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

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

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

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

Phases of  Alpha and Beta Testing

Phases of Alpha testing

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

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

 Alpha Testing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cons of Alpha Testing

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

Mobile app test cost calculator
Beta Testing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The latter which includes testing by the general public is then known as the open test.
Beta Testing diagram
Pros of beta testing

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

Cons of Beta testing

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cons of Gamma testing

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

Phases of Testing

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

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

Difference Between Alpha Testing And Gamma Testing

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

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

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

Exit Criteria for Alpha testing:

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

Entry Criteria for Beta Testing:

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

Exit Criteria for Beta Testing:

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

Entry Criteria for Gamma Testing:

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

Exit Criteria for Gamma Testing

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

Conclusion

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

Why is Testing Domain Knowledge is Important For Testers?

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Quality Assurance? What’s great? Surely the argument continues since the developers run the code before the release and if anything goes wrong, the customers tell us, right? Unlike any other non-IT person, using apps which just didn’t work well or lag with performance is way too frustrating and inconvenient. Customers pay for our services thinking about the ease of use we provide with the numerous benefits it has to provide.
Have you ever thought about the factors that could be critical for the successful execution of the app you are running?
With today’s importance of QA’s in the software development life cycle (SDLC), there is also the need of testers with specialized domain knowledge.
Testing Domain Knowledge
Is Domain Knowledge Necessary For Testing
As the testing industry grows, the basic knowledge of testing isn’t sufficient to meet the growing market competition.  The industry now demands domain and subject matter experts. Domain knowledge testing is used to acquire business use cases and software testing knowledge is required to glean on the ideas of the software to its limits. Hence a testing domain knowledge along with the software testing skills is always a plus point to the industry.
The value testing domain knowledge adds to your team ensures your users are happy. Here’s why:

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


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

20 Steps to Configure Jenkins Email Notification

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

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

Steps to Configure Email Notification using Jenkin

Jenkins email notification configuration is a step by step protocol:
1. Install Jenkin
2. Open Jenkin on a local host. Setting up an SMTP server, navigate to Manage Jenkins (Manage Jenkins options is   displayed on the right-hand side of the screen)
3. Once on the Manage Jenkins page, select the manage plug-ins option
jenkins
4. Click the available tab on manage plugin page.
jenkins
5. On the filer field displayed on the right-hand corner of the screen, start typing ‘Notification’.
jenkins
6. Click the checkbox next to ‘Email-ext plugin’ option and install it.
jenkins email notification
7. Now click the checkbox next to ‘Email-ext Template Plugin’ and click the install without restart button

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

9. Enter the SMTP server name, Email address, and password, check SSL and enter SMTP port
jenkins email notification
10. Test the Jenkin Email notification by sending a test email
jenkins email notification
11. Save the settings
To configure the advanced properties for the plugin, click on the Override Global settings check box, then click the advanced button. This allows you to define recipients for every type of email trigger and also a pre-send script that can be used to modify the email just before sending.

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

jenkins email notification
jenkins email notification

Know More: Top 10 Manual Testing Tools for 2019

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

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

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

jenkins email notification

  1. Fill the fields and then click the advanced settings option in the editable email notification box
  • Project Recipient List : email_id@gmail.com

jenkins email notification

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

jenkins email notification
jenkins email notification

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


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

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What is the Need For Test Data Generation Techniques

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

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

Strategy and Methodology of Big Data Testing

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With advancement in technology and the new development taking place on a regular basis, there is a large pool of data that is also being generated. This, in specific terminology, is known as big data. Big data is a large pool of information which is made up of large data sets that cannot be processed using traditional methods of computing. This is because traditional methods work effectively on structured data stored in rows and columns and not for the ones that do not follow any specific structure.
app testing
Big data can be available in varied formats such as images or audio. This data varies in its structure as well as format for every record tested and is typically characterized by volume, velocity and variety.

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

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

  1. Data staging validation

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

  1. “MapReduce” validation

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why the Need for Web Service Test Automation

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Web service test automation solutions are the ones that help in testing and identifying whether a particular application communicates effectively and is able to access functions correctly from the web. These solutions also effectively help in confirming how a particular web service connected to them, behaves in different situations. In other words, this solution is an effective way to verify whether the services meet the terms of business logic and also deliver the desired output at the user’s end.
app testing
While it is well-known that web services provide flawless connection between two software applications over private intranets and the internet, the testing of these services is used to check the ways in which a single we service functions and managed load for a single client and balances the same with the increase in the number of users accessing it.
Web service testing is helpful in avoiding the delay in detection of errors, which, in turn, might lead to complex and costly repairs. When this process is automated, it gets easier to repeat tests as and when required. Therefore, using web services test automation is not only helpful in the development of sound and efficient web services development process but also in the assessment of their functionality, performance, and scalability.
Need of web services automation
While there can be numerous ways to conduct web services testing, but a typical one includes the following tasks:

  • Generating client or skeleton code for the web service.
  • Defining the required test inputs.
  • Imploring the web service using the client or skeleton code.
  • Generating client or skeleton code.
  • Response verification in terms of whether the actual response is similar to that of the expected outcome.

 Benefits of Web Service Test Automation
 Using web service testing automation can benefit the company in a number of ways. Some of these are as mentioned below: 

  1. Improved performance and reliability of SOA:

Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is a set of services that communicate with each other. These services that are connected by web services, can either be a data transfer or a group of activities engaging in coordinating some other activity.
Using web service test automation tools can help in improving the performance and reliability of these SOAs. This is owing to their ability to communicate effectively and testing the ground on various measures.

  1. Eases testing:

Using a web service test automation tool helps in simplifying the process of testing web application. This is owing to their ability to effectively communicate with the web applications, which further adds on their ability to deliver the desired performance. Therefore, one can opt to use these tools for testing both SOA-based and REST API-based web services.

  1. Supports cloud environment

Cloud computing is a type of computing infrastructure and software model that gives its users access to shared pools of resources from any part of the world. This shared pool of resources can be computer networks, applications or servers and can be rapidly provided with minimal management effort, often over the Internet.
When a user is required to execute a test of web services that are available in a cloud environment, using a web service test automation tool makes it easier. Using this tool enables a faster and quicker testing.

  1. Simplifies testing over regression cycles

Regression testing cycle is a kind of software testing which is used to confirm whether software’s previous version performs in the same way like it did before the development of new version or interfacing with other software.
Web service automation helps in reducing the testing time and efforts it takes in testing a product over regression cycles.

  1. Ensures complete testing of product

 Using web service test automation vanishes the concept of testing one or some aspects of particular software. Instead, making use of this tool ensures a 100% functional test coverage of the same, hence, ensuring better performance.
It is, therefore, advisable to the companies to use this web service test automation. The reasons are multiple, from ease of use, reduced time to better performance.

Job Description of Software Testing Analysts and Their Salary Details

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There can be times when your software does not perform as expected. And this is when a software testing analyst will come as your saving grace. While focusing on meeting quality standards through your QA department, you will also have to go the extra mile to gain your customers’ goodwill. All these will be possible through a skilled professional designated as a software test analyst.
app testing
If you are planning to make software testing as your chosen field of work as a software testing analyst, here is the rundown of the pre-requisites and responsibilities along with the salary and occupational prospects that are in store for you.
Responsibilities of a Software Testing Analyst

  • Detect faults in software and systems by designing and developing test models
  • Closely analyze the bugs in the software
  • Get into the details of what caused the bug to crop up
  • Support the detection of bugs through a well-documented testing report
  • Effectively develop a system to recommend bug-fixing solutions to testing team and the developer
  • Keep a watchful eye on the success of the solutions offered
  • Maintain the hygiene of software and system documentation by updating them periodically

The Salary Bracket of Software Test Analysts
As per the information published in the Remuneration Report published in January 2018, a test analyst’s take home pay depends on the group he/she belongs to. A full time test analyst in the lowest paying segment can expect an average annual salary of $60,500. Those in the mid-pay range can earn $79,000 annually. And the cream of test analysts will be thrilled to sign offer letters averaging to $130,000 as their annual CTC. And if you plan to work on a contractual basis, you can quote anywhere between $60 and $120 per hour for your professional software testing services.
Prerequisites that will help you shine in your job
Ordained to design and implement testing processes as part of the software fault detection and rectification practices, you as a test analyst will become an asset to your organization provided you have some or all of the below mentioned skills.

  1. A Good Bet for Those Who Adopt a Pragmatic Approach to Solve Problems

Essentially meant to identify, define and monitor a software product, a person who demonstrates a problem solving trait can become a perfect fit to this position. If you are the one gifted with a zeal to explore software programs and inquisitive about how they actually work, then this field of software testing can be your top choice.
It is not only about fixing an issue, you as a test analyst have to get into the details of what actually caused the bug. Only then will you be able to discuss the issue with the developer to ensure that the product is stable and bug-free. Your “eye for detail” can hence work to your advantage to deliver a product that will not require the intervention of anyone, but you.

Also Read : 11 Emerging Trends in Software Testing 2018 [Infographic]

  1. Effective Communication and Analytical Skills

The name says it all! Software test analysts who should be able to analyze software products while testing them should also be able to effectively communicate to others the nature of the problem. You as an analyst will hence be required to explain the issue in clear terms, covering all the aspects of the issue bit by bit. This step-by-step analysis of the issue will thus help developers fix the problem.

  1. Ability to Manage Time

Your time management skills will be put to the ultimate test when you as a test analyst will have to effectively manage heavy workloads to deliver high productivity. Typically seen during the release of a software code that should be tested, it is during such testing times that you will also have to demonstrate your organizational skills as well.

  1. Right Attitude and Passion

It is not only with this testing job, any profession for that matter will help you reap benefits with the right attitude and passion for the task at hand. Demonstrating a high degree of independence in the style of working, you as a software testing analyst will be required to hone your technical skills in line with the emerging technologies in the field of software development and testing. With these two characteristics in place, you will always be a step ahead towards excelling in your chosen field of work.

  1. Software Skills

It is important that you have a clear understanding of the various programming techniques along with their syntax. Knowledge of computer software and systems is necessary along with project management skills will be required to successful release a software product. Domain knowledge can also be helpful in addition to an in-depth knowledge about the system that will be tested by you.
A Sneak Peek into the Routine of a Test Analyst
After signing on the dotted line for the post of a software test analyst, you will be required to work fulltime. Late evenings and weekend tasks might become the order of the day along with certain on-call assignments. Adhering to strict deadlines, the job can be stressful. But with effective time management skills, you will be able to make it a lucrative career option when you can also travel abroad to meet clients.
testbytes-mobile-app-testing-banner
While you can take home hefty pay packets, situations demanding you to deliver with short bug reports can be daunting in times of working on a mammoth project. All these on one side, the profound influence of the internet on the lives of the current generation will pave way for lucrative career opportunities for software test analysts.

Methods For Testing Mobile App Performance Using LoadRunner

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People using smart phones require the mobile apps to perform with the same effectiveness as the desktop software does. Due to inundation of numerous applications in the virtual store, the competition is extremely high. As a result, robust apps are in demand that pass rigorous testing parameters. If you are an app developer, use LoadRunner for mobile applications as it works extremely well with the native version. Although web apps are tested with the help of open source platforms, it is the LoadRunner that plays an important role to enhance the capability of the mobile based software.
app testing
Testing is a complex process where numerous devices right from Android to iOS are involved. There are different versions for native and web applications, however LoadRunner can resolve all the issues with the help of certain protocols.
HTTP/HTML:
It records the browser and native scripts that query the server with the help of http/html protocols. The whole process takes place at the transport layer of the TCP/IP model. Network traffic is recorded in a separate file called PCAP and then it is used to create a visual script. Even third party emulators can be used to generate the script logic.
True client essential for native mobile:
True client technology is used to record the scripts of the browser based or hybrid mobile applications. Apps are loaded onto the mobile devices and are tested end to end mode in order to find out errors. To make the process successful, one should install mobile test center app on the device. It consists of emulators that help to perform, extensive testing and build the most memorable apps in the market.
Mobile web protocol:
The protocol plays an important role in recording the user activity in the mobile applications based on the browser scripts. The whole process takes place in the TruClient browser that is modified to be an emulator.
SMP or SAP mobile platform:

  • The protocol helps the users to create .NET scripts according to their requirements an specification. Files are auto generated on SMP, however the script should not use threading as is the norm in .NET and Java environment because they might degrade the scalability of the testing process.
  • In addition, threads might hamper the measurement procedure at the client’s site. Users cannot invoke functions from the thread because their behavior remains undetermined.
  • In order to record the script using SMP, it is vital to generate the file such as Action.CS, Vuser_ init.cs, Vuser_end.cs.
  • The user should click on the new script and solution link and select SAP mobile platform.
  • Once the files are generated, they are copied into the script folder.
  • After the process is completed, you should invoke the save button, close the script file and reopen the content.
  • Thereafter, the location of the .DLL file needs to be added to the Shared DLL folders situated under the .NET settings located in the Run time settings menu.
  • You can replay the script to watch it in action with the SMP protocol.

Therefore, LoadRunner is useful for converting captured network traffic to HTTP user script, using either the provided tools or by using conventional capturing tools which can help you produce performance scripts for mobile app performance.

Top 15 Open Source Security Testing Tools For 2021

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open-source security testing tools help to identify the security lapse in your web applications.  They unravel the loose ends of your web app that’s easily traceable and helps you sealing it off for a long time.

Its primary function is to perform the functional testing of an application and find the vulnerabilities that could lead the data leak or hacking, without accessing the source code.

There are a number of paid and free web application testing tools available in the market. Here, we will discuss the top 15 open-source security testing tools for web applications.

1. Wapiti

Wapiti

Wapiti is one of the efficient web application security testing tools that allow you to assess the security of your web applications. It performs ‘black box testing,’ to check the web applications for possible vulnerability.

During the testing process, it scans the web pages and injects the testing data to check for the security lapse. Supporting the GET and POST HTTP attacks, Wapiti identifies various types of vulnerabilities, such as:

Features

  • File disclosure
  • Database Injection
  • XSS injection
  • Command Execution detection
  • CRLF Injection
  • XXE injection
  • Potentially dangerous files
  • Weak .htaccess configurations that are easy to bypass
  • Backup files giving disclose

Wapiti is a command-line application that is hard for beginners but easy for experts. The software requires complete knowledge of commands.

2. Zed Attack Proxy

open source security testing tools

Popularly known as ZAP, the Zed Attack Proxy is an open-source, developed by OWASP. Supported by Windows, Unix/Linux, and Mac OS, ZAP enables you to find a variety of security vulnerabilities in web apps, even during the development and testing phase. This testing tool is easy to use, even if you are a beginner in penetration testing.

Features

  • Automatic Scanner
  • Authentication support
  • AJAX spiders
  • Dynamic SSL certificates
  • Forced Browsing
  • Intercepting Proxy
  • Web Socket Support
  • Plug-n-hack support
  • REST-based API and much more.


3. Vega
open source security testing tools

Vega is a free open-source web application testing tool. Written in JAVA, Vega comes with a GUI interface. It is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS. It helps you:

Features

  • Find SQL injection
  • Validate SQL injection
  • File inclusions
  • Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
  • Improve the security of TLS servers

The tool also allows you to set preferences such as maximum and minimum requests per second, the number of path descendants and number of nodes, etc.

Once supplied with proper credentials, you can use Vega as an automated scanner, for intercepting proxy and run it as a proxy scanner.

4. W3af

open source security testing tools

W3af is a popular web application security testing framework. Developed using Python, it offers an efficient web application penetration testing platform.

This tool can be used to detect more than 200 types of security issues in web applications, including SQL injection and Cross-Site Scripting. It checks for the following vulnerabilities in the web-apps:


Features

  • Blind SQL injection vulnerability
  • Buffer overflow vulnerability
  • Multiple CORS misconfigurations
  • Insecure DAV configurations
  • CSRF vulnerability and much more

Available in both GUI and console interface, W3af is easy to understand. It also allows you to authenticate the website through the authentication modules.

5. Skipfish

Skipfish is a web application security testing tool that crawls the website recursively and checks each page for possible vulnerability and prepares the audit report in the end. Written in C language, Skipfish is optimized for HTTP handling and leaving minimum CPU footprints.

The software claims to handle 2K requests per second, without displaying CPU footprints. Also, the tool claims to provide high-quality positives as it uses a heuristics approach during crawling and testing web apps.

Also Read : What is Automation Testing? Techniques, Best Practices, Tools,advantages

The Skipfish security testing tool for web apps is available for Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS X, and Windows.

6. Ratproxy

Ratproxy is another opensource web application security testing tool that can be used to find any lapse in web applications, thereby making the app secure from any possible hacking attack. This semi-automatic testing software is supported by Linux, FreeBSD, MacOS X, and Windows (Cygwin) systems.

Ratproxy is optimized to overcome security audit issues that are repeatedly faced by users in other proxy systems. This testing tool easily distinguishes between CSS stylesheets and JavaScript codes.

7. SQLMap

SQLMap

SQLMap is a popular open source web application security testing tool that automates the process of detecting and utilizing SQL injection vulnerability in a database of the website. Packed with a variety of features, it has a powerful testing engine that enables the test to penetrate effortlessly and perform SQL injection check on a web application.

SQLMap supports a large number of database services, including MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server etc. Furthermore, the testing tool supports six types of SQL injection methods.

8. Wfuzz

open source security testing tools

Wfuzz is another open-source tool for a web application security testing tool that is freely available on the market. Developed in Python, this testing tool is used for brute-forcing web applications. Some of the features of Wfuzz are:

Features

  • Multiple Injection points
  • Output to HTML
  • Cookies fuzzing
  • Multi-threading
  • Proxy support
  • SOCK support
  • Authentication support
  • All parameters brute-forcing (POST and GET)
  • Baseline request (to filter results against)
  • Brute force HTTP methods
  • Multiple proxy support
  • HEAD scan
  • Post, headers, and authentication data brute forcing

While using WFuzz, you will have to work on the command line interface as there is no GUI interface available.

9. Grendel-Scan

Grendel-Scan is a useful open source web application security tool, designed for finding security lapse in the web apps. Available for Windows, Linux, and Macintosh, the tool is developed in Java.

It comes with an automated testing module that is used for detecting vulnerabilities in web applications. Besides, the software also includes many features, especially for manual penetration testing.

open source security testing tools

10. Arachni

Arachni is an open-source web application security testing tool designed to help penetration testers and administrators assess the security of web applications. This tool is developed to identify security lapse in web applications and make it hacker-proof. Arachni can detect:

Features

  • SQL Injection
  • XSS
  • Local File Inclusion
  • Remote file inclusion
  • Invalidated redirect, and many others

Arachni supports all the main operating systems, such as MS Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.

11. Grabber

open source security testing tools

Grabber is an open source web application scanner that detects security vulnerabilities in web apps. It is portable and designed to scan small web applications such as forums and personal websites. It can identify the following issues:

Features

  • Cross-Site Scripting
  • SQL Injection
  • File Inclusion
  • Backup files verification
  • Simple AJAX verification
  • Hybrid analysis testing for PHP application using PHP-SAT
  • Generation of a file for stats analysis

Grabber is a small testing tool and takes more time to scan large apps. Moreover, since it was designed for personal usage, the scanner does not have any GUI interface and no feature for PDF report generation. Grabber was developed in Python. One can easily find the source code and modify it as per the requirement.


12. Acunetix
open source security testing tools
A complete automation penetration testing tools for your application that can scan your websites for 4500+ vulnerabilities. The most astounding feature of Acunetix is that it can crawl thousands of pages without any sort of interruptions.
Features

  • Can easily generate any kind of technical and compliance reports
  • Scans both open-source as well as custom-built applications
  • Deep scan technology for effective scanning
  • Most advanced SQLi and cross-site scripting testing
  • Effective login sequence recorder
  • Acusensor technology that enhances regular dynamic scan
  • Built-in vulnerability management module


13. Netsparker
open source security testing tools
one of the most accurate scanner out there in the market. Owing to its ability to identify deadly vulnerabilities such as SQL injection, Cross-site scripting, etc.
Features

  • Ability to scan any web-related app
  • Coverage for more than 1000 vulnerabilities
  • You can also check for coding related errors
  • Ability to generate regulatory compliance and web application


14. Metasploit
open source security testing tools
One of the most widely used penetration testing framework. Metasploit is an open-source testing platform that helps security testers to do much more than that of vulnerability assessment.
Features

  • The framework is much more advanced than that of competitors
  • More than 1500 exploits
  • Meta modules for discrete tasks such as network segmentation testing
  • Can be used for the automation of many processes
  • Many infiltration scenarios mockup features


15. Burp Suite

Even though Burp Suite charges money for their services. They have been put to use owing to many advanced features such as,
Features

  • Cutting edge web-app crawler
  • Coverage for more than 100 vulnerabilities
  • Can be used for interactive Application Security Testing (IAST)
  • JavaScript analysis using static and dynamic techniques detection of vulnerabilities within client-side javascript
  • Out-of-band techniques for augmenting conventional scanning methods

We believe that this open-source security testing tool is cardinal when it comes to assessment of software security.  We have also created a pictorial representation (infographic) so that you can get an idea easily

 

Also Read: Selenium 4: New Features and Updates

Difference Between Selenium RC and Webdriver

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Testing is an integral part of any product’s development. Therefore, it is important for every organization to have a stringent quality testing strategy and framework that helps it ensure the best quality of its products. While a number of software are already present in different frameworks in the market, Selenium is one of the most preferred one.
Difference Between Selenium RC and Webdriver
Selenium is defined as a portable software-testing framework that can be used for web applications. It can be used for authoring tests without the need to learn scripting language Selenium IDE and test domain-Selenese to write tests in a number of popular programming languages, including C#, Groovy, Java, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby and Scala. These tests can used to execute against different-or latest web browsers.
A user can use selenium on Windows, Linux, and OS X platforms as well. It is an open-source software, released under the Apache 2.0 license and is available for free for downloading.

Selenium includes a number of components and each of these have a specific function to perform development of web application test automation. Some of the common components are Selenium IDE (integrated development environment), Selenium client API, Selenium RC (Remote Control), Selenium WebDriver and Selenium Grid.
Difference Between Selenium RC and Webdriver
 While it is true that Selenium WebDriver python test automation framework is a successor of Selenium RC, there are still a number of similarities as well as differences between the two. This article can help you develop a better understanding about the same and help you avoid any sort of confusion between the two.

  1. Browsers

Both these tools can be used on different browsers such as, Firefox, IE, Chrome, Safari, Opera and others.

  1. Recording and playback

Whether a user is using RC or WebDriver, it is possible for him/her to record as well as playback the execution of a test.

  1. Executing test script

While RC requires one to start server again before executing the test script, the same is not a mandate in case of WebDriver.

  1. Type of program

RC is a separate java program that allow a user execute HTML test suites. Whereas WebDriver is a programming interface which is available in multiple languages.

  1. Platform for interaction

RC server executes the test as JavaScript commands whereas WebDriver performs on Selenium commands and a browser.

  1. API

The API (Application Programming Interface) of RC is easy and small. But these contain a lot of redundancies and a lot of confusing commands. Various browsers interpret commands differently.
On the other hand, the API of WebDriver is large and a bit complex. These are also simple to comprehend and do not contain any sort of redundancy or confusing commands.

  1. Object-oriented

Selenium RC’s are not much object-oriented whereas Selenium WebDriver’s are completely object-oriented

  1. App testing

One cannot test any sort of iPhone or Android application on Selenium RC whereas the same can be done using WebDriver.

  1. XPath attachment

Selenium RC requires one to attach complete XPath whereas the same is not mandatory in case of WebDriver.

  1. Implementation of listeners

It is not possible to implant listeners in Selenium RC whereas one can do the same with a WebDriver.

  1. Execution speed

As compared to Selenium RC, WebDriver is faster in its execution as it is directly connected with the browser. The use of JavaScript program called Selenium Core slows down the Selenium RC’s speed.

  1. Syntax

While the syntax of RC is quite complex, the same is simple and easy to understand in case of WebDriver.
The basic purpose behind introducing Selenium WebDriver test automation framework in the market was to deal with the problem areas of Selenium RC as well as increase the scope of testing.

It is recommended to make use of Selenium WebDriver test automation framework for testing purposes however, the same depends on one’s choice as well the requirements.