What is Software Testing? – Review
Remember the old anecdote about the IT company hiring a tester? The company interviewed a lot of people, and one by one they were better than the next. But the guy who managed to hack their email, wreck their desk and chair, rip the curtains off the ledge in 10 minutes of the meeting got the job. Everyone realized that they were facing a real tester!
Let’s talk about software testing and where good testers work.
Testing a software is the process of researching and testing a software product. Is it possible to do without testing? Our answer is no! If testing is insufficient or completely absent the whole process of software development makes no sense.
Testing is an integral part of program product creation. First of all, it is the control of its quality. Who and how will use the product under development? How easy is it to log in and save objects? What happens to the program when it crashes? What happens if the user enters incorrect data or performs unexpected actions? How does the system react to typos, saving incomplete forms, incorrectly entered APIs? Can unauthorized people access the resource? All of these questions relate to the same process. We decided to talk about the software testing is importance with the product manager of Cordus Technologies Inc. (Canada).
Basics of software testing
The software product testing checks if the whole system works correctly and safely. Without functional testing the customer can get a product that at a certain point will work with errors and will not meet his business needs. In other words, such a program cannot be used.
Often, at the first meeting between a customer and a Cordus Technologies product manager, it takes a long time to say that not testing at any stage of development is saving big for the sake of small, “penny wise and pound foolish”.
Poorly tested software can stop working after an upgrade, even if it was working fine before. Modern programs and applications need to be productive, user-friendly, and easily understood by humans. We are talking about non-functional testing. In its absence, you cannot predict users’ behavior and the program’s response to interaction with them.
“Security holes”, erroneous granting of access and many other things lead to serious consequences. Loss of money and reputation. Without testing of specific solutions, sooner or later the program will be hacked and data stolen.
Do we do without testing? No!
Testing can be done endlessly. The ideal is unattainable, any project has quite specific deadlines and milestones to meet.
The purpose of software testing is to check the quality of software, to find errors. With the help of a set of particular tests, QA-engineers and testers find out to what extent the program operation corresponds to the requirements and expectations stated by the customer.
Testing includes:
- analysis and planning
- Test development and test scenario development
- evaluation of test completion criteria
- test execution
- report writing
- reviewing documentation (including source code)
- analysis of results
Modern software should be predictable not only in terms of performance, but also in terms of usability.
Manual or automated tests?
Software is tested either “manually” or with the help of written tests. Manual testing is done without the use of any automated tools or scripts. The tester assumes the role of the end user and tries to figure out how the software will react to any unexpected behavior within the program or to an error.
Automated tests are performed by a computer running a previously written test script. The complexity of these tests can vary. From checking of a certain block of the program to execution of consecutive complex actions. The quality of automated tests depends on the quality of the test scripts.
We asked Cordus Technologies Inc. experts, “Which test is the best to choose?” The answer surprised and delighted us. We were told about the principles of reasonable sufficiency and that the introduction of software testing always requires an individual and informed approach. In one project, more manual testing is required to identify unobvious bugs and defects in complex use cases. And in another, checking the correctness of the system, the emphasis will be on automation.
The tester. Who is he?
A dry and concise define software testing does not include the main actor, or rather faces. Testers and QA-engineers, those who invent new tests, look for bugs.
By the way, the anecdote about the happy tester has a sequel: even at home the tester is tireless, he breaks the fridge, stove and chair, and persistently calls manufacturers, telling them about the bugs found…
How do you distinguish a good tester from a bad one? Let’s not stoop to platitudes and talk about attention, diligence, analytical skills, and critical thinking. First and foremost, it is a responsible and honest professional with a sense of common sense. These are exactly the kind of people who have been working in the QA team at Cordus Technologies for a long time.
Different types of tests
What exactly do tests test? When are they written and how are they run?
- Modular tests. With their help, small parts of an application, components or modules (units) of code are tested. As a rule, unit tests can be inexpensively automated and launched very quickly with the help of the continuous integration server.
- Integration tests. Tests the interaction between several code units, tests the joint work of different modules and services. Tests of this type are more expensive because they require several parts of the application to function.
- Functional Tests. Focuses on the business needs of the application. They only test the result of an action and do not test the intermediate states of the system while performing that action.
- End-to-end testing. Tests how the user interacts with the software. This testing is very useful, but expensive.
- Acceptance testing. This is a formal test that shows that the system meets a specific need; during testing, the entire application is run.
- Performance testing. Tests how the system behaves under certain workloads. Tests its reliability, speed, scalability, and application response.
- Smoke testing. Simple tests to check the basic functionality of an application. They are conducted after the release of a new build to determine the overall quality level of the application.
Software testing with Cordus Technologies
Cordus Technologies Canada offers comprehensive testing services for developed applications and programs. The company develops custom tests to verify any functional anomalies with each new development iteration.
The skilled QA team of Cordus Technologies creates creative frameworks to automate testing processes. Conducts software analysis, auditing and quality assessment, develops testing strategies, and automates continuous integration processes.
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