Testbytes Software

8 Ways to Make Usability Testing Simple

Posted on October 13, 2015 by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

People consider Usability Testing to be a costly, complicated affair that consumes a lot of time. Well, that is not the case. Testing for applications, apps, and interfaces are actually quite simple if you go the right way. It will help you make numerous changes to ensure your users are happy with the end product. You can easily formulate a DIY Mobile App Testing process that is affordable, effective, simple, and fast at the same time.

Usability Performance Testing made Simple
Here are 8 ways by which you can make way for easy DIY Usability Testing:

Keep the situation informal

You can set up a testing area anywhere in your firm. Use a single email to list out the results of the process, use bullet points to point out the issues found, and keep it simple. You are testing a small number of people, so there is no need of collecting the statistics. Do not go for big reports with all kinds of details, both necessary and unnecessary ones.

Early Testing

It is a common mistake to wait until the whole development process is complete to start the testing process. Spending money on testing at the early stages is not considered as an option by many. This makes it too late to be able to fix the relevant issues. If you start testing early, you could find bugs and ensure they are fixed before you go deeper into the development process. These tests are quite short, but help you considerably in the long run.

Read Also: Top 5 Software Testing Trends to Look Out For in 2015

Test a Small Number of People

Do not test too many users at once. The ideal number of people to test an app is considered to be three. It is an optimum number which will help you find more problems than the resources you have to be able to fix the issues immediately. In order to get serious problems, you do not need too many users for testing.

Test Occasionally

Setting up a fixed date for testing every month is a good idea. This ensures that regular testing is done on whatever you are developing, even if much progress had been made or not. Bring in three people on a fixed date and let them test your application. This helps you schedule your tasks, make recruiting easy, and organize the whole process. Since you can already plan things ahead, there will be no interference to the development process due to testing. You can stick to milestones and need not wait for last moment feedback from the Software Tester.

Focus on the Most Important Issues

It is important to categorize the issues found after testing. You are bound to get a huge number of bugs or fixes required. This number may even overtake the number of resources you have to be able to fix them. As such, it is important to select the most important issues from the list and work on fixing them. Some of the issues may not even matter much as far as the functionality is concerned, and you can omit them for the next release.

Have Regular Conversation with your Users

The idea is to keep your users talking, and hear them as they think out loud. It often works like a therapy for the developers to work with the users. It gives them a deep insight about how users think, and their wavelength while using your application. This feedback is literally Software Performance Testing.

Involve Everyone in your Mobile App Testing Process

Limit the number of testers to just three. But, be open to suggestions and feedback from everyone in your organization. Have sessions to make your application open for discussions by all. This can help you get various ideas, which can be highly creative and useful. It is very powerful if a number of minds come together to discuss a particular case. Have informal discussions at the table, and pick up whatever you find useful. Utilize them in the best way possible.

You may also like: Developers Vs Testers Ratio In The Indian Job Market Shows A Worrying Trend!

Stick to Tweaking

Problems should be fixed in the easiest way possible. Always stick to tweaking, and never go for redesigning. Make the simplest change you could do to solve the issue instead of trying your hand at maintaining perfection. Do only the least you could do. Redesigning consumes a lot of time and effort. In turn, tweaking is more cost effective and faster. Large changes take much longer, and could even break things elsewhere. Taking such risks is absolutely not worth the effort.

Mobile App Testing Services help you bring the best out of your App by picking out bugs and making it the best in all possible ways. The main idea is to make your end users happy, and through usability testing, you can know how exactly this can be done.

Is Testing Important for the Mobile Gaming Industry?

Posted on September 25, 2015 by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

Gaming is a highly popular field which is always booming. It is a billion dollar industry that hardly sees a recession. Constant new efforts are always being taken to capitalize in this industry. There is much scope for profit and fame here.

But Game Testing seems to be an area that doesn’t experience the same growth. Does that mean it’s not that important for the industry? In order to understand, let’s take a look at the factors that are influenced by game testing.
Consumer Experience
The main part about gaming is consumer experience. With good user experience, a game will thrive. There are millions of games on the App store and Play Store. To be a winner among this tight competition requires a whole lot of patience and dedication. With so many games hitting the market on a daily basis, you need to be different to stand out and make your mark.
Addictive puzzles and complex levels are no more enough to keep the users addicted to your game and recommend it to friends. If the game does not work as the users expect, they will be quick enough to uninstall the game and move over to another one. Moreover, they may even give you a poor review or ratings, which could mar your image. This is where mobile testing comes in to the picture.

Recommended Read: 5 Things You Shouldn’t Miss While Testing a Game

Efficiency
A good Game Tester is required to test your games for efficiency apart from user experience. It requires several rounds of thorough testing to declare a game fit for release out to the public. Though it may sound simple and easy, that is not the case.
A survey by Forbes has stated that 80% of smartphone users have admitted to having played a game on their device, whereas 46% play games on a daily basis. According to this report, 65% of the time a user spends online is on a tablet or a smartphone. 32% of this time goes in playing games. So, you can see that games have an important part in every smartphone user’s life.
Mobile games are different from console based games. Mobile game developers do not usually get extended periods of testing. If a user finds too many bugs in it or is unhappy with the features, he is likely to delete it. Once deleted, there are very few chances for the user to download a newer version the next time it releases. The first impression is the one and only hope you have in this case. Effective Mobile Application Testing is required to make this impression a good and lasting one.
Bug Weeding
No matter how great your game is, without a good amount of QA or Mobile Testing you may not get the deserved reviews. Bugs are the most prominent issues. Great games with lots of bugs reduce all the greatness of the concept. The users are unable to play it smoothly making your game a failure.
A game developer may not always realise the issues with his own games. Game Testers have the job of picking out the bugs and glitches in the game that have been missed out by the developers.

Read Also: Top 5 Automation Testing Tools for Android

Conclusion
When you look at the influence of mobile game testing, it is clear that mobile app testing is not just important but vital for the industry. Mobile Testing Services are available for effective testing of your games. High level testing by the most prominent testing companies has produced amazing results to benefit game developers.

A good quality game that is seamless and free of bugs is sure to be loved by the users. So, look out for the best Mobile Testing Services to test your games before releasing out in to the App Store. This will help you get good reviews and make it big!

Manual or Automated Testing: Which to Use?

Posted on September 3, 2015 by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

Every software tester must face the same dilemma when it comes to choosing the right kind of testing for their software or apps. Often the confusion is whether to choose manual or automated testing. Before moving into a deeper analysis, let me just begin by saying that both have their pros and cons.

When it comes to choices made by teams, the patterns indicate a higher percent of start-ups and SMEs using manual testing. This is because of the costs involved in conducting an automated test. It is only wise to weigh the costs and benefits of applying a certain software testing methodology before you choose it.

Read Also: 5 Types of Testing to Make Your Mobile Apps User-Friendly

Manual Testing
Lower cost and flexibility is why someone would want to go for this sort of testing. Moreover it gives you a better understanding of real user issues which manual testing can’t provide. As said before, if you’re a start up or an SME looking for a cost-efficient mode of software testing, then doing it manually is the favorable choice.
Here, testing takes place from the perspective of a regular user, comparing the test outcomes to expected outcomes. This means going in and running a set of tasks or programs to spot defects. It provides the advantage of analyzing apps from the user’s point-of-view, unlike in automated testing.
While it’s impossible to add values once automated tests have begun, manual testing is more flexible in this aspect.
Despite its advantages, bigger companies avoid the use of manual testing because of the sheer time involved. Manual testing makes sense when you have a handful of tests. But what if the number of apps is in the thousands?
Isn’t a pretty picture is it?
This is where automation testing services come in handy. It helps in situations where there are time constraints, within which the testing needs to be done.
Automated Testing
Automated testing tools use pre-defined algorithms to compare expected test outcomes to the outcomes achieved. Minimal variation between the two indicates a successful bug test. In case a variation surfaces, the test will be repeated after necessary code changes.

Read Also: Top 5 Automation Testing Tools for Android

This is used in time bound testing environments where a software tester might have to work with a lot of apps or software. It is relatively quick and effective, compared to manual testing and hence, there is enough time to repeat tests. This is a huge advantage for companies as it helps to reduce their product delivery cycle. Manual testing requires typing the same information again and again, which can be completely avoided in automated testing.
It is thus a good practice to collect information on what is best for your business and company, before deciding on what kind of testing to implement.

5 Reasons Why Your Security Testing Needs to Be Crowd Sourced

Posted on August 10, 2015 by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

It is common for companies to launch bug bounties in order to improve upon existing security assessment tools and services. Researchers, who help with software testing, discover and resolve bugs for a reward which greatly improves the level of security. This process is referred to as crowd-sourcing.

Heroku, Twilio, Pinterest, and Dropcam are great examples of companies that utilize the process of crowd-sourcing in software testing. This helps in enhancing security in today’s world of increasing breaches.

Also Read: Top 5 Software Testing Trends to Look Out For in 2015

Here are 5 reasons why crowdsourcing can be your trump card:
1. Better results
When more security researchers are involved in assessing an application, naturally the test coverage for an app increases. More researchers mean a more diversified software testing knowledge. A different skill set is brought to the table with the addition of a researcher through crowd-sourcing.
The results obtained are something that is unattainable using conventional testing methodologies. This method is even better than the structured patterns of automated testing or the use of a handful of penetration testing consultants.
2. Cost Effective
Regardless of the results, penetration testers and security researchers are paid for their time. This invokes a belief that tapping security resources can cost you a lot. This is where a crowd-sourced bug bounty program can help you be more cost efficient. Under this model, rewards are only needed to be given to researchers who first find a valid vulnerability. This means payment is done based on the vulnerabilities they find or the bugs they fix.
Submitting a duplicate isn’t rewarded which helps reduce the cost per vulnerability which is in turn a cost efficient and legitimate method to find and report bugs.
3. Safe method of Disclosing a Breach/Exploit
By having a bug bounty or responsible disclosure program, your company is protected from a hacker who may fully disclose an exploit to the public. Inadequate set of rules for report the vulnerability more often than not causes bug leak to the public. Oftentimes companies are caught off guard by this lack of proper communication. Companies can use the transparent rules together with an increase its security which they get by using a bug bounty program.
4. Benefit of a Continuous Security Testing
A system update or code push or even something as simple as being online may cause software to become vulnerable. Running pen tests or automated scanners can shed light on a few bugs, but they are incapable of providing the extra layer of protection which is given by bug bounty program. Researchers from different countries all across the globe can test an app at any time to alert your team through crowd-sourcing.
5. Free your team
Time consumption and inefficiency are some defects related to searching for vulnerabilities especially when done in small numbers. Crowd-sourced security testing can free up IT teams to validate and fix the discovered vulnerabilities which are their sole responsibilities. This helps to fix security issues even before they become a problem, which is far better than reacting to a production level bug that your team is unprepared for.

Also Read: 8 Instances Software Bugs Proved To be too Costly

Incentivizing researchers through crowd-sourcing will help you protect your product in the world where security exploits have been increasing. This helps to level the playing field and proactively secure apps with the help of white-hat researchers.

Top 5 Automation Testing Tools for Android

Posted on August 7, 2015 by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

Automation testing is used these days in almost all the test processes. The advantage of a reduced testing time along with reduction in error has led to its widespread acceptance among software testers. With a wide variety of testing tools available for this purpose, one should be aware of their features to better understand them.

Choosing a single tool to support you entire project is rather impossible, since most tools may not be able to fully correspond to you project. Here we discuss the top 5 tools that have been the most sought after by Android testers around the globe.
1.Robotium Android Testing Tool
Pros
It is one of the first and frequently used automation tools for Android software testing. Robotium, a free Android UI testing tool is suitable for test automation of different Android versions. Often referred to as Selenium by Android Software developers, the tests created by Robotium are written in Java. Robotium is also a library for unit tests.
Cons
But Robotium is time consuming and needs much more effort to create tests in it. This is because in order to automate tests, one must work with the program source code. Also the tool is unsuitable for interacting with system software; it is incapable of locking and unlocking smart phones or tablets. Robotium does not have a record or a play function and it also does not provide screenshots. As part of continuous integration, Robotium incorporates easily with Maven, Gradle or Ant for the execution of tests.
2.MonkeyRunner
Pros
This is a popular Android app testing tool used for the automation of functional tests for Android software. This tool is more low-level when compared to Robotium, but does not have to work with the source code in order to automate tests. Written in Python, it also gives provision of using a recording tool for creating tests.
With MonkeyRunner, it is possible to run tests on real devices connected to a PC or emulators. The API within the tool helps to control a smart phone, a tablet or an emulator from outside of the Android code.
Cons
The biggest disadvantage of this mobile app testing tool is the necessity of writing scripts for each device. Another drawback is the need for a test to be adjusted each time the user interface of a test program changes.
3.Appium Android Automation Framework
Pros
Appium is used to test iOS and Android native mobile web and hybrid applications. While native apps are written with the help of iOS or Android SDKs, mobile web apps can be opened on mobile browsers and hybrid apps are totally involved with “webview”. It is an open-source mobile automation tool.
The running of tests does not require any changes to be made in the source code which is a huge advantage. The Selenium JSON Wire Protocol used in Appium allows you to write the test in any language supported by Selenium. Appium facilitates testers to reuse the code between iOS and Android test suites even though it is considered a “cross-platform” tool.
Cons
The advantages are in plenty, but it would be a sin not to discuss its drawbacks as well. It takes a long time to configure appium for both android and iOS and also is prone to too many unexpected errors.
4.UI Automator
Pros
UI Automator allows you to do more in Android app testing and games when compared to the basic framework that is Robotium. You can test the user interface (UI) of your native Android apps on one or more devices with Google’s test framework. Another advantage of UI Automator is that the cases can span across different processes with JUnit test cases having special privileges. It also provides five different classes for developers.

Cons
UI Automator has its downsides, one of them being it only works on Android devices with API level of 16 or higher. Another drawback of UI Automator is its lack of support for webview, were directly accessing Android objects is not possible.
5.Espresso
Pros
It is the latest Android test automation framework open-sourced by Google. It is available for developers and software testers to work on their UIs. Its API is small and predictable making it easy to learn and above all built on top of the Android instrumentation framework.
It helps to write concise and reliable Android UI tests and is supported on API level 8 (Froyo), 10 (Gingerbread), and 15 (Ice Cream Sandwich) till current versions.
Its reliability and the ability to synchronize with the UI thread makes it fast since there is no need for any sleeps.
Cons
Just like UI Automator, it too suffers the drawback of not supporting webviews.

6 Popular Myths in Test Automation You Must Know

Posted on July 23, 2015 by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

Despite the several benefits test automation has to offer, many software testers still find excuses to not completely utilize these benefits. Faster releases, quicker feedback, frequent test execution, increased test coverage to development team are a few of the many advantages it possesses. Quite a few myths surround test automation and this blog will help you to identify them and embrace what it has to offer.

The most challenging task for a software tester when it comes to test automation is to understand its limitations and set goals accordingly.
Myths Surrounding Automated Testing

Myth #1: It’s better than Manual Testing
For those who claim this, you need to understand one thing; automated testing is not testing per se. It is checking of facts. When we have certain knowledge about a system under test, we enforce checks in the form of automated testing. The result of such a check will help confirm our understanding of the system.

However testing is a form of investigation, which gives us new information about the system under test. Hence we should refrain from being lenient to one or the other since both methods are required to get quality insight about an application.

Myth #2: 100% Automated Testing
100% test coverage is impossible to achieve; and the same goes for test automation. While it is possible for us to increase test coverage by using more data, configurations, covering various operating systems and browsers, achieving 100% is an unrealistic goal.

More tests don’t mean better quality or confidence. The important thing is how good your test design is. Focus need to be put on the more important areas of functionality rather that chasing a full coverage.

Myth #3: Quick ROI Every Time
When implementing a test automation solution, the development of a framework is necessary and this will support operations. This can be useful and meaningful for test case selection, reporting, data driven, etc. The framework development should be considered as a project on its own and thus requires an array of skilled developers. The process is also a time consuming one.

Scripting automated checks takes longer initially even with a fully functional framework. Hence when it is necessary to provide a quick feedback on the new feature, checking it manually is faster.

Myth #4: Automated Checks Have Higher Defect Detection Rate
While it is true that vendor-supplied or home-made test automation solutions are highly capable of performing complex operations; they will never be able to replace a human software tester. He is capable of identifying even the most subtle anomalies in the application.

An automated check is capable of checking only what they were programmed to. Therefore the scripts are only as good as the person who wrote them. If not scripted properly the automation test can easily overlook major flaws in these applications. In short, checking can prove the presence of a defect, but not necessary its absence.

Myth #5: Unit Test Automation is All That We Need
It should be understood that a unit test is only capable of identifying programmer errors and not his failures. When all the components are tied together to form a system, a much larger aspect of testing comes into the limelight. Most organization has their automated checks at the system UI layer.

The sheer volatility of the functionalities during development makes the process of scripting automated checks a tedious task. Spending time on automation for a functionality that might change is not advisable and may cause difficulties in the later stages of development.

Myth #6: System UI Automation is everything
Relying solely on automated checks, especially at UI layer can have a truck-load of negative impacts. The development stage will face numerous changes in the UI in the form of enhanced visual design and usability. If a similar change in the functionality is not in place a false impression about the state of the application will be indicated in the checks.

Automation checks in the UI layer has a slower execution speed compared to the ones in the unit and API layers. This will result in a slower feedback process to the team. The root cause analysis takes longer as the exact location of the bug is unknown. Therefore it becomes necessary to identify the layers where the use of an automated test may become helpful.
Automated checks is not a onetime thing, it needs constant monitoring and updating. Above all you need to understand the limitations and set realistic goals to get the most out of you automated checks and most importantly your team.

8 Instances Software Bugs Proved To be Too Costly

Posted on July 9, 2015January 29, 2024 by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

The world has reached a point where everything is dependent on a set of codes. From the cars that you drive to military vehicles, and department stores to top secret military installation, everything runs on computer programs. The integration of software to our day to day life has truly made life easier.
As helpful as software has been, they have also contributed to some of the most bizarre and catastrophic losses to nations and companies worldwide. Most of these have occurred due to improper software testing methodologies.

The results were devastating in terms of financial damages and in the some serious cases, even human life was sacrificed. This blog brings insight into some of the most outrageous events that took place in history by reliving those moments.
More often than not, software integration using computers gets it right and gets the job done. But when things start to fall apart, all hell breaks loose.
1. Almost World War III

On the night of September 26, 1983, the early warning system of the Soviet alerted of a nuclear strike launched by America. What could have been a worldwide bloodshed was averted, thanks to the Soviet Air Defence officer Stanislav Petrov. Later he said in the Washington Post that he “had a funny feeling in my gut” about the authenticity of the warning. Investigations proved that the alarm system was faulty.
2. Faulty Mars Climate Orbiter

NASA is known for many blunders, but none more embarrassing than what happened with its Mars Climate Orbiter. Launched on December 11, 1998, the mission to better understand the only other planet capable of supporting life in our solar system would bring United States to the forefront in astronomical research.
But what happened was quite different. An error in the ground-based computer software resulted in a $326.7 million lose to the agency. The Orbiter went missing after 286 days of its launch. Software testing showed that a slight miscalculation caused the Orbiter to enter Mars’s atmosphere at the wrong entry point causing it to disintegrate.
3. Bug Triggered Blackout

Eight US states and Canada were given a scare by a tiny bug in the software thread affecting 50 million people. What the authorities described as a race condition bug, was caused when two separate threads of a single operation used the same element of code. The lack of synchronization caused the threads to tangle and eventually crash the system. This caused 256 power plants to go offline causing major disruptions and widespread panic.
4. Glitch in Patriot Missiles

The bugs that were mentioned so far were responsible for some major financial loses but the software error in the Patriot Missiles caused the lives of 28 with an additional 100+ injured. The missiles were designed to protect the American barracks from the scud missile during the Gulf war. But the bug caused a delay in tracking the missiles real-time rendering the barracks defenceless to the Iraqi attacks. The loss of human life is what makes this one of the most costly software testing mistakes in history.
5. The IRS Debacle

The Internal Revenue Service lost something between $200 and $300 million in revenue in 2006 while depending on computer software to find potential fraud cases in returns claiming refunds. The tax collection agency later found that the software was inoperable, but by then it was too late.
6. $440 million in 30 Minutes

The losses were even higher for Knight Capital Group, when the bugs in the company’s trading algorithm decided to buy high and sell low on 150 different stocks. A market-making firm that had an outstanding reputation up until August of 2012 managed to hit rock-bottom in just 30 minutes; surely it has to be a world record.
By the time the company addressed the issue the losses were cataclysmic. The company lost $440 million as compared to their net income of $296 million in 2011. Even the company stock price dropped 62 percent in one day, according to Bloomberg Business week.
7. 450 Violent Offenders Given Parole

This embarrassing and dangerous event took place in California when 450 high-risk prisoners were released into the public. The state which decided to reduce its prison population by 33,000, releasing non-violent offenders, instead went on to grant non-revocable paroles to approximately 450 violent felons. A huge misread by the software algorithm. Many of them remain free even today.
8. The AT&T Crisis

On January 15, 1990 around 60,000 AT&T customers were denied the luxury of making long distance calls. Initially the company believed it was being hacked until finally the real culprit was found in the form of a software bug.
The company updated its software to make the processes faster. Well, be careful what you wish for. The process became faster than expected and the server sent two messages to the subsequent server causing the switches to reboot in a loop. By the time the issue was taken care of, AT&T has lost $60 million in long distance charges for the dropped calls.

5 Qualities of an Excellent Software Tester

Posted on June 11, 2015 by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

The art of software testing wasn’t given much attention in the past because of a lack of followership. The condition of a software tester is even grimmer. Rather than employing those who aim for a software testing job, companies manage with people just settling for it.

Many software testing departments are filled with those who resort to testing only because of their inability to write codes. The growth of this field was also seriously hampered by the misconception about the costs of conducting such tests. Besides hiring and training testers, companies were also worried about scheduling their valuable time for testing.
But the rapid change in technology demanded more from less and hence agile testing started becoming a trend. Gradually the need for testing became important as companies found that they could save more with the implementation of a testing process. To thrive as a great tester, one needs these 5 qualities at their disposal:
1. A Thirst to Seek Improvement
Everyday there is a new technology in the market. A tester must stay updated about these technologies. He should constantly keep improving his skills which will help him gel with the emerging trends in software testing. A tester should be willing to come out of his own comfort zone in order to push the boundaries of his testing knowledge.
Learning about constant growths in a product domain should be part of every tester’s routine. Together with knowing the product, he should also have a good idea about the domain, whether he is a software tester or a game tester. Having no clue about the domain of a test system can lead to improper testing.
2. Programming Skills
A person lacking the skills to write even the basic program code cannot be an effective software tester. Developers and system engineers are greatly benefitted during the testing phase if the tester is able to relate and imagine the code structures.
3. Need for Innovation
Testers must constantly think of how they can do things in different ways and still produce an effective result. Varying the testing scenarios and seeking improved testing methods will surely bring some innovative thoughts. Being a good tester is one thing, but having the capability to innovate can take you a long way.

4. Communicate
Being able to communicate clearly, accurately and demonstrate a high capacity of comprehension are great qualities for a tester. Communication skills can be different, depending on the need of the hour. A tester might be required to read and understand specifications, translate those into structured test cases, report bugs and to write a clear and concise report to management.
A tester must be able to convey their findings during meetings in a logical and unambiguous way so as to make others understand their ideas. This requires the software tester to have exceptional spoken and written skills.
5. Accountability
There are two forms of accountability that a software tester has to deal with.
a) Accountability to the test product
Most testers are content with completing their tasks for the day and put no effort in trying to learn a bit more about the product at hand. They fail to understand where their product fits and how it influences the economy, markets, businesses, consumers and end users. Having such an idea will help testers to put in better effort towards the work that they do. This will help cultivate a sense of ownership which makes him closer to his work.
b) Accountability to Errors or Mistakes
Making errors is part of working in a high stress environment and focus should be given to prevent these from recurring. Testers should own up to their mistakes instead of finding someone else to blame it on.
You need to have the courage to admit these and push forward for a solution. Apart from gaining the respect of co-workers, this will also help maintain a good working condition within the team. Hence, moving away from blame and focusing on the solution is what matters. As the saying goes “To err is only human”.

10 Simple Ways You Can Improve as a Tester

Posted on June 10, 2015 by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

Being a software tester is no easy task. The ones who strive hard to continuously improve on their skill sets and keep themselves updated about the need of the hour achieve success in this profession. It isn’t just enough to be good tester; you need to be the very best.

Whether you are into mobile application testing or web application testing, the following tips are sure to help you.
1. Always Go For Quality
Identifying the most important bugs and glitches is a talent that needs to be nurtured. This is what companies look for rather that messing it all up by testing for some 10,000 bugs. This talent can alone ensure a fruitful career with the company you work for.
2. Prioritization
This is similar to finding bugs. Know what is of extreme importance and test these critical areas of the application before going into the minute details. This will help you identify the most valuable bugs first thereby allowing the development team to get rid of these as soon as possible.
3. Develop Your Written Communication Skill
A good written communication skill is part of a software tester’s job description. Why? Because more often than not a software tester will have to write a good test case, bug reports and so on. This is an essential part of QA and should be detailed but at the same time simple to understand.
4. Have a Thirst For Knowledge
Learning from your own and others mistakes can help you go a long way. Each time you commit an error, ask yourself; how can I prioritize better during the next test cycle? How can I communicate with the development team better? Your search for the answers will lead you to a better career as a software tester. Also be ready to ask questions to your fellow testers.
5. Professionalism
Having more than one perspective to a problem can help you become an expert at software testing. Test the software without bias and don’t let any past experience with the software make you cocky. Remember!!! No bugs are too big or too small for you to handle.
6. Be Innovative With Your Thoughts
Don’t just test the software in front of you and think that your job is done. Having your own opinion about the software is welcomed by the developers, provided you don’t deviate from the core concept.
7. Question Yourself
Does this work as planned? Does it support all devices? Does it work under every possible use-case, every time? Keep asking these questions at every level of your test to ensure that you get maximum output from the software.
8. Think as a User
Having a user’s mindset helps you to imagine his expectation and experiences of the software. This will help to evaluate the software from a user perspective, even before its launch at a consumer outlet. It will also help you identify the most valuable bugs.
9. Improve Bug Report
To ensure that the developer gets proper information which he/she needs to understand the bug and fix it, try attaching screen shots and providing detailed bug reports. Where, when, how many times, on what devices, which operating system and under what circumstances will throw light on the bug. A bug is useless to a development team without the right details.
10. Let Your Passion Drive You
Passion is the key to succeeding in any field. Always be a step ahead of you competition and be informed, seek new training opportunities, engage with your fellow testers, attend testing conferences and classes. Try getting close to all things QA.

5 Most Common Software Testing Methodologies

Posted on June 8, 2015 by tbsupadminnxtbackendacc

<span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span>
Software testing services offer a number of testing models. But for you to choose the right testing model, you need to be aware of the capabilities and shortcomings of each model. In this blog, we help you to choose the testing methodologies that best suits your software testing needs.

Various approaches are used by software testers in software development processes. A software development process is also called a Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). Here we will discuss 5 of the most frequently used testing methodologies and the advantages and disadvantages of using them in a Software Development Life Cycle.
1. Waterfall Model
Developed by Winston Royce in the early 1970s, it is one of the most basic life cycle models. It was the first successful process model with a sequential development phase. The process flows progressively like that of a waterfall through multiple phases and hence the name waterfall model. The model as such is divided in into the following phases:

Requirement Gathering and Analysis phase
Software Design
Implementation and Testing
Maintenance

All the phases are sequential and each step is dependent on the previous one. This means that for a particular phase to begin, all the defined set of objectives and goals belonging to the previous step needs to be completed. This can sometimes become a disadvantage, but the simplicity in implementation and ease of maintenance is what fuels the popularity of this model.
The amount of resources required is minimal when compared to other models. A document is created after every phase of the model which helps to better understand and design the system. Creating deadlines for each stage helps to develop the system within a predetermined time frame. This model is rigid and lacks flexibility. It is impossible to make changes in the development of the system.
Advantage

Simple and easy
Since the model is rigid, it’s easy to manage
Clearly defined
Minimum client intervention
The only completion can lead to the next phase

Disadvantage

Can’t be used for a complex project
Highly risky
Not meant for big projects
Changes in the project are not possible

2. V-Model
To overcome the disadvantages of the Waterfall Model, an alternative called V Model was introduced. It enables testing at each phase of SDLC, while the Waterfall Model supports testing only in the end phase. This helped testers to find issues at the earlier stages rather than at the end.
Before the start of actual testing, the testing team works on various activities like preparing the Test Strategy, Test Planning, Creation of Test cases and Test Scripts. These work in parallel with the development activity, helping to get the test completed on time. It is also called the verification or validation model.

In this process, the “Do-Procedure” is handled by the developer team whereas the “Check-Procedure” is followed by the testing team to meet the requirements. The V-model typically consists of the following phases:
1. Unit Testing: Preparation of Unit Test Cases
2. Integration Testing: Preparation of Integration Test Cases
3. System Testing: Preparation of System test cases
4. Acceptance Testing: Preparation of Acceptance Test Cases
Advantage

Systematic progress
Extensive functional area coverage
Works for small projects
High usage of resources
Detailed information about the problem with the software

Disadvantage

The process comes to an abrupt end when the project is finished, in short, re-usability is less
Not suitable for big projects
Risk management and risk mitigation is not possible
Not suitable if there is frequent change in requirement

3. Agile Model
The agile development model is a type of incremental model where the software is developed in incremental, rapid cycles. This produces small incremental releases with each release building on previous functionality. These releases are thoroughly tested to ensure software equality and the model is commonly used for time-critical applications.
It helps in the rapid and continuous delivery of useful software which ensures customer satisfaction. This model promotes constant interaction between customers, developers, and testers, and even facilitates face-to-face conversation.
Such a model demands a clear cut idea about the output or else the project can easily be taken off track. It is difficult for a newbie programmer and constantly requires the services of an experienced hand.
Agile welcomes changes that need to be implemented. This can be done at an affordable cost because of frequent increments that are produced. Unlike the waterfall model, the agile model requires very limited planning to get started with the project.
Advantage

Rapid continuous delivery
Changes in requirement will not be an issue
Concentration on the process
More focus on customer satisfaction

Disadvantage

Lengthy documentation
Cannot be used for small projects
If the customer is not sure about the project it can derail
Only experienced testers can be a part of the process

4. Spiral Model
It is similar to the incremental model but gives more emphasis on risk analysis. The spiral model has four phases:

Planning
Risk Analysis
Engineering
Evaluation.

A software project repeatedly goes through these phases in iterations and in the baseline spiral, starting in the planning phase, requirements are gathered and risk is analyzed. Each subsequent spiral builds on the baseline spiral.
There is a high amount of risk analysis taking place which helps to better avoid them. Additional functionalities can be added at a later stage of development. In spite of the advantages, this is a costly model to use and also the process of risk analysis requires highly specific expertise.
This model is widely used when costs and risk evaluation is of prime importance, especially in those medium to high-risk projects. For users who are unsure of what they need, this model can be quite helpful.
Advantages

Scope for extensive risk analysis
High documentation control
Accurate capturing of requirement
User can see the system clearly

Disadvantages

So complex
End of the project will not be known early
Only experts can do risk management
Objectives are hard to define
Can’t be practiced for small projects

5. RUP
It is an object-oriented and web-enabled program development methodology and is like an online mentor that provides guidelines, templates, and examples for all aspects and stages of program development. RUP is a comprehensive software engineering tool that combines the procedural aspects of development with other components of development within a unifying framework.
Advantage

An iterative process which is better than the waterfall model in many processes
Accurate documentation
Integration requires less time

Disadvantage

Relies heavily on experts
Complicated model
Since the process welcomes integration, it can lead to confusions

RUP establishes four phases of development:

· Inception phase: Developers define the scope of the project and its business.

· Elaboration phase: Developers analyze the project’s needs in greater detail and define its architectural foundation.

· Construction phase: Developers create the application design and source code.

· Transition phase: Developers deliver the system to users.