Category: Software Testing Career

Why is Testing Domain Knowledge is Important For Testers?

Posted on 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.
Testing 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.

What is Sanity Testing With Example?

Posted on by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

Despite there being hundreds of articles, sanity testing has always remained as a misunderstood topic in software testing. To be honest, the confusing terminologies have contributed largely to the misunderstanding. Here, let us make the concept of sanity testing clear for you.
sanity testing
What is Sanity Testing?
Sanity Testing refers to tests that determine whether it is feasible and sensible to proceed with the software testing process. It is mostly done to check the health of the application that has been built, which basically is your first step.
The tests are performed when some changes are made to the code to ensure proper working of every functionality of the program. Therefore, these types of software testing normally remain undocumented and unscripted since the objective of the system is to check the new functionality and to ensure that the bug has been fixed.
How to do sanity testing?
After a successful regression testing is carried out, which includes testing that verifies the program actually works & performs the same way as it is expected to with the software, sanity testing is performed. It is performed in order to check for defects, which may have cropped up previously and are fixed accordingly and to ensure that no further issues crop up.
Many a time, the “Hello World” program is used for testing. If the program fails to compile or run, the supporting system has a configuration problem. If it works, any problem thereafter lies in the actual application.
Another method is to denote checks which are performed within the program code. This usually includes functions and arguments to see if the outputs are correct.
Example of sanity testing

Disadvantages of Sanity Testing

  • Focus is only on the commands and functions
  • Does not go to the design level of the software
  • Testing is performed only for limited features
  • No scope for future references since scripts are not there

How is sanity testing related to smoke testing?

  • It is commonly validated by smoke tests
  • If smoke tests fail it’s impossible to carry over sanity tests
  • Both of them are an exemplary option for not wasting time when it comes to testing

Reasons to perform sanity testing (Features)
Firstly, It offers great speed. Since it has a very narrow focus for functionalities to be tested, you don’t need to script or document the findings.
Secondly, It allows you to plan the next step in testing, ahead of its time. For example, if your test fails, you can dedicate your development team to fix the bugs first and keep aside the rest of the tasks.
Third, It can capture any configuration and deployment issues from the initial stages. The test will help you find such errors that can be quickly resolved and allow others to continue testing.
features of sanity testing
Fourth, at times during the constraints of release time, regression testing cannot be performed to the program build; hence, sanity testing does the work in a much simpler and faster way.
Lastly, It can also be performed as Adhoc testing. Many a time during testing, a set of test cases is run, which can affect the specific area under testing (area in which defect is fixed or area in which new functionality is added),
Final Words
Sanity testing has always been proved as one of the best testing techniques to avoid wasting time and effort. It is used as a quick method to ensure that the previous bugs in the program have been fixed and that the application works fine.

It is always defined as a subset of regression testing due to its similarities with the latter. Therefore, make sure to run sanity testing along with other testing methods to ensure the success and overall smooth functioning of the software.

How Does The Modern Tester Differ From The Traditional Tester?

Posted on by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

Software testing is evolving with each passing day and so is the role of a software tester. To launch the applications quickly, companies usually put constant pressure on testers to complete the testing of applications as quickly as possible. Further, software testers are also expected to upgrade their skill sets, know about coding, and understand the different functionalities of business.

app testing

Therefore, software testers are also expected to evolve.

To understand the importance of software testing, let’s take a scenario. While purchasing a new smartphone, we usually ensure that the phone is in absolute perfect condition. We definitely do not want our smartphone to have any scratch on the screen. Further, we also expect it to have a screen, a battery, a keypad and any other important component that is required for its best functioning.

Similarly, it should fulfill requirements such as the minimum required battery backup, specified megapixel of camera, processor performance and other specifications as given in the manual. Further, the package must also contain documentation specifying that the pre-sales checks have been completed.

In other words, the specification details provided must justifiably be fulfilled or else we will feel aggrieved. If the smartphone does not meet the given specifications then chances are that the testing of the smartphone is not done properly. Software testing is a process that verifies that the software works as per the requirements specified by the client.

With the new technological developments and more companies entering into software testing, software testers are now able to keep track of different testing processes, quantify and optimize these processes at each level of testing. Most software testing companies are now following modern way of testing.

The modern tester dominates the testing arena as compared to a traditional tester. In a traditional way of testing, the software testing takes place only after the build and execution phases. Whereas, in case of a modern way of testing, software testing is conducted at each stage of software development and installation, that is, at requirement stage, at design stage, at build and execution stage, at test stage, at installation stage and at maintenance stage.

Let’s understand how a modern tester differs from a traditional tester.

  • Role: Traditional testers use a single test strategy in all situations. They follow a single method of testing and are usually kept out of code bases. Unlike developers, they are not given many opportunities to enhance the existing processes. On the other hand, a modern tester not only enjoys as a member of the testing team but also participates in all the important phases of software development and testing.

Modern testers work with the software development team, customer support team and user interface design team. The main objective is to work in coordination with all these teams from the beginning of the software development so that at each phase of development, the software can be tested and rectified thereby eliminating time and cost involved in rectifying the bugs in the later phase of development.

  • Expertise: The expertise of a traditional tester is simply limited to testing and they are not required to get into the details of how to use their testing knowledge in each process of project development. Whereas, a modern tester plays an important role at every stage of project development. A modern tester forms different and unique testing strategies as per the project, observes different processes of business and how these processes work with applications and analyzes how the application can benefit the product owner.

automation testing

The modern tester need not be a programmer but has technical knowledge.

  • Tools: A traditional tester works with the tools provided by the company and often the tools are less advanced. Such tools include HPQuality Center(QC) and spreadsheets to report testing bugs. The incentive offered to a traditional tester is also quite less. A traditional tester often finds it difficult to adapt new testing tools, approaches and processes.

​​​​On the contrary, a modern tester is always curious to learn and explore different methods, strategies and approaches of testing. He or she explores the latest testing tools and test management software. A modern tester follows test-first and continuous delivery approaches.

  • Goals: A traditional tester is often under tremendous pressure and is primarily concerned with meeting deadlines and business goals. They are usually unaware of the bigger picture and this leads to indecisiveness. A modern tester, on the other hand, is aware of the bigger picture and directly contributes in making high-quality software keeping in mind the business needs and the end user requirements. Testing software becomes a team problem rather than the sole responsibility of the modern tester.
  • Skills: A traditional tester must have the following skills:
    1. Analytical, critical and logical thinking
    2. Rational conclusion
    3. Intellectual curiosity
    4. Skill to recognize and apply basic knowledge

Apart from the above-mentioned skills, a modern tester must have some additional skills, which are as follows:

  • Reading, analyzing and writing code
  • Understanding the bigger picture
  • Identifying and addressing design issues
  • Communicating and understanding technical and business requirements
  • Recognizing different use cases for manual testing

The traditional way of testing software fails to meet the testing challenges of the ever-growing rapid development environment. Therefore, a modern tester is considered more skillful at handling testing challenges in comparison to a traditional tester.