Why is it Important to Test an Ecommerce Application

Posted on September 28, 2017 by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

Browsing through products in online stores and ordering them online is just one facet of e-commerce. E-commerce is a multifaceted way of conducting business online. Both B to C and B to B businesses use and rely on e-commerce these days. In fact e-commerce is driving changes in the traditional market and giving rise to new trends.

The changing trends are reflected in almost every sphere of business. Online fund transfer, digital marketing, integrated inventory management, supply chain management etc are some of the examples of e-commerce applications that have changed the face of business permanently. All these ecommerce applications have contributed significantly to transparency in day to day activities of businesses, real time inventory management, finances etc in a B2B environment. In the B2C front e-commerce applications have made life easier and even less expensive in some cases.

Here, are a few reasons why its important to test an e-commerce application:

1) Customer Friendly Designs and Features

In a B2C environment you need extreme customer friendly designs and features in e-commerce applications. However, such designs and features may sometime be at odds with the functionality of the site. This is more so because e-commerce websites may need to handle huge amounts of traffic for certain period of time followed by certain periods of lull. So it’s important that you test the functionality of a site when the traffic goes up very high. You need to see that it retains the functionality at extreme level of traffic and at the same time have customer friendly designs and features.

2) Different Browsers

E-commerce sites are loaded with JavaScript plug-ins, rich images, social media integration, product description, informative videos etc. These are the features that enhance customer experience and help visitors convert to customers. These sites are opened in multiple browsers like Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Opera etc. The developers need to ensure that the site offers a smooth experience to the customer irrespective of the browser that he or she is using. So, testing of ecommerce sites and applications should be a continuous process as any glitch would rob the company of a significant amount of revenue.

3) Different Platforms

People access e-commerce sites from a number of devices such as smart phones, tablets, computers, laptops etc. Therefore, a company needs to ensure that customers have a seamless experience across all devices. And for this, testing e-commerce sites and applications Is necessary.

4) Security and Vulnerability

Ecommerce sites and applications are more prone to security and vulnerability threats than others. Since people are using these applications to purchase products using their confidential banking data like card number, PIN number etc, it is of utmost importance that security and vulnerability of applications like Payment Gateway are always checked and updated.

5) Billing

E-commerce sites need to ensure that billing of products is done correctly. These companies offer various discounts and coupons to consumers. Sometimes the discounts are for targeted consumers such as those who make a certain amount of purchase. The billing application needs to take into account everything that goes into determining the price of the product or service availed. This will ensure customer confidence and allegiance. It also needs to take into account applicable taxes correctly. Then there are automated processes like generation of invoice and emails etc. that are integral to the billing process. To ensure all these, the business needs to conduct repeated tests on all these applications.

Final Verdict

The retail industry is highly volatile and ever evolving. Choosing the right methods and doing the right tests is recommendable before the e-commerce site is launched. By performing a strict test on your e-commerce website/application, you can certainly reduce the number of errors that crop up when the website is made live to your customers. This depicts that the site doesn’t always stay the same for too long. Therefore, it could get inordinate for many.

Basics of Embedded Software Testing Using C

Posted on September 26, 2017 by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

Testing is an integral part of the software development lifecycle. In case of embedded systems the need for testing is even greater because of the unique features & functionalities it has to offer. Embedded systems such as those present in the gadgets, used as part of your daily activity such as the transmission system or locking system in your car, the television remote, the smartphone etc., all suffer from space and time constraint. Nevertheless, the response is needed in real time.

If the system is not able to override the time constraint then it will be termed as a system failure. This unique environment and constraints of embedded systems make it incumbent on testers to test the software rigorously. A big challenge for testers is the decreasing design cycles for developing as well as supporting new technologies. The ever proliferating range of communication mechanisms and hardware platforms necessitates the use of automated C unit testing tools.
Using Automated C Unit Testing Tools
Developers writing automated testing tools in C find enhanced quality in their software. With the usage of such testing tools, the design also improves and the time constraints of the project becomes more manageable. In normal cases, developers have to write a large set of automated tests and change codes several times during development of embedded systems. Doing the same with automated tools such as automated C unit testing tools helps the process, the software, the project as well as the developer.
The unique and very much sought after dimension of using automated C unit testing tool is that every time the code is changed all the relevant tests are run automatically. Such continuous integration is very much an essential part of good embedded software testing.
Testing Embedded Systems is Unique
Though the testing process for embedded systems is much like testing software, there are features that differentiate embedded systems clearly from other software systems.

Application development and execution platform are separate for embedded systems, but not in system software
For embedded systems there is a large variety of hardware where the system is expected to be executed. This is not so in case of software
The deployment architecture in case of embedded systems is also different from other system software. Embedded systems typically are feedback control algorithm
In embedded systems there is a co-existence of various implementation models unlike in application software
The execution platforms in case of embedded systems impose strict time and space constraints. Response has to be in real time and resource is bare minimum
There is an ever increasing standard of quality and certification for embedded systems
Embedded systems may have characteristics that are quite different from applications software. These characteristics also need to be reflected in the test plan

All these issues do affect the ease and range of testing of embedded systems.

Regression Testing with C

Developers change the codes again and again to arrive at an optimum set. Every time the code is changed or modified, automatic testing should be run to ensure that the modifications have not broken the intended behavior of the software. Through C test scripts, such tests can be automated. This can bring down bugs to a great extent. If you design a definite set of inputs/outputs the automated regression test with C will automatically execute the defined number of tests and then compare the output against the “best output” scenario. Every time the developer incorporates a change the full regression test is run to ensure that the process is not broken.

Black Box Testing with C

Black box testing is integral to embedded systems, like application software. However, because of the nature of possible inputs in embedded systems the range of black box testing is comprehensive in such systems. With automated testing tools using C black box testing can be performed quite efficiently.
How Embedded Systems Affect these Testing Procedures
Since embedded systems are designed on a platform that is completely different from the platform it is targeted and deployed, the platform is exclusively intended for the end user. Dealing with the dual platform issues, the testing tools play a crucial role and transparent, but efficient way possible. In fact, such complexities are normally hidden from the end-users.
Final Words:
It’s difficult, rather highly contentious, to give an exact overview in short. Thus testing timing constraints is as important as testing functional behaviour for an embedded system.
If the timing short comes of the system are not met, system failure is said to have occurred. And for some systems, identified as safety-critical, failure is not an option.

How to Create Test Cases For Android Application

Posted on September 23, 2017 by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

A test case is a set of test inputs, their implementation conditions and expected results that are developed keeping a particular outcome in focus. In simple words, a test case is a set of conditions under which a tester checks in a particular system to determine if it meets the specific test requirements and functions properly.

Developing test cases is also helpful in determining the issues, requirements and design of a particular application being tested.
Test cases are categorized into two, which include formal and informal test cases. A formal test case includes a well-defined input and an expected output that is written before the execution of a test.
The aim behind writing an input beforehand is to test a precondition and that of output is to test a post condition. To test an application for all the requirements, there are at least one positive and one negative test case that is created for each requirement.
In case any of these requirements has a sub-requirement, then each sub-requirement will also have at least two test cases. Informal test cases are used when there are no formal requirements for a test.

These are written on the basis of the accepted normal operation of the programs of a similar class. To conduct these tests, imaginary situations are used to enable a tester to think about different probabilities in a complex situation.
However, these are not written in detail, these test cases can be as simple as a diagram or a description written in prose.
How to Write a typical Test Case?
Generally, there are different types of test management tools that are used by the companies to determine the elements that are to be included in a test case. This, in turn, leads to an inclusion of a different set of elements in each test. But, there are certain elements that are common in almost every test case as mentioned below:

Test suite ID
Test case ID
Test case summary
Related requirement
Prerequisites of conducting the test
Procedure to conduct the test
Test data or links to the same
Expected result
Actual result
Status of the test
Comments, if any
Creator and date of creation of the test case
Name of the executor
Date of execution
Test environment

Android Testing

Android is the most popular mobile operating system in the world with its number of varied versions available in the market. Like any other software, it is important to test an android apps rigorously to avoid any sort of flaws in its functioning such as, installation failure, crash during execution, scaling issues, layout problems, hang issue and issue with its landscape/portrait mode.
Levels of Writing Test Cases for Android Testing
Writing test cases is important to ensure the optimum functioning of any application. The test cases that are written by a team are typically categorized as per different levels. This is done to ensure that there are no duplicate efforts of a team being invested in a single function.
The levels of writing test cases are:

Level 1: This level includes the writing of test cases that are based on the available information about the product’s specification and user documentation
Level 2: Considered to be a practical stage, this level includes writing of test cases on the basis of actual functional and system flow of the application
Level 3: At this level, some test cases are grouped together to write a test procedure. Test procedure refers to a group of small test cases and can include a maximum of 10 test cases
Level 4: The process is automated at this level. This helps in minimizing the human interaction with the system, which enables the QA to focus only on currently updated functionalities to test

Tips to Write Test Cases for Android Application

Writing a good test case is easy. However, it just requires an individual’s hard work, determination and clear focus. Some of the simple tips to write an effective test case for Android application include:

Test cases should be written in such a way that they allow a person to test only one feature at a time
One should not overlap or complicate test cases
Cover all the positive and negative probabilities of the test outcomes
Write in simple language with exact and accurate names of forms, fields, etc.
Android developers should make sure that they continue to create test cases when the application code is still in the process of writing
Test cases should be stores in version control along with source code
The focus should also be on continuous integration of the new test cases
Tests should be run every time the code is changed
Avoid using emulators and rooted devices

Conclusion
Apart from these, it is also important that the test cases are accurate and meet the exact purpose of conducting a test. These should also be free from any sort of unnecessary information and be capable of being reused.

Conducting a test on an Android application is essential as this is one crucial step that can decide the fate of the entire application. If conducted properly, one can fix all the bugs and launch a superb quality product in the market. Therefore, make sure that launch of your next product is preceded by its thorough testing so as to ensure a superb quality.

A Beginner’s Guide to iOS Automation Testing

Posted on September 21, 2017 by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

Needless to mention, iOS is the official name of the platform licensed by Apple for its applications. And it is only through Apple devices that this platform allows applications to be installed and run. This is a sharp contrast to the Android operating system which authorizes other devices to operate its applications. Apple through its world-famous patented iOS platform makes its presence felt through devices such as the iPhone, iPad, iPod and iPad Mini. And these are the four devices that will demand the intervention of iOS app testing.

Tagged as an important characteristic for developers who churn out mobile applications provided by Apple, iOS automation testing comes with certain pre-defined objectives. Supporting a new instrument called as “Automation”, this is a type of UI testing that delves deep into looking into the functionalities of various applications teamed with Instruments that are tested for. Additionally, iOS Automation testing looks into the productivity of the JavaScript library. All in an attempt to authenticate an application, here is the rundown of the basic uses of iOS Automation testing.

A robust tool that permits you to collate information about the response and performance of a single or multiple processes that are running on the iOS platform
Permits you to collect varied types of data in addition to facilitating you to understand them closely by keeping all the information next to each other
Every instrument is tagged as a source of a different type of information that can either be classified under the head of “memory use” or “file access”
Can offer purse-friendly results by cutting down your cost of developing software alongside helping you garner increased productivity
Plenty of open source testing frameworks which support iOS automation testing can be incorporated

iOS Automation Testing – A One-Stop Solution to a “Bug-Free” Application
Not withstanding the fact that it takes a lot of time and effort to design and implement an iOS application, a word of caution is to ensure that every application is free from bugs. Given the numerous common bugs, these errors when overlooked will adversely affect the functioning of the application. Below is the list of the number of ways in which the name and fame of the iOS platform and the globally-renowned features of Apple can be safeguarded, alongside meeting your quality standards.

Instances of application crashing can be averted
Developers can steer clear of incompatibilities in an application
Can tighten the data security feature of iOS devices, thereby preventing them to be hacked
Can offer a strong retort to memory leaks

Below is an iOS Testing Mind Map, a graphical representation of the different facets that the iOS tester has to keep in mind while subjecting an application to Automation testing.

Types of iOS automated tests:

Unit Test – This is a test to validate a specific case in a class which ensures that the class can work and deliver results as a stand-alone operation.
UI Test – Also called as Integration test, UI test helps in testing user interactions of the application, ensuring that all the classes as in perfect sync with each other to deliver the intended result.

Having understood the basic information concerning iOS automation testing, now let’s get started with writing iOS automation testing cases.

Make use of XCTest: This is a helpful tool provided by Apple to facilitate Unit testing process. The XCTest framework is used to create a new Xcode project which includes 3 important factors:

A separate target for each and every test
A group for every test class
An example test

Create your first iOS Unit Test

Under this head, you need to create a new test case class while naming a new subclass
Exclude the boilerplate code
Next is to link your test with the class that should be tested
Write a test code
Add a private category
Initiate and run the test by pressing Command-U
Analyze the results which will be displayed via the Test Navigator

With the entire guidelines in place, you can create unit tests to verify and validate the performance of an iOS application through an automated and programmed manner. All for the sake of churning out a verified and fool-proof software, the iOS automation testing cracks the whip on data breaches and memory leaks that can damage the goodwill of Apple and its patented iOS platform.

5 Test Data Generation Techniques You Need to Know

Posted on September 20, 2017 by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

It is quite well-known that testing is the process in which the functionality of a software program is tested on the basis of data availability. The data available for conducting any test is the medium using which the entire functioning of the software is tested and then, the necessary changes can be implemented. But, what exactly is test data?

In simple terms, test data is the documented form which is to be used to check the functioning of a software program. It is the collection of data that affects or is affected due to the implementation of a specific module. Test data can be categorized into two categories that include positive and negative test data. Positive test data is used to validate whether a specific input for a given function leads to an expected result. Negative testing is done to check a program’s ability to handle unusual and unexpected inputs.
Test data generation is another essential part of software testing. It is a process in which a set of data is created to test the competence of new and revised software applications. This can either be the actual data that has been taken from the previous operations or a set of artificial data designed specifically for this purpose.
Generally, test data is generated in sync with the test case for which it is intended to be used. There are multiple ways in which test data can be generated. Some of these are as mentioned below:

Manual Test Data Generation

This is a simple and direct way of generating test data. Often done to cover all the essential test cases, the test data generated is, then, used to test various scenarios. Some of the common types of test data include null, valid, invalid, valid, data set for performance and standard production data.
One of the most prominent benefits of using this technique for test data creation is that it does not require any additional resources to be factored in. The test data is generally created by the testers using their own skills and judgments. However, this technique has its own disadvantages. The technique is time-taking and thus, leads to low productivity. It is difficult to get more data added as doing so will require a number of resources. Along with this, it is also important for the person entering the data to have a domain knowledge to create data without any flaw.

Automated Test Data Generation

This technique makes use of data generation tools, which, in turn, helps accelerate the process and lead to better results and higher volume of data. One of the common tools that is used in this technique is Selenium/Lean FT and Web services APIs.
One of the major benefits of automated test data creation is the high level of accuracy. There is also a better speed and delivery of output with this technique. The best aspect of this technique is that it can perform without the presence of any human interaction and during non-working hours. This, in turn, helps in saving a lot of time as well as generating a large volume of accurate data.
The major disadvantage of using this technique is its high cost. Moreover, these are available in a specific framework, which, in turn, makes it difficult to completely understand the system. This, in turn, makes it a mandate for the human resources to possess requisite skills as well as for the companies to provide adequate training to its available resources.

Back-end Data Injection

Back-end data injection technique makes use of back-end servers available with a huge database. This is because the existing databases can be updated directly using the test data stored in the database, which, in turn, makes a huge volume of data quickly available through SQL queries. However, this test data generation technique eliminates the need of front-end data entry, it should be ensured that this is done with utmost attention and carefulness so as to avoid any sort of fiddling with database relationships.

The best aspect of using this technique is in terms of its ability to quickly inject data into the system. It also demands less technical expertise from the person executing this process. Above all, it allows one to create backdated entries, which is one of the major hurdles while using manual as well as automated test data generation techniques.
But, this technique has its own drawbacks and can lead to disaster if not implemented correctly. It also requires one to have domain expertise so that he/she is able to understand the data flow in the system as well the entry of accurate database tables. There are also high risks of corrupted databases as well as application due to this technique. Therefore, it becomes important for the team to have a proper database backup while using this technique.

Third-Party Tools

Easily available in the market, third party tools are a great way to create data and inject it into the system. These tools have a complete understanding about the back-end applications data, which enable these tools to pump in data similar to the real-time scenario. Thus, it makes diverse data available in high volume for the testers.
The major benefit of using third-party tools is the accuracy of data that this offer. This is owing to the tools’ thorough understanding of the system as well as the domain. Another advantage is in terms of taking care of the backdated data fill, which allows users to execute all the required tests on historical data. Moreover, performing these tests does not require one to have detailed domain knowledge and expertise.
What bothers the users of third party tools is their huge cost that can burn a hole in the organization’s pocket. Another dis-advantage, is their limited use only to a specific type of system, which, in turn, limits their usage for the users and applications they can work with.

Path wise Test Data Generators

Considered to be one of the best technique to generate test data, this technique provides the user with a specific approach instead of multiple paths to avoid confusion. Using this technique helps the users to gain specific and better knowledge as well as predict its coverage. This technique makes the user enter the program to be tested, as well as the criteria on which it is to be tested such as path coverage, statement coverage, etc.
The test data generation techniques are multiple and varied. All one needs to do is choose the best one as per their requirements and program. If done properly, this can benefit the company in different aspects and lead to remarkable results.

What’s the Difference Between Alpha and Beta Testing: When to use them?

Posted on September 19, 2017 by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

Alpha and beta testing might be confusing when it comes to explaining it, but the clear distance would be

Alpha testing is done before product release to find out issues it can have once it reaches the user. It’s a kind of user acceptance testing where a group of people will be given access to an early version and their reaction to the software will be recorded via video and questionnaire

Beta Testing on the other hand is testing the software after deployment. The Beta version of the software will be released in the AppStore itself and limited users who have signed up for beta testing will get access to the app.

Phases of Alpha and Beta Testing

Phases of Alpha testing

Alpha, Beta, and Gamma tests are usually done for product-oriented companies.

Pre-Alpha:- During this phase the software is in a prototype form. Though the UI is complete, all other features might still be incomplete.
Alpha: During this phase, the Software is close to the development, and internal testing for bugs and flaws begins.
Beta: During this phase, the software is released to a certain user base known as beta testers to collect their reviews and feedback and then Amend the software based on that feedback.
Gamma: After Beta Testing the changes are made to the software and the software is tested for any bugs or flaws. No major changes are made in the functionality of the software during this phase, rather software is checked for bugs and they are corrected.
Release: If everything goes well, the software is released to the public.

Alpha Testing

Alpha testing is a type of internal testing performed for Commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) by a highly-skilled group of testers and engineers at the developing site to find bugs that were initially not found.

This dedicated team observes the behavior and notes the product down the differences.

It usually involves testing the product by imitating the real user environment by carrying out tasks that an actual user might perform.

Once the software passes the alpha test, it is considered fit to be used for the next phase, i.e. beta testing.

The term ‘alpha’ can be differentiated based on the projects it is used for.

In the case of a web application, alpha testing can be interpreted as an online application that has access via personal invitation, to gather initial feedback from the users for improvement and bugs.

Pros of Alpha Testing

Primarily used as usability testing which is done by internal developers who develop the app or by the testers
Critical issues or fixes can be addressed by developers immediately in Alpha testing
This is one of the fast ways of getting approval from the customer before proceeding with the process of delivery
Any major or minor changes, which might have been missed in the requirement gathering phase, can be fixed at this stage itself

Cons of Alpha Testing

Data presented by the customer usually doesn’t represent the actual data. Data created by testers/team might need a pre-approval from the customer
Since alpha testing is just the usability testing, reliability and security are not performed
The key users of the system deployed by the customer might not be the actual system users in reality and may be unaware of the working of it

Beta Testing

Beta-testing basically deals with imitating the end-users input to ensure release readiness.

It’s considered the last stage of testing and includes distributing the products to beta test sites and individual users.

Some other tests may also include testing a free trial of the product downloaded from the internet.

The product is then tested by users in real-time to find bugs that are left to be fixed. It is also used to determine the quality of the product.

Beta testing also includes many sub-tests if required, for some software, particularly for PC games.

These tests are known as Open beta tests and closed beta tests.

The closed beta test is followed immediately after the alpha test ends and is limited to only a few selected beta testers.

The latter which includes testing by the general public is then known as the open test.

Pros of beta testing

This testing helps in identifying the gaps between the actual implementation and the requirement gathering. This may add/remove a few requirements
Any requirement which may not have been captured initially in the contract is worked upon thereby reducing the product failure risk via customer validation
The Beta test ensures the application runs in a real business environment with live data
The after-sales service requirements may be identified in beta testing. Any support required for future implementation can be understood and arranged accordingly

Cons of Beta testing

Finding the correct beta tester or a group of testers can sometimes be difficult
Since the testing is carried out in a real-time environment, you cannot have any control over the testing mechanism

Gamma Testing
Many of us have been turning around the term ‘Gamma’ thinking about its importance.

It is the third and final testing phase just before the release of the app.

Since being the final phase of the testing, Gamma does not include any enhancements and changes to be made to the product, only the part of the code that is wicked or tends to affect the performance of the product can be changed.

It validates the performance and functionality of the product making sure the product is completely ready for use by the end-user.

Pros of Gamma testing

You can be assured of the safety and functionality of your application just before its market release. It does not bring any chance of modification and changes unless the identified bug is of high importance.
This testing is done directly without any in-house testing being repeated. Hence, saves a lot of time
You can be well sure about the readiness of the application, fulfilling all the requirements stated by the customer

Cons of Gamma testing

There is very limited scope for the team to update or change the code, and if there is any, it might hamper the performance of the application
Due to heavy deadlines, increasing pressure, and shorter development cycles, many organizations tend to skip the Gamma testing phase

Phases of Testing

Alpha, Beta, and Gamma tests are usually done for product-oriented companies.

Pre-Alpha:- During this phase the software is in a prototype form. Though the UI is complete, all other features might still be incomplete.
Alpha: During this phase, the Software is close to the development, and internal testing for bugs and flaws begins.
Beta: During this phase, the software is released to a certain user base known as beta testers to collect their reviews and feedback and then Amend the software based on that feedback.
Gamma: After Beta Testing the changes are made to the software and the software is tested for any bugs or flaws. No major changes are made in the functionality of the software during this phase, rather the software is checked for bugs and they are corrected.
Release: If everything goes well, the software is released to the public.

Difference Between Alpha Testing And Gamma Testing

	Alpha	Beta	Gamma
Why is it done	End to end testing of the software, make sure the software is ready for beta testing	Beta Testing is done to ensure that the software is ready to be released to the market	Gamma testing test the software for some particular requirements
When is it done	Alpha Testing is done at the end of the development phase	Beta Testing is done after Alpha Testing	Gamma testing is done after Beta Testing
Who does it	In house development or testing team	Beta testers who are a group of end-users conduct Beta testing	Gamma testing is done by a limited number of end-users with limited features and use
Result	Alpha Testing detects the bugs, flaws, missing features in the software	It is done to improve the functionality, usability, and compatibility of the software	It gives assurance to the software that all specified requirements are met
Next step	Beta Testing	Gamma Testing	Final release

Care to see an infographic about the difference between alpha and beta testing?
Entry and exit criteria for Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Testing
Entry Criteria for Alpha testing:

Software requirements document
Complete list of Test Cases
Testing Team
Test Lab environment setup
Ready QA Build
Test Management tool
Traceability Matrix

Exit Criteria for Alpha testing:

Execution of all the test cases and their pass status.
Completed Test summary report
Severity issues fixed and closed
Sign off document

Entry Criteria for Beta Testing:

Alpha Testing Sign off document
Completed Beta version of the software
Test Environment for Beta testers
Real-time fault catching tools
A team of Beta testers

Exit Criteria for Beta Testing:

All issues should be fixed
Beta tester’s Feedback report
Beta testing summary report

Entry Criteria for Gamma Testing:

Beta testing summary report
Software is ready for public release
Software fulfills all its requirements for the Public Release

Exit Criteria for Gamma Testing

Software is ready for market release
No critical bug is detected in the software
Software fulfills all the specified requirements

Conclusion

Alpha and beta testing are very important when it comes to software engineering. So next time, don’t forget to do your homework about alpha, beta, and gamma testing for improved software quality.

Why is Testing Domain Knowledge is Important For Testers?

Posted on September 18, 2017 by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

Quality Assurance? What’s great? Surely the argument continues since the developers run the code before the release and if anything goes wrong, the customers tell us, right? Unlike any other non-IT person, using apps which just didn’t work well or lag with performance is way too frustrating and inconvenient. Customers pay for our services thinking about the ease of use we provide with the numerous benefits it has to provide.
Have you ever thought about the factors that could be critical for the successful execution of the app you are running?
With today’s importance of QA’s in the software development life cycle (SDLC), there is also the need of testers with specialized domain knowledge.

Is Domain Knowledge Necessary For Testing
As the testing industry grows, the basic knowledge of testing isn’t sufficient to meet the growing market competition. The industry now demands domain and subject matter experts. Domain knowledge testing is used to acquire business use cases and software testing knowledge is required to glean on the ideas of the software to its limits. Hence a testing domain knowledge along with the software testing skills is always a plus point to the industry.
The value testing domain knowledge adds to your team ensures your users are happy. Here’s why:

To Built the Capability: Unless you are aware of the testing domain, you can’t write and execute test cases and codes to effectively simulate the end user. Its not about using it in a particular phase as it is required throughout the software testing life cycle.
Understanding of the Technical Terminology: When an issue arises, your team has a clear understanding of the applications technical terminologies which are required to understand the functionality of the system. For example, if there is an error in the payment process of your food order application, your domain knowledge expert will have a clear idea about the process and the steps needed for a successful transaction.
Increased Productivity of Team: Domain knowledge experts are high in demand due to their ability to understand the application beyond finding bugs. They can easily suggest and implement fixes in the most crucial times. This not only saves a lot of time, but thereby increases the productivity of your team.
Clear Code Analysis: With a better understanding of the working of the system, the tester is much more familiar with the data structure. Hence, resulting in quick and efficient tests and bug fixes.
Prioritize Bug Fixes: Since the test engineer has worked in the domain earlier, he will have a clear idea of prioritizing the bug fixes. While planning the bug fixes, the engineer not only saves the cost and time, but also refines and improves the product.
Reduce Training Time: A person with domain knowledge can be more productive which adds value to the projector product. A good knowledge of the functional flow of the business processes and business rules will help better understanding of the product requirements.

Conclusion
Being in an IT dominated world, the value of testing domain knowledge is incredible as it is undoubtedly the critical success factor for testers. While testing any app, it important to think about the end-user as quality assurance is directly related to business assurance. Therefore, its preferable to integrate domain and functional knowledge to your software testing life cycle for better results.

20 Steps to Configure Jenkins Email Notification

Posted on September 14, 2017February 1, 2024 by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

Emails have been an important aspect in every business due to its ease of use, omnipresence, and availability.
Several plug-ins are available in the market that allows you to configure every aspect of email notifications, one of which we are going to see now is Jenkin (Jenkins Email notification).
Jenkins email is a freeware software that allows continuous integration and delivery of ongoing projects.
You can customize it based on when an email is sent, who should receive it, and what the email says.
It is platform independent for testing and reporting changes in the base code in real time.
The software is installed on the main servers to access it centrally.
Jenkin Email notification is a Java-based plugin tool to automate notification alert whenever an Email is received.
It suits best for the CI (Continuous Integration) code.

Its plug-in framework makes it highly adaptive and Master-Slave framework makes it highly scalable, which in turn makes it worthy for start-up/Labs and big enterprises at the same time.

Steps to Configure Email Notification using Jenkin

Jenkins email notification configuration is a step by step protocol:
1. Install Jenkin
2. Open Jenkin on a local host. Setting up an SMTP server, navigate to Manage Jenkins (Manage Jenkins options is displayed on the right-hand side of the screen)
3. Once on the Manage Jenkins page, select the manage plug-ins option

4. Click the available tab on manage plugin page.

5. On the filer field displayed on the right-hand corner of the screen, start typing ‘Notification’.

6. Click the checkbox next to ‘Email-ext plugin’ option and install it.

7. Now click the checkbox next to ‘Email-ext Template Plugin’ and click the install without restart button

8. Go back to manage Jenkin, select the configuration system option.

9. Enter the SMTP server name, Email address, and password, check SSL and enter SMTP port

10. Test the Jenkin Email notification by sending a test email

11. Save the settings
To configure the advanced properties for the plugin, click on the Override Global settings check box, then click the advanced button. This allows you to define recipients for every type of email trigger and also a pre-send script that can be used to modify the email just before sending.

go to the home page , click created job and then ‘configure’

Know More: Top 10 Manual Testing Tools for 2019

you can also see a dropdown with the name ‘Add post-build action’

14. Select the email notification value

15. Enter the email ID of the recipient in the Email Notification box. Click the box next to it which says ‘Send e-mail for every unstable build’ option.

Click the Add-post-built action button again and select the ‘Editable Email Notification’ value

Fill the fields and then click the advanced settings option in the editable email notification box

Project Recipient List : email_id@gmail.com

Next you have to click ‘ Add trigger ‘ and then select always

Click ‘Save’
go to home page, click job and then ‘build now’

Conclusion
The main objective of using Jenkins in emails is to install and successfully configure the email-ext plugin.
Jenkins, is an open-source tool that can be used to perform Continuous Integration and build automation.
Using it, the development process can be easily integrated and the results are automatically created and tested, thus making identification of errors easier.

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What is the Need For Test Data Generation Techniques

Posted on September 13, 2017 by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

In order to ensure the quality of the software before launch, a team of professional quality-testers performs various kinds of software testing techniques. Test data generation techniques make use of a set of data which can be static or transnational that either affect or gets affected by the execution of the specific module.
The data can be used for positive and negative testing to confirm whether the desired function is producing the expected results or not and how software application will handle unexpected or unusual data?

Typically test data generation techniques are used in conjunction with test cases and test data that can be obtained manually, by automated test data generation tools, or through a copy of test data from production to testing environment, from legacy client’s system.
The main purpose or the need for test data generation can be summarized as follows:-
1) Need of Test data generation techniques for performance testing: –
The test data which require for testing that how fast software will respond or perform under workload must be real or live data which can be obtained through customers. Their feedback or an existing set of data can give you insight into how real-world data might look like.
If you are working in a team of maintenance testing project, you can copy test data from the production environment, but while copying, it will be beneficial to anonymize – customers Bank Details, Social Security Number, and Credit Card Numbers etc.
2) Need of Test data generation techniques for security testing:
The test data which require for testing security feature of the software which it can offer to the customer’s crucial private information must fulfill criteria like integrity, authentication, and authorization.
For Integrity (check information provided by the system is correct or not) category, test data can be designed on the basis of databases, code, file structures, and design. By various permutations and combinations of user-names and passwords test data Authentication (checks the identity of the user) criteria can be tested.
The various combinations of roles, users, and operations test data will check Authorization (it checks the rights or privileges to perform certain operations by specific users) factor.
3) The need of Test data generation techniques for functional testing: –
The test data for functional testing must include positive and negative scenarios, boundary conditions (test data values at the extremities of all possible values), and all functional flows defined in the requirement.
A single set of data can be used for testing similar test cases. To keep the test data pool optimized test data such as client ID’s, country codes can be reused across test cases.
Test data creation utility or tool which is capable of generating a spectrum of data to satisfy all the data requirements so that data can be reused across the release of the product will be beneficial for functional testing.
4) Need of Test data generation techniques for Black Box testing:-
In such testing, codes are invisible to the tester and he/she can use techniques like No data, Boundary Condition Data Set, Illegal Data Format, Valid/Invalid Data, Decision Table Data Set, State Transition Data Set, Use Case Test Data etc.
Test data generation is an important area of research to carry out proper software testing approach with reduced cost as the final aim of this method is to satisfy functional, non-functional or business requirements.

A well-defined test data can certainly help you identify and correct the flaws throughout the testing mechanism. Even after making the right choice of test data technique make sure that it is re-evaluated in every phase of the software testing life cycle.

Strategy and Methodology of Big Data Testing

Posted on September 11, 2017 by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

With advancement in technology and the new development taking place on a regular basis, there is a large pool of data that is also being generated. This, in specific terminology, is known as big data. Big data is a large pool of information which is made up of large data sets that cannot be processed using traditional methods of computing. This is because traditional methods work effectively on structured data stored in rows and columns and not for the ones that do not follow any specific structure.

Big data can be available in varied formats such as images or audio. This data varies in its structure as well as format for every record tested and is typically characterized by volume, velocity and variety.

Volume: Available in large amount, big data is generally available from different sources
Velocity: Generated at high speed, this data is to be processed and handled quickly
Variety: Big data can be available in various formats such as audio, video, email, etc

Big data testing
Availability of big data is leading to a demand of big data testing tools, techniques and frameworks. This is because increased data leads to an increased risk of errors and thus, might deteriorate the performance of applications and software.
When conducting big data testing, a tester’s goal is completely different. Testing of big data aims at verifying whether the data is complete, ensure an accurate data transformation, ensuring high data quality as well as automating the regression testing.
Strategy and methodology of big data testing
Big data testing is typically related to various types of testing such as database testing, infrastructure testing, performance testing and functional testing. Therefore, it is important to have a clear test strategy that enables an easy execution of big data testing.
When executing big data testing, it is important to understand that the concept is more about testing the processing of terabytes of data that involves the use of commodity cluster and other supportive components.
Big data testing can be typically divided into three major steps that include:

Data staging validation

Also known as pre-hadoop stage, the process of big data testing begins with process validation that helps in ensuring that the correct data is pushed into the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS). The data for which validation testing is done is taken from various sources such as RDBMS, weblogs and social media. This data is, then, compared with the data used in the hadoop process in order to verify that the two match with each other.
Some of the common tools that can be used for this step are Talend and Datameer.

“MapReduce” validation

MapReduce is the concept of programming that allows for immense scalability across hundreds of thousands of servers in a Hadoop cluster.
During big data testing, MapReduce validation is counted as the second step in which a tester checks the validity of business logic on every node followed by the validation of the same after running against multiple nodes. This helps in ensuring that:

Map Reduce process is working flawlessly.
Data aggregation or segregation rules are correctly executed on the data.
Key value pairs are generated appropriately.
Data is validated after Map Reduce process.

Output Validation

On successfully executing the first two steps, the final step of the process is output validation. This stage includes generating files that are ready to be moved to an Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) or any other system based on the specific requirements.
Output validation phase includes the following steps:

Validating that the transformation rules are correctly applied.
Validating the data integrity as well as successful loading of data into the target system.
Ensuring that there is no data corruption by comparing the target data with HDFS file system data.

Architectural & Performance testing
Big data testing involves testing of a large volume of data, which also makes it highly resource intensive. Therefore, to ensure higher accuracy and success of the project, it is important to conduct architectural testing.

It is important to remember that an improperly designed system may degrade software’s performance as well as does not allow it to specific requirements. This, in turn, generates a need of conducting performance and failover test services.
When performance testing is conducted on a system, it implies that it is being tested for aspects such as time taken to complete a job, utilization of memory and similar system metrics. On the other hand, the purpose behind conducting a Failover test is to verify that data processing takes place with a flaw in case of data nodes’ failure.
Conclusion
It is obvious that big data testing has a set of its own challenges such as need of technical expertise to conduct automation testing, timing issues in real time big data testing and need to automate the testing effort, it has numerous advantages over traditional database testing such as ability to check both structured and unstructured data.
But, a company should never rely on one single approach for testing its data. With an ability to conduct testing in multiple ways, it gets easier for the companies to deliver fast and quick results