Category: Process

What is Split Testing? Why is it important?

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Imagine that you have launched or even revamped a website that has been your business forefront for a long time. Obviously there will be concern and anxiousness. But to make sure that the change works there is a process in existence. The name of the process is Split testing!
What is Split Testing?
The process allows you to compare various versions of websites to test which version offers a better conversion rate. In split testing, the page traffic is randomly distributed over various versions of the website.
split testing
The software used for the purpose tracks and analyze the performance of each of these versions to recognize which converts the maximum visitors to the leads. Split testing will find the version with the maximum conversion rate.
Need For Split Testing
The process provides qualitative feedback about the user’s experience of your website. It helps you identify the barriers that are stopping the conversion of your visitors into the leads.
The process gives you a report on which version of your website the conversion rate is highest and with which version do your users interact the most.

Why You Have to Choose Split Testing For Your Website?

  • It can be performed on any website: Split testing is not confined to any specific types of websites and can be executed for all types of websites.
  • Increased ROI: If you choose the correct A/B testing tool, split testing will not cost you high and will give you better returns. It helps you select the best version of your website, which will give you better conversion rates, hence the higher average order value and hence the greater turnover.
  • It is Easy: Not that complicated to execute, you can easily execute split testing to get desired results.
  • It is most suited for low-traffic sites: split testing is the only method to test the website conversion rate for low-traffic sites. It is also easy to distribute the traffic and analyze the results when the traffic is low.

How to Pick the Best Split Testing Tool?
A good tool not only performs testing but also analyses results and proposes steps to get better results.
A good tool should include all the necessary features like:

  • Data Insight: A good tool should offer data insights to recognize the customer journey.
  • Marketing Campaigns: It proposes a marketing campaign to improve your website marketing.
  • Usability: The tool should be easy to use.
  • Personalized experience: It should provide a personalized experience to reach the right audience.

Top 5 Split Testing Tool
Now when you the features of the good split testing tool, here we have for you a few of the best split testing tools. You can use any of these tools to identify the best website version for you.

  • Google Optimize: Being a Google product, there is no second thought on its capabilities. It is integrated with Google analytics for added advantage. It supports MVt and has an editor for both code and images.
  • Oracle Maxymiser: For more sophisticated campaigns, Oracle Maxymiser is the right choice. It offers a personalized experience and helps you target the exact user. The visual editor makes it easy to use and to create your rules directly. It provides a good analytics report.
  • Convert Experiment: It is easy to use the tool, with a live chat feature to assist you in your queries. It is integrated with Google analytics for better analytics.
  • Apptimize: If you have a responsive website design, then Apptimize is the best tool for your purpose. It supports mostly all coding languages
  • Adobe Target: Supported by Adobe marketing cloud, this tool is the best choice for enterprise based websites that can support a distinct test team. This tool supports real-time changes to the website.

How to Do Split Testing?
You should know the test factor and testing scenarios that are important to test. Usually, split testing is conducted when there are major changes to the website.

  • Relaunch of your website: you can get better results with less code implementation using CMS. It is very beneficial for websites and web pages where major changes take place.
  • Back-end heavy tests: The process can execute easily on websites and web pages with back-end heavy tests. It helps in the immediate and successful deployment of variation without any additional by developers.
  • Page copy length: Though short-form copy is better, it is on split testing to decide which is better after all things are data-driven and let data decide the actual scenarios.
  • Page copy position: positioning your content on pages is very important, but there are no fixed rules as to which position is best and will give you the best results, so let split testing do its work.
  • Sign up workflows: When you validate two versions of sign up processes, it is good to run the test. As it requires the implementation of less code and also enhances the overall performance.

Step by Step Methodology For Split Testing
You have to follow a systematized approach to execute the process. the steps you can follow are:
Step 1: Analyse Website Data
As a start, begin with website data. Deploy any website analytics tool to analyze your website data and its weak points. It will help you to find the right approach and prioritize your split testing.
Step 2: Create a Hypothesis
Split testing is never based on your personal opinion; it is driven by facts and data analysis. Make a hypothesis on which you want your testing to be based, you will later know on what basis the results are based on. A strong hypothesis will also help you know your specific goals.
Step 3: Test Your Hypothesis
Since now you have your hypothesis ready, create a new version based on it and test it against the original page.
Step 4: Make data-driven decision
Based on the results, decide which version of your website offered you better results. Your decision should be based upon the data obtained from the test.
5 Factors For Successful Split Testing
A few tips that you should follow to have successful split testing:

  • Choose the right one: There are two types
  1. A/B testing
  2. Multivariate testing (MVT)

A/B testing compares two versions where only one variable is different, while MVT can test multiple variables at a time. Depending upon your requirement and hypothesis choose the better option for your split testing.

  • It’s not a one-time process: Many companies test for split testing once and are satisfied with its results, but for growing your business you should continue to split test your website, to get better traffic and conversion rate on your website.
  • Make a correct hypothesis: Deciding upon which factor you want to test upon is a very crucial task. Don’t just randomly pick any testing variable, spend some time and use an analytical tool to decide the correct test variable.
  • Track the correct information: Always be assured of the deciding factor while execution.  The split test focuses on that factor only. If your aim is to attain a larger number of people reading your blogs, then make it your deciding factor and track it while you conduct split testing.
  • Focus on both short term and long term results: It is important to focus on both short term and long term results to get a deep insight into split test results.

5 Important Fields that You Should Consider While Split Testing 
Following fields play an important role in building your online presence.

  • Headlines: It is important to test headlines while performing split testing. Headlines are the deciding factor for the visitors to decide whether to stay or leave the page.
  • Offers and promotions: People are generally attracted by offers and promotions and they play a great role in lead conversion. The way you exhibit offers and promotions play a great role in capturing the users. So split test various ways to exhibit the offers and analyze their results.
  • Calls to Action: They are the communicating link between the users and the web page. Their placement, color, size, text, etc. should be properly verified in the test.
  • Colour: Colours have a great psychological effect on users; always test the usage of colors to get better returns.
  • Online advertising: Online advertising on various platforms like Google, Facebook, Instagram, etc. play a great role in marketing. Use tools like Google Analytics or Facebook analytics to validate your advertisements.

Who Should Implement Split Testing?

Difference Between Split testing and A/B testing

Split testing

A/B Testing
Control version is compared with entirely different version of a website Control version is compared with websites that has small changes
It’s better to use split testing when there are major changes Can be used to optimize the existing page
Can be used to find out one design direction is better than the other Can be used to test one variation of a variable and that too even on a single page

Conclusion
In the scenario where the world is dependent on the web for all its needs and it has become the most popular platform to get access to your requirements, you need to build your reputation to get ahead of your competitors.

Getting ahead based on your assumptions is not a right and long-lasting method. You need to get hold of some more reliable ways to assure your success.
And split testing is one reliable method to get more visitors and leads. To assure that you carry out split testing for your websites and web pages.

What is Agile Testing? Process, Methodology and Strategies

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The agile Testing methodology has gained a lot of importance and popularity nowadays when it comes to software testing modern-day software. It is an intelligent way of testing complex software that bears more efficient end results than traditional testing methods.
This is a complete guide to Agile Testing, explaining all the important aspects related to it.

What is Agile Testing?
Agile testing is an iterative and incremental testing process in which software requirements are gathered gradually throughout the testing process.
Agile Testing is a part of the Agile Software development process which is carried out with the help of customer’s involvement. The agile testing process starts at the beginning of the software development process and there is no integration required between the development and testing processes.

As the development and testing are integrated into this process, it allows early error detection and removal which results in less development time as well as costs. This also ensures high product quality as errors get removed in the initial stage itself.
The basic principles on which Agile Testing is conducted are:

  • Agile testing is a continuous process and it ensures smooth project progress.
  • Product and business requirements are realized through continuous feedback. Feedback are provided on an on-going basis.
  • In Agile Testing, the development team, testing team, and the customers, all are involved in the testing process.
  • There is very little documentation required in Agile Testing as all the testers us a reusable checklist instead of lengthy documents. The main focus is on the test in this process.
  • The errors are resolved by the testing team as and when they occur, in the same iteration. This results in simpler and clean code.
  • Traditional testing is performed after the software is developed. However, agile testing is performed along with the development process which helps reducing development time.

Agile Testing  Methodology
Agile Testing  Methodology
TDD (Test Driven Development)
As the name suggests, the test-driven development approach starts with the test itself. It depends upon the repetition of the development cycle.
The first step in this development cycle is to create a unit test case. The next step involves creating the code which fits the test case so that the test case can be run. Thus, the entire code is created until the unit test passes.
This test is usually performed with the help of automated testing tools and run on units and components of the code.
ATDD (Acceptance Test Driven Development)
In this testing methodology, the developers, testers and the customers together build an acceptance test from the point of view of the customers in order to understand the requirements of the customers.
The code is developed according to the acceptance test case created.
This testing method is very customer-centered, and the main aim is to get to develop a program according to the user’s perception.
BDD (Behaviour Driven Development)
BDD is built on the same principles as TDD and ATDD. Thus, the code is developed according to the test case created in this testing methodology too.
The main aim of this development is to focus on the identification of business needs and outcomes. The development should be related to a business outcome.
The steps that are followed in BDD are:

  • First, describe the behavior
  • Creating the test case
  • Writing code according to the test case defined
  • Continuing the process until the code passes the test case.

Exploratory Testing
In this software testing methodologies, the testers have complete freedom to explore with the code and develop the most efficient software.
The testers create multiple test cases in order to explore each aspect of the software functionality. Testers perform different tests and record the process to study it and figure out the exact flow of the software.
This type of testing is a very important part of the agile test as it helps uncover hidden risks from the software which could not have been detected by simple testing methods.
Session-Based Testing
Session-based testing is built on the principles of exploratory testing. However, unlike exploratory testing which is conducted spontaneously without any planning, there is some structure in session-based testing.
This structure is provided by conducting tests during uninterrupted sessions where testers are required to report the tests that took place during the process.
The session-based testing methodology also helps in finding hidden bugs and defects in the software.
Agile Testing Life-cycle
agile testing life cycle
There are 5 phases in the Agile Testing Life-cycle:

  •  Agile Test Planning

The first phase is creating Agile Test Plans. In this phase, all the stakeholders: developers, testers, customers and users, come together and plan testing schedules.

  •   Daily Scrums

The goals and targets of the day are set at the start of each day. It helps testers realize the status of the testing.

  • Test Agility Review

Agility reviews are performed frequently in the development process. These are done to analyze the progress of the development.

  • Release Readiness

In this phase, testers decide which assess which features are completely developed and ready to go live and which ones need to go back to the previous development phase.

  •  Impact Assessment

This phase is the feedback phase of the life cycle which helps testers set goals for the next life-cycle. The inputs and feedback are collected from users and stakeholders to perform an impact assessment.
Agile Test Plan
Agile Test Plan
The Agile Test plan includes all the types of testing performed in a particular iteration. It includes the following:

  • It defines the test scope, sprint goals, test and extent to which the test is to be performed
  • It specifies the testing tools to be used, data and configurations for the test and the environment in which the test will be performed.
  • It schedules the test tasks and frequency of tests, i.e. how many times will they be performed.
  • It defines the testing methods and techniques
  • It also determines the expertise and training required to carry out tests.
  • It sets the priority of the tests according to the customer’s point of view.

Agile Testing Strategies
agile testing strategies
iteration 0
Process involved

  • Initial stages of testing such as tester selection, selection of testing tools, resource allocation, testing method selection, etc.
  • Risk identification
  • Cost estimation
  • Boundary condition establishment and scope defining

Construction iteration
This process can be divided into two confirmatory testing and investigative testing. confirmatory testing is performed to make sure that the product satisfies all the requirements of the stakeholders.
Investigative testing is performed to test deep and find all the issues that are ignored in confirmatory testing.
confirmatory testing can be again divided into agile acceptance testing and developer testing. Both the tests can be automated to make sure that continuous regression testing happens
Agile acceptance testing is a combination of functional testing as well as acceptance testing. on the other hand developer testing is a mix of unit testing and integration testing
Production
Once the release stage is completed the product will move on to the production stage
Agile Testing Quadrants
agile testing quadrants
The Agile testing quadrant divides the entire testing process into 4 parts. This makes the Agile testing process easy to understand.
Among the 4 quadrants, the left 2 tell the testers which code to write and the right 2 quadrants help them understand the code better with the help of feedback to the left quadrants.
Quadrant 1
This quadrant focuses on the quality of the code. It includes test cases and test components that are implemented by the testers.
These test cases are for automation testing to help to improve the code.
Quadrant 2
This quadrant contains business-driven test cases which are also implemented by the testing team.
The main focus of this quadrant is on customer requirements. It improves the business outcomes of the software being created.
It contains the following tests:

  1. Testing scenarios which may occur and workflow
  2. Testing the user experience
  3. Performing pair testing

Quadrant 3
This phase provides feedback for the previous two phases.
There are many iterations of reviews and feedbacks carried out in this quadrant which helps to strengthen the code.
Usability tests, exploratory tests, user acceptance tests, and collaborative tests are performed in this quadrant.
Quadrant 4
The non-functional requirements of the code, such as performance, security, scalability, etc. are taken care of in this quadrant.
Testing for stress and performance is carried out in this phase. Security and infrastructure test, data migration and load testing.
This quadrant makes sure that the code satisfies all the non-functional requirements.
 Difference Between Agile Testing Vs Waterfall Testing

 Agile Testing Waterfall Testing
Incremental approach Sequential process
The project will be divided into sprints The project will be divided into a sequential process
Meant for small projects Meant for all sort of projects
Starts at the beginning of the product and changes in the middle is not an issue The product can be only tested at the end of the project
unstructured More secured
Less priority for documents High priority
Testers and developers can work together Both testers and developers have to work separately

Advantages of Agile Testing

  • saves time and money.  Because the testing is carried along with the development. The errors and bugs are fixed at the same time and no additional time s required to test the entire software, find errors and solve them.
  • There is little to no documentation required in Agile testing as testers use reusable checklists.
  • Feedback is also a part of the Agile testing life-cycle and users give feedback after each process iteration.

Conclusion
Agile Testing is the best testing methodology for the modern-day software which is highly complicated and requires in-depth testing.
This testing methodology is very customer-centric. It requires high customer involvement in order to deliver a better quality of software that meets customer and user expectations.

This testing demands a high level of communication between developers, testers as well as customers and users as they all work together in testing the software.
Agile testing allows testers to be flexible and incorporating any requirement changes is very easy in Agile development.
This testing is becoming increasingly popular among major software development companies. It is a smart way of testing and the end result is of better quality too.
agile testing pdf

Black Box Testing Techniques with Examples

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What is black box testing?

Black box testing refers to a software testing method where the SUT (Software under Test) functionality is tested without worrying about its details of implementation, internal path knowledge and internal code structure of the software.

This method of testing is completely based on the specifications and requirements of the software.

The focus of the black box testing is upon the output and inputs of the software system rather than the program’s internal knowledge.

The system that undergoes this type of testing is considered as the “black box”, and it can be any software like a database, website or an Operating System.

black box testing

What Is The Purpose Of Black Box Testing?

Black box testing focuses on testing the complete functionality of the system as well as its behavior.

This testing method is also referred to as behavioral testing and functional testing.

This testing method is critical during the stages of software testing life cycle like regression testing, acceptance, unit, system, integration and software development.

The techniques of Black box testing are beneficial for the end users who wish to perform software verification.

Techniques of Black Box Testing

The following are the techniques employed while using Black box testing for a software application.

BVA or Boundary Value Analysis:

It is one among the useful and critical Black box testing technique that helps in equivalence partitioning. BVA helps in testing any software having a boundary or extreme values.

This technique is capable of identifying the flaws of the limits of the input values rather than focusing on the range of input value. Boundary Value Analysis also deals with edge or extreme output values.

Equivalence Class Partitioning:

Equivalence Class Partitioning

This technique of Black box testing is widely used to write test cases. It can be useful in reducing a broad set of possible inputs to smaller but effective ones.

It is performed through the division of inputs as classes, and each class is given a value.

It is applied when the need for exhaustive testing arises and for resisting the redundancy of inputs.

State Transition Testing

 

This technique usually considers the state, outputs, and inputs of a system during a specific period.

Based on the type of software that is tested, it checks for the behavioral changes of a system in a particular state or another state while maintaining the same inputs.

The test cases for this technique are created by checking the sequence of transitions and state or events among the inputs.

The whole set of test cases will have the traversal of the expected output values and all states.

wish to know the difference between functional and non-functional testing?

Decision Table Testing:

In some instances, the inputs combinations can become very complicated for tracking several possibilities.

Such complex situations rely on decision tables, as it offers the testers an organized view about the inputs combination and the expected output.

This technique is identical to the graph-based testing technique; the major difference is using tables instead of diagrams or graphs.

Graph-Based Testing:

This technique of Black box testing involves a graph drawing that depicts the link between the causes (inputs) and the effects (output), which trigger the effects.

This testing utilizes different combinations of output and inputs. It is a helpful technique to understand the software’s functional performance, as it visualizes the flow of inputs and outputs in a lively fashion.

Error Guessing Technique:

This testing technique is capable of guessing the erroneous output and inputs to help the tester fix it easily. It is solely based on judgment and perception of the earlier end user experience.

Apart from the above-explained popular techniques of this testing, there are few more, such as the fuzzing technique, all pair testing and orthogonal array testing.

Examples of Black Box Testing

The example given below throws light on how the techniques of this testing can be used to test the specific software with given inputs

While considering a shopping scenario,

  • Shop for $500 and receive a discount of 5%
  • Shop for $1000 and receive a discount of 7%
  • Shop for $1500 or more and receive a discount of 10%

With the help of Equivalence partitioning technique of this testing, it is possible to divide inputs as four partitions, amount less than 0, 0 – 500, 501 – 1000, 1001 – 1500 and so on. The details such as the maximum limit for shopping and the product details will not be considered by this testing technique.

When boundary value is added to the partitions, the boundary values will be 0, 500, 501, 1000, 1001 and 1500. With the BVA technique, the lower and upper values are usually tested, so values like -1, 1 and 499 will be included. Such values will help in explaining the behavior of the input values in software.

According to State Transition Testing technique of Black box testing, when a shopper shops above $1500 two times in a month, their status gets changed from Gold to Platinum, and if he does not shop for the next 2 months, the status gets back to Gold. Using further test cases, it is possible for the tester to such complex track.

Types of Black Box Testing

There are several phases of which are segregated into different types, such as regression testing, unit testing, beta testing, integration testing, system testing, functional testing, load testing, etc. But, the prominent types are explained below.

Functional Testing:

This type of testing is useful for the testers in identifying the functional requirements of a software or system.

Regression Testing:

This testing type is performed after the system maintenance procedure, upgrades or code fixes to know the impact of the new code over the earlier code.

Non-Functional Testing:

This testing type is not connected with testing for any specific functionality but relates to non-functional parameters like usability, scalability and performance.

Difference between Black Box Testing and White Box Testing

Used to test software without knowing the internal structure of the software Performed after knowing the internal structure of the software
Carried out by testers Performed by developers
Does not require programming knowledge Requires programming knowledge
Requires implementation knowledge Does not require implementation knowledge
Higher level testing Lower level testing
Consumes less time Consumes a lot of time
Done in the trial and error method Data domains and boundaries can be tested
Types of black box testing
 1. Functional testing
2. Regression testing
3. Non-functional testing		 Types of white box testing
 1. Path testing
2. Loop testing
3. Condition testing
Not suitable for algorithm testing Suitable for algorithm testing

Levels to with Black Box testing are applicable to

  • Integration testing
  • System testing
  • Acceptance testing

How to do Black Box testing?

  • Requirement and specifications will be examined
  • Positive inputs, as well as negative inputs, will be given to the system to verify it
  • Outputs for the tests will be defined earlier
  • Test cases will be executed
  • Actual outputs and expected outputs will be compared
  • Fixed issued will be retested

Major Tools used for Black Box testing

What is Soak Testing? Definition and Examples

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Software systems are subjected to heavy loads continuously. Google Search is an apt example of such scenarios. But what if such software breaks after a certain time of bearing heavy loads? It can affect large masses of people and can even break their trust in the software. Hence it is very important to ensure that such heavy load software are aggressively tested. To test software for heavy load for over a continuous time, we require soak testing.

What is Soak Testing?

Soak Testing is a type of performance testing where the software under load is tested to validate that it can endure heavy loads for the extended period.
Why Should You Perform a Soak Test?
Soak testing is very important and is conducted to recognize and augment possible issues like memory leaks, resource leaks, or deprivation that can happen over time due to constant heavy load over the system.
Prevention Is Better Than Cure
It is very essential to reduce performance errors and system errors from the system. Soak testing loads the system with a heavy load for a continuous period, hence determining its ability to sustain heavy loads for a long period. This type of testing is important for a website that bears a heavy load for a continuous time frame. Some of such websites are search engines, social media sites, etc.
The main Objectives of Soak Testing are: 

  • One of the main objectives of soak testing is to validate software behavior when subjected to heavy loads for a continuous long time.
  • Another main objective is to predict system failure during heavy load conditions.
  • Soak testing also validates the performance of the system.
  • It also validates the system is dependable and steady.

When is Soak Testing done?
Soak testing is a complicated job and is very time-consuming. Hence it should be carried out in a particular time so that no other testing activities are disturbed and the complete software testing process goes on smoothly.

  1. Soak testing is better to be conducted after load testing. Before the build is installed, and it is gone through a series of load tests at high traffic levels. After the accomplishment of load testing, a round of soak testing is done.
  2. Soak testing requires a lot of time to be executed, sometimes the soak tests last for full day and night. Hence soak testing should be performed at a time, when it does not hinder any other testing activity. The weekends are the best times for conducting soak testing, as the testers can execute the soak testing test cases and can let it execute over the weekend.

Concerns in Soak Testing
Soak testing is a time-consuming process; hence keeping in mind the duration of executing its test cases and amount of test data, few considerations has to be taken before executing soak testing. Here are a few considerations for executing soak testing:

  • How long do you have to execute soak testing, is one major question when considering soak testing. It is very important to decide what time frame you will consider for soak testing. The execution time of soak testing is generally decided by the availability of the system for conducting soak testing and delivery deadlines.
  • It should be very well considered that each application can execute without any interruptions during the execution of soak testing.
  • It should include all the scenarios decided during the requirement phase based on customer’s requirements.
  • The maintenance window time is a major aspect in determining the scope of soak testing.

Read also : What is Waterfall Model? Pros and Cons

What are the failures that are detected by Soak Testing?
The soak testing is very important, it helps in validating software for bearing heavy load for continuously long periods. The soak testing helps in the detection of issues like:
Memory Leaks:
Soak testing helps in the detection of some of the major issues which can even lead to the system crash. It helps in the detection of serious memory leaks which can not only crash the application or the software but can also crash the complete operating system in which the application runs.
Layer Connections Failure:
There is a very close connection between the layers of the software or the system, and defect or failure in these connections can lead to an interruption in the complete module. Soak testing helps us detects any such failures of connections between the layers of the system.
Database Connections Failure:
Under some situations, soak testing can also detect database connection failures. These failures can result in crashing of the complete system, and hence detection of such failures is very important, soak testing assists us in the detection of such Database Connections Failure
Response Time Degradation:
One of the major issues that heavy loads can lead to is losing the efficiency of the system by increasing the response time. Soak testing helps in the detection of such response time degradations, hence giving the developers a chance to fix this issue to make the system free from any Response Time Degradation issues.
Soak Testing Strategy
Strategy plays a very important in software testing. it is equally important in soak testing as well. It is very important to strategize your soak testing efforts before actually executing the soak testing:

  • Testing Environment:

Setting up of testing environment is one major phase of software testing. It helps analyse the software, hardware, operating system, and database on which the tests have to be performed. In soak testing also creating up of test environment is very important and plays a major role.

  • Test Scenarios:

Soak testing is a very wide process. It is also very time consuming, hence it becomes very important to plan, analyse, and conclude the test scenarios before executing soak testing test cases. The development team also play a major role in determining test scenarios by letting the testing team know the amount of load that can be adhered on the system.

  • Test Estimation:

Soak testing as discussed earlier is extensive testing. It requires long hours to execute soak testing test cases. Though, this duration of execution may vary according to the scope of the system and participation of the development team, clients, and more.

  • Risk Analysis:

The probable risks and issues are analysed to conduct soak testing.
Soak testing tools
The list of tools that can execute is pretty long. Mainly the tools used for load testing are also used for soak testing by setting up the load and durations field in the test tools.

Read also : What is Data Breach? How to Prevent Data Breach

Some of the automated testing tools that can assist in soak testing are LoadUI, Apache JMeter, Appvance IQ, WebLOAD, and various plugins on Jenkins and GitHub.
Advantages of Soak Testing
Soak testing is very important and has many added advantage in delivering a defect-free system:

  • It ensures that capabilities of the software system.
  • Soak testing helps in finding defects that cannot be detected by the performance testing
  • It helps in making the software system more robust by detecting the defects that can be induced in the software due to continuous heavy load conditions.
  • It validates the sustainability of software system over a time period.
  • The soak testing results are used to improve the client-side infrastructure and hardware.

Disadvantages of Soak Testing
Soak testing has many advantages, but as every coin has two sides, soak testing tools has many advantages and few disadvantages. Though these disadvantages do not affect the soak testing test results but are essential to be considered before executing soak testing.

  • Soak testing is a very time-consuming process and can even take a couple of days and nights to execute it. Such a long process can result in delayed product delivery and hence executing soak testing or not has to be decided based on the time limitations of the project.
  • Running soak testing manually is a very bad idea as soak testing is a time-consuming task and also requires a large amount of data. Doing it manually can result in wrong test results and hence it is must to execute soak testing using the automated tools.
  • It is very important to detach live environment from the test environment while executing the soak testing, as any anomaly in executing the soak testing can corrupt the complete live environment resulting in data loss or data corruption permanently.
  • Determining the extent of soak testing to be performed is very difficult. You can hardly get an idea of how much soak testing has to be performed to give the best results.

Examples of Soak Testing
Search engines are an apt example for soak testing. Search engines are continuously used by millions of people around the world. Search bars keep lying idle for few on their mobile handsets, for few they have some search typed over but are left unattended and few are rigorously searching for information over search engines. These search engines are a must to be tested for soak testing.

The Banking software is continuously tested for load for around 70 hrs to 150 hrs. They are induced with large data and are uninterruptedly tested for long hours.
Similarly, there are many other applications and software that experience heavy loads for long hours. Executing soak testing for them is very important to ensure the utmost safety of the system. Some of this software are social media sites, gaming sites, etc.
Conclusion
Soak testing is a type of performance testing that validate that software can tolerate heavy loads continuously for long durations. Although it is very time consuming and requires a large amount of data, it is very important to execute soak testing to ensure the high-end performance of the software system.
soak testing pdf

Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC)

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Software testing is a very important part of software development.  owing to the huge demand and necessity of testing nowadays, The software testing process is now getting more intricate, and competent.  Because of that, Software testing not only limited to finding bugs but plays an important role in delivering a quality product to the end-users and on time. This has resulted in making the whole testing process streamlined and organized. And that led to the development of the software testing life cycle or what is commonly known to us as STLC.
What is STLC?
The software testing life cycle is a sequential flow of various testing processes that are to be executed to ensure maximum results from software testing. STLC ensures that all the testing processes are carried out in an orderly and planned manner.
We have understood that STLC is a process, now look at the different steps involved in this process:

  1. Requirement Gathering
  2. Test planning
  3. Test case Development
  4. Set up the test environment (Test, Int, Prod)
  5. Test case Execution
  6. Test cycle Closure/Maintenance

Software Testing Life Cycle
1. Requirement Gathering
Requirement Gathering is the very first Step in the STLC process. The document containing these requirements is called the Specification Document. This is a very important part of the software because all the development would be revolving around this document.
It is always advised to get a sign off from the client for the requirements document, to reiterate the correctness of the specification that the client is looking for. It is with these requirements that testers would be able to come up with the test cases.
Requirements will be either in the form of a document or User Stories. In Agile a requirement is called User story. Each user story can be further broken down into several tasks and assigned to different members of the team.
The requirements are received from clients/stakeholders who are in need of the product/service. A BA (business analyst) is normally the person who prepares this document after discussions with the client. It is advisable to have the client, the BA, product owner or manager along with team leads (including QA lead) and architects should be attending the requirement gathering meeting.
Entry Criteria

  • Availability of requirement Document, acceptance criteria and application architectural document.

Activities

  • Recognizing the tests to be executed.
  • Identify test priorities and focuses
  • Create Requirement Traceability Matrix (RTM).
  • Recognize details about the test environment
  • Carry out Automation feasibility for the testing.

Deliverables

  • RTM
  • Automation feasibility report.

Exit Criteria

  • RTM
  • Automation Feasibility report

2. Test Planning
Once the requirement analysis is over next is the planning phase. Team lead/Test Lead or sometimes Manager will prepare the Test Plan document. This plan will be kept in share drives or test management tools like Rally, ALM, etc. so that they are accessible to everyone.

The test plan document is a single point of reference when it comes to all testing activities. It also works like the document that is shared between the Dev team, Business Analysts, Project Managers,  and the other teams for concurrence.
Owing to this transparency of the QA team’s work to the external teams will increase to a great extent. The main input needed for the test plan is the signed of requirement document.
Test plan Document may have the following Sections:
1. Entry Criteria
It specifies the conditions which must be satisfied for the testing process to begin. The most common entry for testing is a stable build that has passed the smoke test within the minimum number of failures or the data setup is ready or the hardware is ready etc.
2. Scope 
The scope of the Testing will be listed in this section.
The scope of the testing refers to the list of requirements from the requirement document that are feasible for testing in that particular release or iteration.
There will also be a traceability matrix created which will map the requirements to feasibility, test cases, test case runs, test case status and defects. This matrix will clearly indicate the status of the testing and quality of the product.
3. Out of Scope
Out of Scope feature will be listed in this section.
Any features or requirements which are not covered as part of the current release will be marked as out of scope. There can be several reasons for marking an item as out of scope. Data setup not available, dependency on other modules, application not ready, not feasible for testing are some of these reasons.
4. Assumptions
Assumptions are listed in this section.
As the name suggests this section would contain the list of things we think would be ready when we are starting the testing. Some of the items covered in this section are application is up and running, resources are available, hardware setup is up and running. Each project can have a different set of assumptions.
5. Schedules
Here we can write about how many test cycles are needed. Start date and end date of each cycle, the sequence of testing, etc. This section will contain an estimate of the number of test cases available and how long it will take to script and test each of these.
Then based on the number of resources available a timeline is reached for test case creation, data preparation (if applicable), and test case execution and reporting.
6. Roles and Responsibilities
Team members and their roles and responsibilities are listed in this section. Since this test plan document is shared with the development and other teams, it helps them to know whom to contact in case needed.
7. Defect management
This section talks about the process followed for reporting and closing defects. Most companies use test management or defect tracking tools like ALM, Bugzilla, and Rally, etc. This section also discusses to whom the defects will be assigned and the steps to closure.
8. Deliverables
This section contains the list of documents the testing team promises to deliver after the testing process is completed. Test results summary, defect list, and testing metrics are some of the deliverables that can be mentioned here.
9. Hardware and Environments
This section mentions the hardware requirements and setup that is needed for testing and the environment in which the testing will be done in each phase. In most cases, the testing is done in QA or Stage environment with a dummy copy of production data.
10. Risks
This is a very important section that lists out the risks and contingencies along with the mitigation plan. There can be many types of risks like hardware failures, application downtime, data unavailable, etc. These basically refer to issues that can impact your testing activities and schedule. For all risks mentioned, it is advisable for a mitigation plan. This is like a plan B when plan A fails.
11. Exit Criteria
Here we need to mention when the testing will be stopped. There are 2 situations when testing is stopped. One, when the testing is completed.
In this, the exit criteria would be testing completed for all test cases and x% of the defects closed. (X is the % of defects closed and would be decided by the management). Second, when testing needs to be stopped due to various reasons. Build instability, too many Sev 1 and Sev 2 defects or reduced timelines can be some of these reasons.
3. Test Case development
What is a test case?
A TEST CASE can be defined as a set of variables with which is used by a tester to determine whether the system under test satisfies requirements and works correctly. The process of developing test cases can also help find problems in the requirements or design of an application.
Who will write the test case?
Usually, the Test case document will be developed by the testers. The test cases are written in such a way that it validates each requirement.
The test case is based on what document?
Test cases will be based on the requirement document (SRS- Software Requirement Specification) or in agile where we do not have proper requirement document the test case will be based on the User stories

How do you identify Test cases?
Ideally, for each requirement, there should be at least one test case. In Agile User, Stories will be broken into tasks. Usually, there will be multiple test cases for each requirement/task. The mapping of the Test case to Requirement is called the Traceability Matrix.
While writing the test cases one should be careful to make sure that a maximum number of options, navigations, and validations are covered. Ideally, the test cases should be written such that every branch of the code is exercised.
Different Types of Test cases
Regression Test cases:
Regression test cases are those which cover stable and previously rolled out functionalities. Regression test cases are usually automated and are called Regression Suite. Also known as Sanity testing
Functional Test cases:
Functional test cases are test cases that validate the functional aspect of the AUT. Most of the UI and interface-related test cases would be functional. Login, logout, navigational flow and error scenarios are examples of functional test cases.
Non Functional Test Cases:
The test cases which are not related to the functionality of the application are known as non-functional test cases. For example the layout of the page, font, color, text size, image size, etc.
Integration Test cases:
When data flows from one system to another, then the test cases need to be elaborately written to cover this. These are called integration tests as they validate the integration between one or more systems.
Performance Test cases:
Test cases related to Performance of the site or application like the loading time, load it can take, etc.
White Box Test cases:
Some amount of technical knowledge is needed to write white box test cases. These test cases validate the developer code and the functional modules developed.
Let us now try to write a typical test case. It should have the following fields

  • Test case number
  • Test case Name
  • Input steps
  • Test case Type(functional, performance, Regression)-optional
  • Expected Result
  • Actual Result
  • Status
  • Requirement No
  • Bugs associated (Bug ids)

If Expected Result and Actual result matches Status will be pass else fail.
4. Setting up Test Environment


Most of the companies will have a different environment to test against examples of environment would be TEST, INT, and PROD (testing, integration, and production).
There could be multiple test environments. The setup would also include any data and device setup that is needed to kick start the execution process.
Once the test cases are ready next test environment needs to be set. For example, if we are going to execute the test cases against “Test Environment “the build which developer sends for testing need to be deployed in Test Environment.
Sanity check or Regression needs to be run and there should be no new failure which means the new feature is not affecting the existing application. Only then QA can execute test cases against it.
5. Test case Execution
Here is where the actual execution takes place. Each tester is assigned a separate set of test cases. Based on the step to reproduce as mentioned in the test case document, the tester would validate whether the mention functionality is pass or fail. In case it is a fail, he needs to open a defect for the defect. He may also be required to attend triage meetings to help the developers to better understand the problems and hence fix it too.

Read also : Test Management Process: A Complete Guide

While the testing is in progress the team would be having a daily status reporting to the test lead or manager to track the progress. The team may also need to be constantly in touch with the developers to help them understand the issues and defects.
In case any bug fixes are received, the team needs to make sure the issues are actually fixed and also validate that the fix has not adversely affected any other functionality
6. Testing closure/Maintenance
Once all the test cases are completed and most of the defects are tracked to closure, the test process is also closed. All the deliverables’s as mentioned in the test plan is shared with the development team along with the certification of whether or not the build is a go or no-go to the next stage.
Hope this section was useful to you in understanding the STLC process. Though we have talked about the 6 steps there are always customizations that we need to do to make things smoother for the project.
With Scrum and agile being the buzz words, the STLC has been reduced to a minimum with no proper test plan and in most cases no detailed test cases as well. But always remember the process is important and the more you do away with the greater is the risk.
Why do we need STLC?
Software testing ensures the high quality of the software product and is essentially a very important part of software development. The software testing life cycle ensures that the testing process is carried out in a well-planned and sequential order thus promising better testing results.

The Software Testing Life Cycle can embrace 4 different testing models namely the agile model, the waterfall model, the V model, and the spiral model.

  • Agile model: Agile Testing model is being largely adopted by testing teams. It is based on continuous integration between testers and developers. Agile Testing does not follow a sequential flow of testing processes.
  • Waterfall testing model: Waterfall Model or Linear Sequential Life Cycle follows a sequential order of testing. We only move to the next phase of testing when the previous phase is completed. It is good for small projects where the requirements are very clear.
  • V model: V Model is an advanced version of the classic waterfall model. In the V model, each phase of the software development life-cycle is validated before going to the next level. In the V model, software testing starts as soon as the requirements are written. V model helps in detecting defects in the early stages of life-cycle and it also minimizes probable future defects.
  • Spiral Model: Spiral Model is based on incremental and prototype techniques. It is usually applied in large and complicated projects with high-risk probability.

Conclusion
A systematic and sequential approach is always beneficial for any process. The software testing life cycle is such a systematic and sequential way of conducting software testing that promises a more effective and efficient testing results.

Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC) | TestBytes from Testbytes

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What is Monkey Testing? Features, Types With Examples

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Monkey testing is a crucial testing method that is done to authenticate the functionality of the product application. Monkey testing is done to ensure that the specifications given by the client are properly addressed in the software.
Monkey testing is a kind of black box testing. This testing is done when the tester is the time deficit in order to write and execute the function.
monkey testing
There are many names given to this testing pattern as Random testing, Monkey Testing, Fuzz Testing, and the technical name is Stochastic Testing.
This testing works well in case of androids, desktops, web and other mobile applications.
In this testing, there is no predefined strategy or algorithm and hence the testing works on tester’s gut and mood. Monkey testing is more efficient while doing stress testing.

ORIGIN OF MONKEY TESTING

It was first used in 1983 to test the software on Mac. These programs were Macwrite and Macpaint. The original Mac had the scarcity of memory.
monkey testing
After the program was completely initiated, there was a lesser amount of memory left than required to perform the test. So Macwrite and MacPaint used buffers those were quite larger than the size of the screen of the desktop. So it became essential to create some testing method that acquired lesser memory.
So Steve Capps used Monkey program to enter random inputs to Macwrite and Macpaint. The Monkey functioned parallel to the other programs, data entry running in the system.
This would perform faster than a regular user as if a monkey was showing the swiftness in him. Hence the team decided to set up commands, window events, menu clicks so that it can target the requirements of the tester.
The term monkey testing was first seen in the book ‘The Art of Software Testing’ written by Glenford J. Myers in 1979. It is a very famous technique among software engineers.
Monkey testing is a software testing technique in which the operator provides the software with some random inputs in order to analyze the behavior of the software.

It also finds out whether the system or application will work properly under such conditions or crash. The testing is usually used by the tester at the beginner’s level.

FEATURES OF MONKEY TESTING

Listening to the term Monkey Testing gives the vision of monkeys thumping on the keys of the keyboard and working as a computer expert, writing functions and other content.
All the random thrust on the keyboard may result in brilliant work as it may hit all possible combinations. It all may sound good. Going deeper into this theory, let us understand monkey testing.
Monkey testing is an automated test, which is done without any specification in mind. The main purpose of the test is to find out errors and bugs in the software to ensure the complete development of the product.

There are Some Other Features of Monkey Testing:

  • There is no specification while performing this test.
  • It focuses on crashing the system by hitting random inputs so that the security can be ensured once the product is complete.
  • The testing is done in the system where the errors are not identified at regular intervals.
  • The time and effort that is required are comparatively lesser in this kind of testing.
  • It ensures the reliability and efficiency of the system.

Example/Types of Monkey Testing

In this process of testing the tests are chosen independently from the test domain and are performed depending upon the tester’s requirement.
After the test, the team tries to replicate the error, once the issue is detected and fixed.
Monkey testing is categorized into three major kinds. Each of these focuses on different aspects of the programs and clears bugs from that particular genre.
monkey testing

1. DUMB MONKEY TESTING

Dumb monkey testing technique or ignorant monkeys, as the name specifies, inculcates a tester who has no knowledge of the application, its features, functions, working behavior or bugs.
They do not have any clue if the provided inputs are valid or invalid. It is the simplest testing which does not require the tester to know about the characteristics or qualities of the software or of the test flow.
The dumb monkey does not know the flow of work or the type of data being fed to the application or the system.
This determines fewer errors as compared to Smart monkey test. This test can catch the bugs that are harder to identify but are critically important too.

2. SMART MONKEY TESTING

Smart Monkey testing is another variant of monkey testing in which testing is performed by testers or group of testers who has a deep understanding of the workflow of software/application
The smart monkey test is aware of the locations of test and is well aware of the page they will be redirected to.
In this type, the tester is more focused on breaking an application and when they find an error, they are aware enough to report the bug.
This is an ample example of load testing. The impressive part is that this type of test gives the tester quicker results than that of its counterpart.

3. BRILLIANT MONKEY TESTING

The brilliant word suggests an advancement to the word smart. This is also true in case of these techniques, the brilliant monkey testing is an advancement in the smart monkey testing technique.
A tester or a team of testers is assigned for the task, ensuring that they have complete knowledge about this software domain and its functionalities.
Example: The tester who has sufficient knowledge of the banking sector may be asked to enter the banking domain’s data.

  • The tester knows well about the usage of the program and also the way other users handle it. So they carry out the testing from the user’s perspective.
  • It is an extension of the smart monkey testing technique.
  • It can also help in determining other bugs that may occur in the future span of its functioning.

Also Read: Black Box Testing – Techniques, Examples and Types 

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES 

Monkey testing caters to the needs of an organization in chasing the out-of-the-box errors. It has both advantages and disadvantages as like every other entity.
Here are a few to add up to its advantages:

  • Usually, the software testing that is performed is ad-hoc but monkey testing can also help the tester to unwind the burden under the stress testing condition. Also if the tester does not have much knowledge about the application, this testing can rescue.
  • The deep-rooted randomness can sometimes save the system from complete breakdown by identifying the major bugs.
  • Being easy to follow monkey testing caters another advantage. Smart monkeys can help find unique bugs if set up with proper and accurate state model, quickly.
  • It has a great advantage that it can be accessed by anyone, one who may have knowledge of the file or who do not. Evidently, they will not be able to understand the appropriateness of the result, but still, they will not face any problem to perform it.
  • In an unintended way, it also allows the domain tester to judge the response of the program. But as the test pattern is unplanned the software may come under stress and will affect the server.
  • The cost-effectiveness makes this software more advantageous than others.
  • In case of a time crunch, if all the other test have been performed, the tester can opt for monkey testing that will allow quick fixing of the bugs.


There are Several Disadvantages that can Overshadow its Positive Points:

  • The test input values provided in monkey testing are so random that it becomes very difficult to reproduce the bugs and errors.
  • The occurrence of unexpected bugs makes it more difficult to analyze and resolve the bugs.
  • It may run for a long time before the commencement of the test, which reproduces unnecessary bugs which may again be time consuming and irrelevant.
  • It comprises accuracy as it is not able to recreate the same environment of the test.
  • The smart monkey can be efficient when provided with the state model but it also becomes expensive in that case.

Difference Between Monkey Testing and Ad-hoc Testing

  • The main difference between ad-hoc testing and monkey testing is that the former is carried out without any documentation or planning.
  • It focuses on breaking the system into subparts and finding out the bug in that particular subpart and resolve it. So that the functionality could be maintained. This is opposite to the functioning line of Monkey testing.

Difference Between Monkey Testing and Gorilla Testing

  • The other difference can be seen in gorilla testing and monkey testing. Here the former is performed on limited features and modules to analyze their functionalities, whereas the latter focuses on breaking down of a complete system to identify the bugs.

MONKEY TESTING TOOLS:

There are many tools which make it possible to perform the automated test efficiently.
They are developed to generate random data so that all the faults and flaws can be reported in the application. The generation of monkey testing tools requires some good amount of efforts but once they are done, they perform efficiently with automation.

1. For Android- MonkeyRunner Tool:

  • MonkeyRunner android tool is designed to work aptly with androids.
  • The tester can easily install and execute an android program, send it data files and store them in the computer using the Python program.
  • The tester can also control and access to the Android device by using an application program interface(API) provided by the tool.
  • As the MonkeyRunner tool is used to perform the framework level of testing and functional test, it can also be used to random testing test suites.

2. On android – U/I Application Exerciser Monkey:

  • This application is quite different from the MonkeyRunner tool, which controls the android device from exterior to the android code while U/I Application exerciser monkey runs inside the emulator.
  • It can also be used to develop the system and user events in the quasi random stream.

CONCLUSION

Monkey testing evidently, has differences with regard to the working of a monkey as it can completely analyze the function and will not do anything improper or irrelevant with the system.

The end user who uses any application or software is not expected to have the functional knowledge of the same. So by this testing, we can ensure the fulfillment of the needs of the user and decrease the probability of the awful breakdown of the software and system.
We can say that as it is not always possible to regenerate the bugs, it becomes almost difficult and sometimes impossible for us to reproduce the same found bug. It is very time-consuming work that requires a lot of effort, therefore we cannot recommend Monkey testing in the initial stages of the testing.
Later when the other test is done it can be opted to find the other issues such as the software and hardware issues, fault lines and memory leaks which are difficult to find in normal testing.
So we can say that one could opt for this particular kind of test if they lack in time and have performed other required test. Also one needs to ensure that the application is highly stable and can be reproduced as it focuses on the crash of the entire system.

Test Management Process: A Complete Guide

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Test Management is very important to ensure high-quality software delivery and to ensure all-inclusive and high-end testing, a proper test management system is required. It ensures that the testing process proceeds in a correct manner.
Let us have a deep insight on Test Management.

What is Test Management?

Test management as its name signifies is the process of managing the testing process. There are various tools that are deployed for Test management. They help in the management of both automated and manual tests that are already specified by a test process.
To sum this up;  Test Management is a method of

  • Organizing and controlling the Testing process.
  • Warranting traceability, visibility, and control of the testing process to deliver high-quality software

Why do We Need Test Management?

Test management ensures the delivery of high-quality products that completely suffice on customers’ requirements.
It assists in the delivery of software within tighter deadlines, allowing collaboration among developers and testers.
In short leveraging test management process efficiently enhances:

  • Customer satisfaction
  • Smoother and more consistent projects
  • Timely product delivery

Let us move ahead and read more about it.

Who is Responsible for Test Management?

Though complete testing team along with the developers play a vital role in the process; the test Manager/lead is in charge. He acts as test support and is involved in resource planning & management, and resolving issues that create a hindrance in the testing effort.
The Test Lead / Manager are responsible for:

  • Leading the Test Team.
  • Outlining testing scope.
  • Dedicating and managing test resources.
  • Applying test metrics.
  • Scheduling, installing and handling the testing effort.
  • Thorough understanding of his role within the organization.

Test Management Process

Test Management is very important to enhance software development and delivery process. But the benefits of can only be availed if the complete process is carried out in a proper and systematic manner.
test management
The complete test management process can be divided into two parts:

  1. Planning

  2. Execution

They are again divided further into sub-processes:

1. Planning

  • Risk Analysis
  • Test Estimation
  • Test Planning
  • Test Organization

2. Execution

  • Test Monitoring and Control
  • Issue Management
  • Test Report and Evaluation

1. Planning

The first phase is planning, where all the planning for the complete test cycle takes place.

  • Risk Analysis and Solution 

Risks are the probable problems that might result in the SDLC.
It is the very first step in test management. The test manager starts working on it even before the beginning of the project. Software is susceptible to risk and early detection of risks help evade possible loss & save on project cost.

  • Test Estimation

Test estimate calculates the time and the efforts that any task would require to complete. It is one of the most important tasks in Test Management.
Benefits of Correct Test estimation:

  1. Correct test estimations result in superior planning, execution, and monitoring of tasks.
  2. It also results in more precise test scheduling.
  3. It helps apprehend results in more assertively.
  • Test Planning

Test planning is very important for carrying out all testing activities smoothly and efficiently. The test plan creation is the main aim of test planning. A test plan defines the approach, scope, resources, and calendar of proposed testing activities.
A Test Plan thoroughly defines:

  1. Test Strategy
  2. Test Objective
  3. Exit /Suspension Criteria
  4. Resource Planning
  5. Test Deliverables
  • Test Organization

When all the planning is being done and everything is in its place it’s time to organize an efficient testing team. A skilled team is very important to execute testing effectively.

2. Execution

The second phase is test execution, where testing is actually executed to find testing results.

  • Test Monitoring and Control

What if you find your test resources are falling short of and your schedule has just messed up? You will need to Monitor and Control Test activities to take back control of the project. Test Monitoring and Control keeps a check on test metrics to make sure that project is on time, within the budget and is proceeding well.

  • Monitoring

During monitoring, the test team assembles, records, and reports relevant details on on-going project activities.
The test manager is accountable for the following activities in this phase:

  1. Outlining project goal
  2. Observing the project performance
  3. Comparing planned vs. actual performance
  4. Recording and reporting of identified defects
  • Controlling

The main aim of this phase is to manage any up and downs in the testing process and to bring back the performance of the process as planned. It is done using the data received from test monitoring. In Test control, any deviations in the project are adjusted to as planned in the test plan.

  • Issue Management

We have already discussed risk management, but if at times we fail in risk management and these risks convert into the issue, we have to make sure that these issues are efficiently dealt with so that the final build is bug–free.
Software projects are highly prone to unexpected problems. But these issues need to be efficiently dealt with. If they are not properly catered they can cause huge loses to your business. These issues could be related to tight deadlines, improper resources, etc.  Ensure proper management of the issues in your project.

  • Test Report & Evaluation

When you are all happy that your project is completed, it’s time to take out a little time to prepare and test report and evaluate the test data.

Test Management Responsibilities

There are a few tasks that are expected to perform, some of them are:

  • The most important role and responsibility is to improve the quality of the software.
  • It is also responsible for the creation and upkeep of product metrics.
  • It empowers developers to ensure that less design or coding errors are inserted in the code.

Test Management Tools

Test management requires a lot of planning. The test manager needs to select an efficient team, assign them various responsibilities based on their capabilities and so on.
One of the major decisions to be taken by the test manager is to select the best test management tool for the complete process.

Functions of The Tools

  1. Automatic generation of the required test matrix (RTM) that indicates functional coverage of the product
  2. Testware management
  3. Test scheduling
  4. The logging of results
  5. Test tracking
  6. Incident management
  7. Test reporting.

Tools Selection Principles

You should not just randomly pick any test management tool. Choice of test management tool depends on your requirements and its functionalities.

Also Read: All Info About Software Development Engineer in Test(SDET)

Take time to analyze what you expect from this tool and then patiently study various features and pick the correct one for your project.
Here are the Main Questions that you should ask before finalizing the Test Management Tool for your Project:

  • How capable is the test management tool to manage your projects and your team?
  • Does this tool support develop test cases, test plans, test scenarios or user stories?
  • Does this tool supports test runs, managing the testing process, usability, and efficiency?
  • Is it capable of creating test reports?
  • Is bug tracker available in this tool and what its speed is?
  • Check out for some other features availability like import/export, incorporation with other systems, crash analytics, etc.

Test Management Tools

Some of the best test management tools are

  • TestRail
  • TestLink
  • EasyQA
  • PractiTest
  • JIRA
  • qTest
  • TestCollab
  • TestLodge
  • QA coverage
  • TestCaseLab
  • Zephyr

What are the Challenges in Test Management?

  • Insufficient time for testing
  • Lack of testing resources
  • Budget and schedule constraints
  • Lack of testing documents.
  • The complexity of the requirements to test and validate

Test Management Best Practices

  1. Make Sure you Start Testing Activities at the Earliest Possible:

Starting testing at the early stages of SDLC is very beneficial. But many of us even after being aware of it does not follow it. This leads to the detection of bugs at later stages resulting in the additional cost of rectifying them. This also delays the whole process as it will increase the time to rectify it and to retest it.

  1. Execute Iterative Tests:

Iterative testing approaches are highly beneficial and hugely recommended. Such approaches help in the creation of testing assets and help save a lot of time.

  1. Reuse Test Assets

Reusing test assets like test automation scripts, test procedures, test cases, etc. can save a lot of time and effort. So try and reuse test assets whenever possible. You can leverage these skills to foresee which assets can be reused or not.

  1. Try to Improve the Time Spent:

Always be on a trail to improve product quality and efficiency of the team. It can save you a lot of time and effort.

  1. Deploy Requirement Based Testing and Testing Strategies:

Different types of testing processes require different types of test approaches. It is always suggested to use a test approach based on your test requirements.
Such practices can help you get better testing results and promises you faster delivery of a quality product that enhances your customer experience.  Such an approach also reduces test efforts and time to test.

  1. Ensure Coordination Among Co-Located Testing Resources:

Ensure that the co-located testing resources are effectively coordinated. This coordination helps control issues related to testing resources, enhance productivity, and mend timelines; thus resulting in better ROI.

  1. Utilize Malleable Testing Processes

Every project has different requirements and hence needs to be tested differently. A flexible test management process is the need of the day to create an automated workflow.
This process should be able to repeat itself and should also permit optimization and modification of prevailing workflow as per the need.

  1. Utilize DevOps:

With more competitive business, new testing processes are now ruling the industry. DevOps is an approach that focuses on the close collaboration of developers, testers and operation’s team.
This approach helps in maintaining uniformity in forthcoming releases, decreasing defects, speedy and iterative development of software, speeding up business growth, etc.

  1. Communication is the key to successful Test management

The proper test management also depends on proper communication of all appropriate data such as goals, status, etc.  To the stakeholders in the apt format, and at the right time.

  1. Wise Automation can bring Huge Benefits

Accomplishing these tasks requires a lot of time and efforts. Using automated management tools can save you a lot of time and efforts while promising you for effective and efficient test results.

Conclusion

Test management is a very important process of software testing. It assures the better testing results and timely delivery of the final product. Make sure you follow the best test management practices and assure 100% customer satisfaction.

What is Waterfall Model? Pros and Cons

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Waterfall model is a sequential one which divides software testing and development into sequential phases in which each phase is designed to perform certain acts.
It’s simple and idealistic and serves as the base for many models that are being put to practice at present. A classic waterfall model divides any project into a set of phases. One phase can only start when the previous phase ends.
Let’s have a look at the different sequential phases in a waterfall model

 
Requirement Analysis:
The capture of all the requirement from customer, deep-rooted analysis, incomplete requirement omission, brainstorming, feasibility test, etc. are carried through in this phase.
After analysis, the requirements will be documented in a software requirement specification (SRS) document which serves as a contract between customer and testing company.
System Design:
Design specification document will be created in this phase to outline the technical design required for commencing the project. For instance, frameworks, tools and programming languages, etc.
Implementation:
As per the design programs or code will be written for various purposes. And the codes will be integrated to the next phase.
Testing:
Unit tests will be conducted to make sure that the system is working as per the requirement. All functional and non-functional testing will be conducted in this phase.
During testing, if any anomalies are found it will be reported. Progress of the testing will be tracked using tools. Proper documentation of defects will be reported.
Deployment:
Product will go under the final test to ensure that the application is fully functional and can perform according to the requirement in a live environment
Maintenance:
Corrective, adaptive and predictive maintenance will be carried out in this phase. This maintenance can also be used for updating or enhancing the product.
Before moving to another stage there will be review and sign off process to make sure that goals that have been defined in the requirement phase have been met.
Waterfall model is specifically used for projects that have defined documentation, definite requirement, ample resources, specific timeline, etc.

When to use waterfall model in software testing

• When there is no change in requirement of project
• Application that needs testing is smaller in size
• When there is a stable environment
• When the resources is limited
• When there is required expertise available

Advantages and disadvantages of waterfall model

Advantages of waterfall model

  • Clear documentation and planning will ensure that large or shifting team to move towards a common goal.
  • Works well for small projects
  • Phases are easy to maintain since they are rigid and well-constructed
  • Disciplined and organized
  • Reinforces good testing habit
  • Specification change can be made easily
  • Milestones and deadlines can be defined clearly
Disadvantages of waterfall model
  • If there is any flaw the entire process has to be started again
  • Lack of adaptability
  • Ignores Mid-Process User/Client Feedback
  • Many testing models incorporate testing to the process on the other hand waterfall model movies away from testing

Conclusion
Nowadays projects are moving on to Agile and prototype models. But, for small projects waterfall model is effective if the requirement can be clearly defined.
 

What’s Spiral Model? Advantages and Disadvantages

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Spiral model is the combination of both sequential model and prototype model. The spiral model is specifically designed for projects which are huge in size and requires regular enhancements. The spiral model is somewhat similar to the incremental model but more emphasis on risk analysis, engineering, and evaluation.
To understand better have a look at the sequential diagram about the model!
spiral model diagram

Phases involved in Spiral Model

Planning phase: All the required information about the project will be gathered in this phase. Requirements such as BRS (business requirement specification and SRS (system requirement specifications), design alteration, etc. will be done in this phase. Cost estimation, scheduling the resources for iteration, etc. also happens in this phase.
Risk Analysis: Requirements of the project is studied and brainstorm sessions are conducted to figure out potential risks involved. Once the risk has been identified proper strategies and risk mitigation methodologies will be planned.
Testing phase: Testing alongside developmental changes will be done in this phase. Coding, test case development, test execution, test summary report, defect report generation, etc. happens in this phase.
Evaluation phase: Customer can evaluate the tests and can give feedback before the project goes to the next level
1st iteration – Activities such as panning, initial risk analysis, engineering evaluation, requirement gathering happens.
2nd iteration – Higher level planning, detailed risk analysis, evaluation happens in this phase
3rd iteration – Testing related activities such as coding, tool selection, resource allocation, which test to choose? Etc. happens in this phase.
4th iteration – In this customer is the key where they can evaluate the entire process and express their option regarding it.

When to use the spiral model?

  • When cost and risk is high
  • Medium to high-risk project
  • Frequent release requirement
  • Complex project
  • Projects that require constant change
  • Not feasible long term projects owing to the change in economic priorities

Advantages and disadvantages of spiral model

Advantages

  • Risk management is easy in this type of model. When you are handling expensive and complex projects, risk management is a must. Moreover, Spiral model has the ability to make any software testing project transparent.
  • Customer can see and review the test and different stages
  • Projects can be separated into various parts to ease the management difficulty
  • Documentation control is strong in this type of methodology
  • Project estimate will tend to be more realistic as it progresses.

Disadvantages

  • Cannot be used for small projects as it can be expensive
  • A vast amount of documentation owing to several intermediate stages
  • The end date of the project cannot be calculated at the early stages of the project
  • Complex process
  • High expertise is required to run the model


Conclusion
Each spiral that can be seen in the diagram above acts as a loop for a separate process in testing. the four main activities, planning risk analysis, testing, coding and project evaluation will be repeated again for the required amount of phases for any project.
Implementation of the model requires personnel who are highly experienced in it since the Spiral model is exclusively meant for larger products and risk analysis the most important feature.

What is Rational Unified Process Methodology?

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Rational Unified Process in Software Testing
Rational Unified Process (RUP) methodology uses the object-oriented approach in its design and the use of UML (Unified Modeling Language) notation is designed and documented to illustrate the processes in action. It uses commercially proven techniques and practices.
It is a process considered heavy and preferably applicable to large development teams and large projects, but the fact that it is extensively customizable allows it to be adapted to projects of any scale.
Rational Unified Process Methodology
Specifics
For project management, the RUP(Rational Unified Process) model provides a disciplined solution such as the tasks and responsibilities outlined within a software development organization.
RUP (Rational Unified Process) is, in itself, a software product. It is modular and automated, and its entire methodology is supported by several development tools integrated and sold by IBM through its “Rational Suites.”
The methods of competition in the field of software engineering include “clean rooms” (considered heavy) and agile (light) such as Extreme Programming (XP-Extreme Programming), Scrum, FDD, and others.
There are certain guidelines and templates that are defined, for the staff members of a production cycle, by RUP: part of the client and an evaluation of the progress of the project by its management. It helps developers to stay focused on the project.
Management Requirements
Proper documentation is essential for any large-scale project; note that RUP describes how to document functionality, system limitations, design restrictions, and business requirements.
The use cases and the scenarios are examples of dependent process artifacts, which have been considered much more effective in capturing functional requirements.
The Use of a Component-Based Architecture
The component-based architecture creates a system that can be easily extensible, promoting reuse and software an intuitive understanding. A component usually refers to an object in object-oriented programming.
RUP provides a systematic way to build this type of system, focusing on the production of an executable architecture in the early stages of the project, that is, before committing resources on a large scale.
The Components referred to here are generally included in the infrastructures already existing in the place. These infrastructures include CORBA as well as Component Object Model (COM).
The Use of Visual Software Models in the Rup Model          
By abstracting the programming of your code and representing it using graphical building blocks, RUP can be an effective way to get an overview of a solution.
The use of visual models can also allow individuals with a less technical profile (as clients) to have a better understanding of a given problem, and thus be more involved in the project as a whole.
The UML modeling language has become an industry standard for representing projects, and is widely used by RUP!

Know More: Read about Exclusive details of Agile Testing

Check Software Quality
It does not ensure software quality is the most common failure in all computer systems projects. Usually, one thinks about the quality of the software after the completion of the projects or the quality is the responsibility of a different team development team.
Management and Control Change Software
In all software projects, the existence of change is inevitable. RUP defines methods to control and monitor changes. As a small change can affect applications in totally unpredictable ways, change control is essential to the success of a project.
RUP (Rational Unified Process)also defines the areas of work and security, which guarantees a programmer that changes in another system will not affect your system.
Phases of the RUP Methodology
So far these guidelines are general, to be adhered to go through the life of a project cycle. The phases (see figure below) indicate the emphasis given in the project at a given moment. To capture the temporal dimension of a project, RUP divides the project into four different phases:

Initiation or Design: emphasis on the scope of the system;
Preparation: emphasis on architecture;
Construction: emphasis on development;
Transition: emphasis on the application.
RUP is also based on the 4 Ps:

  • People
  • Design
  • Product
  • Process

The layers are composed of iterations. Iterations are windows of time; iterations have defined the term as the phases are objective.
All phases generate artifacts. These will be used in the next phase and document the project and allows a better follow-up.
Design Phase
The design or initiation phase contains the workflows necessary for the agreement of interested parties – stakeholders – with the objectives, architecture, and planning of the project. If these actors have good knowledge, it will not be necessary to analyze. Otherwise, a more elaborate analysis is required.
In this stage, the essential requirements of the system are transformed into use cases. The objective is not to close them at all, but only those that are necessary to shape the opinion.
The step is usually short and is used to define if it is feasible to continue with the project and define the risks and the cost of the last one. A prototype can be made for the client to approve. As the RUP cites, the ideal is to perform iterations, which must be well defined in terms of their amount and objectives.
Elaboration Phase
The preparation will be for the design of the system, as a complement to the survey and/or documentation of use cases, in front of the architecture of the system, to review the business model for the project and to start the version of the user manual. One must accept: Product description (increase + integration) is stable; the project plan is reliable? The costs are eligible?
Construction Phase
In the construction phase, the physical development of the software starts, production codes, alpha tests. Beta tests were carried out at the beginning of the transition phase.
You must accept the tests, stable and test processes, and the system code is “baseline”.
Transition Phase
In this phase is the delivery (“deployment”) of software, which carries out the deployment and delivery plan, the monitoring and the quality of the software. Products (releases, versions) are going to be delivered, and place customer satisfaction. This stage also takes place the training of the users.
Disciplines of the RUP (Rational Unified Process) Methodology
The Business Modeling Discipline
Organizations are increasingly dependent on IT systems, so it is imperative that information systems engineers know how applications are integrated into the development of the organization. Companies invest in IT, which understands the competitive advantage of value added by technology.
The goal of business modeling is to first establish a better understanding and communication between business engineering and software engineering.

Understanding the business means that software engineers must understand the structure and dynamics of the target company (the client), the current problems that the organization is facing and potential methods and strategies for making amends.
Another important aspect that must not be undermined is that the relevant parties such as the developers as well as the customers and also the end-users must have a clear understanding about the organization, and an important feature of this understanding is that it must be common among all the parties involved.
Business modeling explains how to describe the vision of an organization in which the system will be implemented and how to use this vision as a basis to describe the processes, functions, and responsibilities.
Course Requirements
This course explains how to get requests from interested parties (“interested parties”) and convert them into a set of requirements that the products work within the system to be built and provide the detailed requirements for what is necessary for the system.
Analysis and Design of the Discipline (“Design”)
The purpose of the analysis and design is to show how the system will be carried out. The objective is to build a system that:
Execute in a specific execution environment, tasks and functions specified in the descriptions of use cases
Satisfy all your needs
It is easy to maintain when there are no changes in the functional requirements, the results of the project in an analysis and design model optionally has an analysis model.
The design model is utilized as a conceptual version of the source code, displaying only the bare minimum. This allows the user of any one inspecting to ascertain the style in which the source code has been rendered.
The design model is rendered in such a way that it contains different divisions of designs. These divisions are stored within definite subsystems.
Every subsystem has a distinct interface that is precisely designed. It also contains descriptions of how the objects in these classes collaborate to carry out the design of use cases.
The Discipline Implementation
The effects of the application are:

  • With reference to the layered subsystems organized for an application, the organization code is configured.
  • The different classes or divisions of components are carried out. These components include
  1. Source Files
  2. Executables and
  3.  Binaries
  • Components developed as units are tested

Incorporate the results produced by the individual executors (or teams), in an executable system. The systems are achieved through the components of the application.
The process aims at performing an important function, which is to define the exact procedure to be utilized, in order to re-utilize components which are either; already existing or have been freshly introduced.
This allows for a hassle system maintenance possibility and a substantial improvement in chances of the utilization of components.
Discipline Test
The purposes of discipline testing are:

  • Check the interaction between objects
  • Check the correct integration of all software components
  • Check that all requirements have been executed correctly
  • Identify and ensure that defects are addressed before the software implementation
  • Make sure that all defects are corrected, reviewed and closed

Conclusion
In case there are defects in the project, their correction may take up unnecessary costs due to the defects not being brought to light within due time.
If the project, however, is tested in its entirety, this would be beneficial as any defects which might be creeping into the projects can be identified and ascertained at the earliest.

This will, in turn, have a massive reduction in the costs involved with the rectification of the defects. This is the iterative approach proposed by the Rational Unified Process.
In order for the test to bear fruits and have the best possible outcomes, the tests need to be conducted on four parameters of quality and also there must be set standards which need to be met for the project to be considered as have passed the test.