient and easy by helping people carry out a host of activities like paying utility bills, booking products or services, etc.

Additionally, these apps have helped businesses accelerate their digital transformation initiatives as well. However, along with the positives, there is a downside to this growth as well - in the form of defective apps. Given the growing menace of cybercrime, downloading a defective app can spell trouble. It may unleash dangerous bugs in the device leading to the siphoning of sensitive personal information (and money) of the user. So, if your business be developing mobile apps with the provision of conducting financial transactions, it must ensure the app remains free of bugs. The best way to go about that is by implementing mobile test automation.

Why is mobile test automation necessary?

The success of a mobile app depends on its seamless performance, besides the presence of a host of features and functionalities. It is arguably the most important differentiation parameter for the customer to adopt or reject it. No matter how fancy looking your app may be, should it falter on performance, users are likely to abandon it without even giving a second thought. The failure of a mobile application does not only impact its adoption but can batter the image and bottom line of the company developing it as well. Importantly, concerns about the quality of an application can generate poor reviews and ratings about the brand thereby impacting its sales.

However, a simple mobile application can add value to its makers if it functions flawlessly. This is because most reviews on the app stores veer around poor loading and performance, crashes, and drain on the battery. Thus, it becomes important for mobile app developers to adopt a robust mobile application testing strategy in right earnest. Since mobile apps need to function across a swathe of device platforms, operating systems, browsers, and networks, they need to be tested for various dependencies by using mobile test automation.

Let us understand how mobile app test automation can add value to a business.

·         Enhances app quality: During the development process, several bugs may enter into the app’s codebase thereby hindering its performance. Investing in manual testing can decrease the speed and scope of testing and leave a lot of vulnerabilities and bugs to remain unidentified. It is only through implementing mobile test automation in the Agile DevOps mould that a business can save time and money, besides enhancing the quality of application significantly.

·         Release quick updates: To be in-sync with the changing customer preferences, businesses may go in for upgrading their existing mobile apps. However, with every upgrade in the source code, intensive regression tests should be carried out to check if the changes have impacted any existing functionality. The repeatable testing so required, necessitates automation in mobile application QA testing. With quick regression testing, businesses can accelerate the delivery of apps to the market, save costs, beat the competition, and achieve ROI.

·         Improve test coverage: As any mobile application needs to operate seamlessly across platforms, it should be tested for variables and dependencies that are connected to the respective platforms. This can only be possible by implementing automation in mobile app testing. Moreover, mobile app test automation can execute crucial tasks such as validating memory and database.

·         Improved user experience: A bug-free mobile app delivers an improved user experience by ensuring better security, performance, and seamless functionality. Since an improved user experience can stimulate trust, word of mouth publicity and better adoption of application, the organization developing the app can achieve ROI. No wonder, mobile testing services are increasingly using automation as a part of their mobile application testing strategy.

Conclusion

The ubiquitous mobile apps have become an integral part of everyday life and help businesses to usher in digital transformation. To ensure their seamless functioning across different platforms, they need to be tested rigorously using automation. It is only through mobile test automation that businesses can add value in terms of better test coverage, quality, customer experience, and ROI.

This article is originally published at ingeniumweb.com, The business value of Mobile Test Automation.

Diya works for Cigniti Technologies, Global Leaders in Independent Quality Engineering & Software Testing Services to be appraised at CMMI-SVC v1.3, Maturity Level 5, and is also ISO 9001:2015 & ISO 27001:2013 certified.

[diyatestingupdates-blog]

Case Study - Test Management & Automation helps UK’s digital bank Reduce Test Cycle Time

Check out this case study to know how test automation services helped a Digital Bank to reduce its test cycle time and achieve timely delivery

Check out this case study to know how test automation services helped a Digital Bank to reduce its test cycle time and achieve timely delivery.

[diyatestingupdates-blog]

Test Automation is as important to Software Applications as food is to us

The quality of software applications ultimately determines their survival in the market. With competition among software development companies getting intense, the focus has shifted towards faster loading, seamless functioning, enhanced security, and the speedy delivery of software. These outcomes can only be assured through rigorous testing of software applications. However, even with the best of intentions and diligence, manual testing does not quite fulfil the testing requirements and can let a lot of bugs to go unchecked. No wonder test automation has been accepted as the de-facto methodology to increase the accuracy, efficiency, coverage, and effectiveness of software testing.

What is test automation?

It is a testing methodology where the quality of software application is validated by comparing the actual test outcomes with the expected ones by using an automation testing tool. Test automation services are usually engaged to carry out repetitive tasks like regression testing, which are otherwise not feasible to be done using manual testing. The many tools that automation testing services use to conduct software testing comprise Selenium, Robotium, SoapUI, TestComplete, QTP, TestDrive, and many others.

Moreover, in an Agile-DevOps driven software development environment where Continous improvement and delivery are the key outcomes, QA automation testing has become the sine-qua-non to increase the quality of software application, scope, and accuracy of testing, besides saving time and cost for the company. So, to hammer home the point even further, one can draw an analogy of the importance of software test automation in the SDLC to that of the intake of food for survival.

Key benefits of implementing test automation solutions

Since the customers of today use a multitude of devices of different hardware configurations (like smartphones, tablets, notebooks, desktops, and laptops) to access the World Wide Web, software applications too should be robust and dynamic enough to function seamlessly across devices. Add to that the presence of several browsers, operating systems, and networks, the task of ensuring the quality of software applications becomes complex and time-consuming, unless of course, one focuses on an automated testing strategy. So, let us discuss the key benefits of using test automation solutions.

·         Better test coverage: One of the drawbacks of manual testing is that humans tend to exhaust and cannot focus on executing repetitive tests consistently. The reduced speed prevents them from conducting a plethora of tests covering all scenarios, dependencies, and variables. On the other hand, since QA automation testing can perform lengthy tests in lesser time, the testing cycle can cover a greater number of tests within a stringent timeline. It can execute thousands of complex text cases by looking into the memory and file contents, data tables, and program states of the application under test.

·         Improves accuracy: Since human testers can make mistakes while conducting lengthy and repetitive tests for a prolonged period, the quality of applications can go for a toss. However, test automation services can conduct such tests with utmost precision for as many times as needed. They can identify glitches that are present in the codes, which the monotony of manual testing may fail to detect. Thus, test automation can go a long way in enhancing the quality of software applications.

·         Tests 24/7: Manual testers, more often than not, do not work beyond office hours and are mostly stumped by the boundaries of geographies and time zones. However, in an automation testing approach, testers can let QA to function on its own 24/7 and even during the holidays. This can speed up testing and reduce its cost considerably.

·         Facilitates shift-left testing: In the Agile driven shift-left testing environment, codes are validated alongside their development. This needs a quick testing approach so that developers are not made to wait in the queue for integration. By implementing a robust test automation strategy, the speed of shift-left testing can be expedited. Importantly, shift-left testing can ensure an early identification of defects or glitches thereby making the whole process highly cost-effective compared to conducting manual testing in the traditional method.

·         Higher ROI: Notwithstanding the initial investment in implementing an automation testing approach, the outcomes in terms of better accuracy, quality, efficiency, and productivity can fetch a better ROI for business in the long run.

Conclusion

The user experience offered by the quality of software application has become the principal differentiator for its acceptance by the end-users. So, unless the application is removed of glitches and validated against a slew of parameters, its success in the market is not assured. This is where test automation services can become imperative to achieve a host of positive outcomes for the business.

This article is originally published at DEV Community, Why is Test Automation so important in Software Application Testing?

Diya works for Cigniti Technologies, Global Leaders in Independent Quality Engineering & Software Testing Services to be appraised at CMMI-SVC v1.3, Maturity Level 5, and is also ISO 9001:2015 & ISO 27001:2013 certified.

[diyatestingupdates-blog]

Case Study - Test Management services help improve uptime availability for ferries operator

A Case Study on Test automation in Travel & Hospitability: How it helps passenger and vehicle ferries operator with 98% uptime availability of infrastructure

A Case Study on Test automation in Travel & Hospitability: How it helps passenger and vehicle ferries operator with 98% uptime availability of infrastructure.

[diyatestingupdates-blog]

Enterprises are inclining towards QA Transformation or Test Transformation to redefine their quality and testing goals to align them effectively with the business objectives. Read more.

[diyatestingupdates-blog]

US Government owned large Logistics & Marine Solutions provider leverages Cigniti’s Test Automation & Performance Testing Expertise

The case study analyzes how Test Automation & Performance Testing Expertisehelped a US Government-owned large Logistics & Marine Solutions provider

The case study analyzes how Test Automation & Performance Testing Expertisehelped a US Government-owned large Logistics & Marine Solutions provider.

[diyatestingupdates-blog]

Assuring quality of Manufacturing Execution Systems with DevOps

The galloping pace of business and technology changes has impacted the manufacturing sector as well. Today, enterprises are aiming to release new products with differentiated features in quick succession rather than the one-time release scenario of the past. To facilitate such frequent releases, enterprises need to streamline their workflows by turning agile. To enable continuous delivery, adopting methodologies like DevOps has become important. DevOps introduces a collaborative approach among the Development, Testing, and Operations teams to achieve rapid and continuous delivery of products and services.

Furthermore, DevOps testing provides the ability to test various aspects of a product feature with the actual users. Thereafter, the feature(s) likened by the actual users is incorporated into the manufacturing process. Thus, the time taken for a feature to be incorporated in the manufacturing execution system - from ideation, design, development, testing, and deployment - gets reduced. This has led to frequent release of products thereby impacting the dynamics of the manufacturing cycle. In the traditional approach of manufacturing, the development and operations teams work in their respective silos leading to delays. The delays mainly resulted from acknowledging, testing, and deploying product(s) in the end-to-end process workflow.

Also, since traditional testing and QA paradigm are not enough to meet the requirements of new age manufacturing, DevOps has come as an enabler in strengthening and streamlining the manufacturing execution system. DevOps testing increases the validity of QA and reduces the risk of implementing changes in the production environment. In the absence of such testing, there is a risk of the production workflow facing service outages. The best part of DevOps QA is in vetting products or their features in an isolated test environment without hampering the actual manufacturing process.

However, there can be issues of the test environment not mimicking the actual production environment. These issues can be the result of the test environment employing different tools, dependencies, firewall rules, or even data. Such differences can bring in risks, for even if the product change passes in the test environment, there is a chance of it failing in the production environment as it was never tested there. However, by employing rigorous software testing for manufacturing in the DevOps structure, the effectiveness of software testing can be increased. This is accomplished by creating test environments that are closer to the real production environment.

Breaking barriers through manufacturing test automation

To ensure the quality and speedy delivery of products, the end-to-end workflow in the production environment should be subjected to a rigorous testing exercise involving DevOps. DevOps testing services break the barriers that exist between development and operations teams by offering a holistic view of processes and issues in their respective workflows. These encompass production line test automation to validate applications or products across environments, platforms, and networks. This leads to a better identification (and fixing) of errors and allows for their quick deployment in succession.

However, to achieve an optimum outcome through manufacturing test automation, the legacy production environment needs to undergo redesigning. This is due to the fact that legacy systems per se are not built to implement test automation. Thus, the redesigning of legacy systems might prove to be a challenge in implementing production line test automation.

Adopting DevOps methodology and CD in a legacy system

The roadmap to implement DevOps in furthering manufacturing production software testing involves three aspects - standardization, automation, and shift-left.

·         Standardization: Over time, small variations in processes might become a part of the legacy systems. However, implementing DevOps with such built-in variations can remain a challenge. So, the standardization process involves identification of such variations and modifying the systems or processes to eliminate them. For example, only a particular test script should be used to validate specific processes or products. The same can be reused for a new process or application by merely modifying the parameters. Also, in many cases, the entire infrastructure behind the running of systems may be standardized.

·         Automation: Post standardization of processes or infrastructure, as the case may be, they ought to be automated. So, any manufacturing test automation process involves the configuration of scripts by using tools. This accelerates testing, makes it repeatable, and eliminates any manual involvement. By making it repeatable, the testing process can be activated on-demand or at periodic intervals. Here, standardization helps in reducing the number of processes to be automated.

·         Shift-Left: This refers to testing an application or process early in the development lifecycle instead of at a later stage. For example, instead of running a regression or performance test post development, the same can be conducted during a system test. This leads to the early identification of integration or performance issues in the lifecycle. Thus, the development team can fix such issues early instead of working under pressure to fix them just before the product release. Additionally, this approach can pre-empt the development team from deferring such problems to the next release. The shift-left approach reduces the cost of eliminating glitches, for it is cost-effective to fix a bug during the development stage rather than in production.

Overall, implementing DevOps testing can lead to the following outcomes:

·         Quick delivery and deployment of products or their features.

·         Creation of a stable production environment.

·         Improved communication and collaboration between teams.

·         Teams get more time to innovate rather than be clogged with fixing and maintenance.

Conclusion

The production environment faces a host of challenges in terms of upholding the quality of products and ensuring their speedy delivery. Since addressing these challenges is the key to stay competitive, DevOps testing services can help businesses to streamline their manufacturing execution system by enforcing better collaboration and communication between the development and operations teams.

Diya works for Cigniti Technologies, Global Leaders in Independent Quality Engineering & Software Testing Services to be appraised at CMMI-SVC v1.3, Maturity Level 5, and is also ISO 9001:2015 & ISO 27001:2013 certified.

[diyatestingupdates-blog]

Perform or perish - the truth of the software world

The digital world is increasingly getting cluttered with scores of companies slugging it out to remain relevant and competitive. Software is the glue that binds the whole IT infrastructure in a company and across the global online landscape. Moreover, the success of any business in the online sphere depends on the quality and performance of its products and their eventual adoption by the end customers. It has been observed that businesses, in order to reach the market quickly, often give software testing a miss.

The predominant thinking among companies looking at cost optimization and maximizing profits is that QA is an adjunct that can be done without. They feel all software applications are supposed to work seamlessly and there is no need to spend time, effort, and money into ensuring so. However, in today’s world of competitive populism and achieving brand equity, this type of thought process is a recipe for disaster. Remember, building a brand brick by brick can wither away in no time should a software application delivers a bad user experience. This can eventually impact the brand value of a business as well.

Today, when cybercrime has raised its ugly head leading businesses and individuals to grapple with data theft and loss of reputation, software testing should be pursued with all vigor. It will ultimately ensure the software delivered to the end customer remains glitch-free and delivers the best user experience. In a competitive business environment where every business wants to grab the elusive customer pie, the quality of software application will ultimately decide who wins the race. The writing on the wall for businesses is - perform or perish, where perform entails conducting software testing across the SDLC.

What is software application testing?

It involves executing a series of steps to identify glitches that are inherent in the software. The software testing methodology may differ based on specific business objectives - manual or automated. However, it is geared towards checking the performance, security, compatibility, usability, reliability, and integration of the software application.

In the Software Development Life Cycle, each unit of the software code needs to be tested to deliver the expected outcomes. If not, the same is sent back to the development team for rectification. In the Agile driven software testing methodology, the testing goes on alongside development in an integrated module called the sprint. Post rectification, the QA team again conducts the tests until the unit performs to its optimum. The various software testing approach comprises unit testing, functional testing, security testing, regression testing, stress, and load testing, usability testing, system testing, integration testing, and acceptance testing.

What are the software testing challenges?

There are challenges galore when it comes to testing software with multiple features/functionalities and having connections to other software systems. Some of the challenges are -

·         There is no single foolproof method to test the entirety of a software application given the plethora of device platforms available. The QA team needs to employ various test combinations and scenarios depending on the target demography and business goals.

·         Setting up a uniform testing mechanism in an organization having various processes, teams, and branches that are spread across locations and time zones can be a challenge.

·         Lack of proper communication between the development and QA teams can hinder the testing efforts. For example, changes in the app features should be communicated to the QA team to ensure timely bug identification and removal.

·         An effective software testing approach should ensure the application works across devices, operating platforms, browsers, and networks. This can prove to be challenging for companies following manual testing or using an inappropriate tool for automated testing.

What are the benefits of software testing?

Businesses need to include QA process in their SDLC to derive a slew of benefits.

·         A rigorous testing of software applications will eliminate glitches and enhance the quality of software. Such software will stand a greater chance of finding acceptance by the customers. This will help the business to consolidate its brand equity in the market.

·         QA testing ensures the software’s adherence to industry quality standards and helps to avoid the risks or pitfalls of non-compliance.

·         Any modern software testing leads to business optimization with outcomes such as better-quality products, satisfied customers, enhanced brand image, reduced cost of operation or customer service, and increased ROI.

Conclusion

In a highly competitive business environment where perform or perish is the mantra, businesses need to adopt QA testing in their workflows to remain profitable.

Diya works for Cigniti Technologies, Global Leaders in Independent Quality Engineering & Software Testing Services to be appraised at CMMI-SVC v1.3, Maturity Level 5, and is also ISO 9001:2015 & ISO 27001:2013 certified.

[diyatestingupdates-blog]

While the customers expect rapid deliveries, the shipping industry is tied down by manual activities, cumbersome documentation, and complex protocols. Read why digitization is critical for the maritime industry.