Agile Testing - Things to know about

What is Agile? The software development lifecycle has got a new shape in past decade. Experts have experiments many new ways to increase the productivity of the process. They implemented many changes to the development process for better output. One of those changes was agile methodology. Agile means to do together. We know the importance of team i.e., together everyone achieves more. In agile methodology this concept has adopted for better performance. Fortunately this method work like a charm in IT industry and received tremendous support from the IT farms. Now almost all projects are implementing this methodology in the development process for better result. Let us see how it works.

Why would companies like to have certified testers to test their projects?

Why Software testing? It will not be an overstatement if I would say testing is the key to success for any software application program or product. All that we aim to have within any software must be tested by the tester to ensure their presence and performance. In order to get a user friendly and efficient software product, we must test the product intensively before producing the same in front of the end user. Previously the testing task was performed by the manual testers but with time enterprise rely on automation testing. An automation testing tool helps in preventing all types of bugs that may be overlooked by the manual testers due to human errors. So industry is now depending upon the automation testing tools like QTP automation testing tool, Selenium automation testing tool etc.

Few Best Methods to Implement Agile QA Process on Projects

Agile QA (Quality Assurance) Process is a procedure of software testing, which follows various principles of agile software development. The practice involves all the members of a cross functional agile development and testing team, with major role played by the testers so as to ensure a seamless delivery of business values desired by the customers concerned at regular intervals.

Independent Testing - Its benefits and risks

Independent Testing is carried out by testing specialists who are not involved with the development of the system. This is done to make sure that the software that is delivered is able to meet both functional as well as non-functional requirements. This process helps to avoid any type of author bias and is proven to be effective for finding any kind of drawbacks or failures. There can be several levels of independence, such as the tests can be performed by a person who wrote it; by another person belonging to the same team; by a person who belongs to another group or an independent test team and by a person who belongs to a completely different company or by an external body.

Agile QA Process for Projects - Best Practices

As an incremental and iterative agile approach for software development, scrum is used widely by enterprises across the world to manage product development in a holistic and flexible way. Scrum requires the development team to work as a single unit for accomplishing a common goal. The agile approach further assumes that the clients can always change their mind about their wants and needs during the project.

Therefore, it becomes essential for both software developers and testers to explore innovative ways to deliver valuable features of business in short development iterations varying from 2 to 4 weeks.

Implementing Agile QA Process on Scrum Projects - 6 Best Practices

Before discussing the 6 best practices of implementing Agile QA process on Scrum Projects, let us discuss at first what Scrum is. Scrum can be defined as an Agile approach of software development that puts primary emphasis on delivery of valuable features of business in short developmental iterations that vary from two to four weeks. The teams generally have two specific characteristics that define their skills – they are cross functional and self organizing. Cross functionality of the teams makes sure that they have the skill as well as the expertise of doing the necessary jobs and the fact that they are self-organizing means that they figure out the process that will be the best to do the job.

Now going back to the iterations, as and when they start to flow for a particular team, the team is subject to a new kind of pressure. They are required to maintain a strict deadline (that varies from 2 to 4 weeks as mentioned previously) while testing as well as delivery of the software.

Under such pressure of production along with delivery, the teams cannot rely merely on their old practices of programming, but have to innovate newer practices. The coding practices need to become more agile, as well as capable of changing things faster, and sooner. This is where the Agile teams make a difference. The Agile teams have discovered that the code is more extensible and with low defect, with the simplest of robust designs working for the features that are currently being implemented. Hence, it has become almost a daily routine to find an agile team that has come up with several non-XP customer practices that make things easier. Let us discuss 6 best of them as per the priority list.

1. Ensuring that the SMEs and the members of business team have the knowledge that is needed

This particular practice categorically makes sure that the staff who are involved in quick iterations are experienced and experts in the practice, so as to quicken the iteration and reduce the customary delays. For instance, a member who is representing financial customers needs to be absolutely familiar with the requirements of those customers.

2. Enhance migration to Agile concepts by using various Agile terms as well as examples

Specific Agile terms and examples need to be used for enhancing migration to the Agile concepts. For instance, terms like requirements need to be replaced by user stories, while the ones like Project Management Office need to be replaced by terms like Agile Center of Excellence.

3. Creation of a physical environment or ambience that is conducive to the concept of collaboration

There should be a common practice of co-locating the team in a room where the members can meet and can interact with each other unabatedly. There are, however, other ways of enhancing the collaboration and that include reorganizing office spaces and using tools for connecting remote staffs.

4. Identification of measurable outcomes of what one needs to accomplish by using Agile

This is another very effective practice that yields the best results. A very pertinent example of this practice is the creation of a vision statement of project outcomes instead of outputs. Vision statements may include decrease in the amount of processing time by a specific amount during a set time and outputs may include the total amount of code that is produced.

5. Negotiation for adjusting the oversight requirements for a more Agile approach

This is another practice that helps the team in adjusting the oversight requirements with the use of frequent as well as tangible demonstrations for gaining the trust of the investors as well as the reviewers, thereby potentially reducing the requirements of the more official oversight database as well as documents.

6. Accelerating the delivery with the use of the latest automated tools

This is another practice that is one of the best, especially when it comes to tracking various software modifications along with the compliant development sites that help customers to conceptualize the software in a domain that meets the required security as well as the architectural benchmarks.

You can hire testers from top offshore software testing companies in India who can help you accomplish testing within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide qa and testing services. If you would like to hire software testers from us, we would be glad to assist you at Mindfire Solutions.

Benefits of Hiring ISTQB Certified Testers for Your Testing Project

ISTQB or International Software Testing Qualifications Board is an internationally acclaimed organization, which provides certification of software testing qualification that is accepted by companies all over the world. ISTQB certification is the standard qualification for the S/W testers that is based on a particular syllabus and comes in the form of a definite hierarchy along with some accreditation as well as examination guidelines.

A majority of the modern companies nowadays hires software evaluators who are ISTQB certified because of the fact that there are certain added advantages of hiring these professionals. A lot of S/W companies as well as enterprise IT departments nowadays looks for trusted partners who are capable of offering complete testing solutions by utilizing the best working resources. This is why they are opting for ISTQB certified testers. Let us discuss the advantages one by one.

These professionals help reduce the defects of the software development

As per market research, it is revealed that a synergistic amalgamation of prevention of defects, pre-test removal of defects, as well as a formal evaluation of the S/W packages by ISTQB certified professionals can help the companies reach almost 99 percent efficiency in terms of defect detection along with fixing, backed by significant reduction of costs and shortening of development schedules.

Significant reduction of development of cost

These testers help companies to qualify for various low cost, yet value added insurance packages and that understandably benefits modern companies by resulting in a significant amount of cost savings in the long run.

These personnel help in faster delivery of packages

The test managers of the companies are of the opinion that use of ISTQB certified pool of software testing knowledge leads to a much better as well as faster communication along with a greater efficiency among as well as, across the development teams.

Provides an international or global tinge to the companies

ISTQB S/W testing certification is the effectual global standard of expertise that is accepted all over the world. Naturally, hiring certified professionals provide the companies a global flavor that is too strong to be ignored.

These certified personnel are budget-friendly

The certification of International Software Testing Qualifications Board does not involve any expansive course. That is the reason any employee can undergo these courses by self-studying, and use in-house trainers and utilize ASTQB accredited education without shelling out too much expense and without hampering the daily works.

It gives the employees enough flexibility to choose the education

The testers, once ISTQB certified are able to choose their syllabus as well as examination topics. They can use self-study methods and hence become too much flexible. This provides them a lot of impetus so far as performance is concerned and this naturally has a positive impact on the overall performance of the company, so far as the quality of work is concerned.

Hence, in a nutshell, hiring software evaluation professionals having this qualification have a lot of advantages that can be summarized in the following ways.

Having a string of certified staff provides a lot of competitive edge to the companies. Besides, this competitive edge helps these organizations to immensely benefit from adoption of structured as well as streamlined practicing methods of software testing along with optimization of testing activities.

Companies that hire ISTQB certification accredited staff have the benefit of providing high end services to the customers, thereby increasing the revenue and their brand value. Moreover, adoption of various schemes of ISTQB helps a particular organization, in remaining up to date with various software testing innovations. Besides, formal global recognition of the business organizations who have adopted the certification becomes much easier.

The reason behind global accreditation of ISTQB Foundation is also due to the fact that it demonstrates much higher extent of expertise, professional sharpness, along personal ambition of the software testers. Thus, the S/W professionals who have this particular certification to their credit have a significant advantage over the non-certified counterparts, particularly when it comes to being hired by various frontline software development companies.

You can hire testers from top web application testing companies in India who can help you accomplish testing within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide qa and testing services. If you would like to hire software testers from us, we would be glad to assist you at Mindfire Solutions.

Major Challenges in Agile Testing & The Role of Automation

The Agile testing approach emphasizes on agility and speed. The development process runs concurrently along with the evaluation process. Testers have to work often as well as fast since the development model is time-boxed. The testing of the code has to be done very frequently, in fact in some cases almost daily. This makes Agile testing quite challenging, more so in comparison to evaluation of traditional development methods. If not handled properly there is a risk involved of Agile testing becoming uncontrolled, chaotic and unstructured. But when automation and agile testing are implemented together, it is possible to overcome those challenges.

Inadequate test coverage

This can be hugely problematic; with Agile, there is an increase in volumes of tests. Due to that, often for every user story, too little results of tests are written down which leads to lack of visibility into codes changed all of a sudden. Sometimes developers change codes that are beyond the scopes of released features which are done for many reasons. To tackle this challenge tests should be linked to user stories which will provide insights into test coverage.

Short deadlines
It is not always very easy to take care of deadlines; there are times when we have very little time for testing at a cycle's end. Long evenings along with proper documentation will help in that case. However, it may be challenging since testers are required by Agile to work by deadlines each day. So make everything work, the automation of most tasks must be done well.

Codes broken accidentally because of frequent builds
If daily builds are performed, there always remains a risk of breaking the existing code. When sole reliance is on manual testings, full regression of the existing code every day is not practical. So the best bet is to use automated evaluation tools for recoding and running of tests automatically. This will ensure the testing of more stable features without new code breaking into them.

Detection of defects
It is very important to detect defects early on during the development cycle; being late will need more money and time for the fixing process. In fact, if the defects could not be found till the production, it will prove to be a bigger problem altogether. Implementing peer reviews along with using of static analysis tools for scanning of code for identification of defects early on, can help in this respect.

Ignoring traditional evaluation techniques
As the movement of agile testing is faster, the coping of the flowing development stream is very challenging for testers. So it is best to adopt a streamlined as well as proper approach. For that you should not be just dependent on documents but you should constantly keep interactions with stakeholders, developers, end users and clients.

Detection as well as fixing of bugs
The main aim of this testing is detection and getting rid of major bugs during the very initial stages. It is very expensive to fix bugs during the later stages of development cycle. In fact, despite identifying the bugs, fixing within the specific time-frame may be extremely challenging. This can be resolved by running static analysis tools over source codes. Automated tools can also be used for detection of hidden bugs.

Bad API Testing
The best coding skills are not necessarily inherited by testers. These days, the APIs are revealed by most software so that it can be easily used by other developers for integration along with other uses. If this area sees any mistakes the application or software's popularity will be seriously crippled. Using API testing tools that are automated will give Agile testers an edge to tackle API evaluation.

According to the points discussed here, agile approach needs to be dealt with accuracy as well as speed. Manual testing is not a process that can be relied upon solely. Efficient automation will make the testing processes better and faster. Thus automation has to be implemented during all levels so that you can ensure all angles. Independent software testing companies can help immensely in this regard.

We provide QA testing services. If you would like to hire automation testers, please reach out to us at Mindfire Solutions.

What should you choose - Manual testing or automated?

During the development process, we have to be sure that it is the right application being developed and after the process we have to test it the correct way to ensure positive returns on the testing investment. Evaluation techniques like behavioral, static and structural are adopted to find out some bugs but for the test suite there is a major decision that has to be taken- manual or automation. There are some tests which are perfectly suited for automation and manually they are not feasible at all. However, some tests are most effective if done manually. So, it is essential to check the pros and cons of both the types of evaluation to determine which is most productive or efficient.

Automated testing

This process uses automated tools for the running of tests, repeating predefined actions which compare the expected as well as actual outcomes of developing programs. In case the outcomes and expectations align, the project is likely to be bug free. If there is no alignment then some issue calls for address. The code must be looked at, altered and tests must be run continuously so that the expected and actual outcomes align. This kind of evaluation is excellent for large projects, in case of lots of system users or during filling out of forms.

It takes some time to set up the tests but after automating there is nothing to worry about. The tests can be reused and there is no need to fill out repeated information for constant changing of codes. Automatically, everything is done for you.

Though expensive in short terms, in long-term it is very cost-effective; more work is done in shorter time-period. In fact, defects are found faster as well so that the team can react far faster which saves both money as well as time.

Test automation solves the problem of filling out same forms repeatedly which can be very frustrating. While setting up the test coding, considerable thought is needed which involves your technical minds.

Automated tests have results which can be viewed by everybody, unlike that of manual testing. This allows better team collaboration, ultimately leading to better final products.

However, purchasing tools related to this is expensive which makes it imperative to use ones giving full or as full as possible coverage. In fact, the development of evaluation processes takes a lot of time; they have to be run as well. Most bugs in the system are detected by the tests. But despite that there are certain limitations. Some changes related to visual considerations such as font size or image color can be determined only through manual testing.

Manual testing
In this kind of evaluation process tests are run manually by software developers and actual outcomes are compared with program expectations so that software defects can be found. It is perfect for small projects. In fact companies that are short on financial resources can resort to this as well.

This kind of evaluation lowers the short-term costs. Issues that are likely to be faced by real users are discovered. Since they are done manually, the results are far removed from the robotic automation of automated tests. One of the most remarkable benefits of going manual is that it is very flexible. If you think that changing something will change the project’s course, then you will have no problems in accommodating that.

However, some actions will be very difficult to be done manually. The result might be prone to oversights and mistakes. In this case automated testing are better equipped. Also they can be very boring and repetitive- just filling out same things and forms over and over again, this results in not staying too engaged in the process, making room for mistakes. In case of automated testing anything can be added to the program, so that the tests are re-run instantly. But for manuals this is certainly not the case. For changes in software, tests have to be run by hand again, losing valuable time.

Both the kinds of testing have their own unique sets of cons and pros. To decide on which is the best, you should let your common sense to guide in your decision. But preferably both the kinds should walk hand in hand so that you can reap the benefits of both at the same time, making the entire testing smooth and error-free, delivering the best product.

You can hire certified automation testers from top automation testing companies India who can help you accomplish testing within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide software testing services. If you would like to hire software testers from us or would just like to speak to one of our expert software testers, please reach out to us at Mindfire Solutions.

Why should you consider 8 Types of Testing?

Software testing methodologies are in fact different approaches to testing, including procedures like unit testing, system testing and much more. So far as the methods of software evaluation are concerned, there is no formally recognized body present, and there is hardly any uniform set of definitions. However, there are certain common categories of testing. Before we learn about them, it is good to take a look at the five elements that are essential for software testing.

The five necessary things for software evaluation

• Test strategy: This is important for guiding you on the categories of evaluation that should be conducted, the sequence for performing as well as executing them, along with the optimal effort that needs to be put into every evaluation for deriving maximum effectiveness. An ideal strategy is usually based on the major requirements or information regarding what is significant to the clients.
• Evaluation plan: It involves the testing tasks, dealing with who will be conducting which tasks, along with the starting and ending time as well as the effort required. The plan provides a comprehensive list of the evaluation requisites, including the preparation done during each testing phase.
• Test cases: These are designed depending upon the strategy which confirms the amount of each evaluation that should be done. The development of the cases is based on the prioritized requirements along with the software's acceptance criteria. The quality and risk assessment parameters are also kept in mind.
• Test data: Along with the steps for test case execution, you are also required to systematically arrive at the test data to be used. This might often incorporate sets of product orders, addresses or names, or any other information the system leverages. Development of valuation data is usually carried out along with development of test case.
• Test Environment: The evaluation process definitely calls for the right place and the right equipment. Evaluation environments might be scaled down editions of the real scenario, but every part is required to be present so that the system can run efficiently.

Kinds of software testing to be considered

Considering the five essentials of software testing, let us now take a look at the different kinds of evaluation that can be taken into account. Broadly the process can be divided into two categories: Manual Testing and Automation Testing.

Manual testing involves evaluating the software without any kind of automated tool or script. The tester assumes the role of the end-user and evaluates the software for identification of any unanticipated bug or behavior. On the other hand, in automation testing, the evaluator composes script and makes use of another software to test the software in question. This procedure is often utilized to re-run the evaluation scenarios that were done manually, repeatedly as well as quickly.

Apart from these broad types, the process of software evaluation may also be categorized into the following major types:

• Black Box Testing: These evaluation procedures are based on functionality as well as requirements and not on the knowledge of coding or internal design.
• White Box Testing: This depends on the knowledge of internal logic pertaining to an application's code. The evaluations revolve around coverage of code statements, conditions, paths as well as branches.
• Unit Testing: This is in fact 'micro' scale of evaluation involving particular code modules or functions. The programmer and not the tester usually does this, as it calls for extensive knowledge regarding the internal program, code and design.
• Functional Testing: This category revolves around functional essentials of an application, and should be carried out by certified software testers.
• Integration Testing: Herein the combined components of an application are evaluated to determine whether they are functioning in unison appropriately. The components may be individual applications, code modules, server and client applications across a network, and so on.
• System Testing: Based on the requirement specifications as a whole, this procedure takes into account all of a system's combined components.
• Load Testing: This involves evaluating an application by subjecting it to heavy load, for instance, checking a website against load ranges for finding out under what condition the response time of the system fails or degrades.
• Usability Testing: Carried out to determine the 'user-friendliness', this subjective procedure depends on the client or end-user.

All these categories have one common aim- to ensure that the software runs effectively and renders the desired output. When all the five testing essentials are in place, the different evaluation types can be leveraged appropriately leading to organizational success.

We provide independent software testing services. If you would like to hire software test professionals from us or would just like to speak to one of our expert software testers, please reach out to us at Mindfire Solutions.

What Does It Really Cost to Fix a Software Defect?

While there is no denying the point that the advancements in software technology have brought about several benefits for the business enterprises all over, it is also true that certain defects in software are really hard to handle.

The later the defects are identified, the more difficult and expensive it becomes to handle them. This was said by none other than a software engineer called Barry Boehm back in 1976. He also drew a curve representing the consecutive phases of the waterfall software development lifecycle on the horizontal line. The vertical scale, on the other hand, denoted the relative cost of fixing the particular defect in a specific phase versus the cost involved in fixing the same defect in a different phase. With time, this curve was modified to make room for a second exponential relation.

Finding the Cost of Fixing a Defect

There are certain problems that arise when it comes to the fixing of a software defect. Out of these, deciding upon the cost of fixing the trouble happens to be the most important one. The actual cost involved in finding solution to a problem is often the least understood factor too. Now, the cost usually depends upon the development lifecycle as well as the development process that one chooses apart from the risk that the enterprise is ready to take. Estimation of the cost can be done by means of the following technique:

Considering that all the people working in a system test are completely dedicated to identifying and fixing defects, the number of fixes are to be taken into account. Next, the number of people including that of developers, testers and everybody else along with the duration of system test are to be considered. The process of calculation goes like this:

Average cost of fixing defects= Number of days* number of people* cost per person-day/ Number of defects that have been fixed

It is worth remembering in this regard that it is not the defects but the ones that are fixed that matters while also leading to the right calculation.

How Much Does It Cost?

The attitude taken towards fixing software defects often varies depending upon respective managers. Again, there is some confusion about when to find solution to which defect. Now, the cost of finding solution to the defects is influenced by the organizational culture and its implications. Here is a brief overview:

Routine Culture

In a routine culture, quality is considered valuable by the management but there is neither money nor the time to devote on improving the same. The problems are fixed only after quite a severe one has occurred. The easy defects are identified while the difficult ones are left out. As such, the cost of fixing a problem is the lowest of all.

Steering Culture

In a steering culture, the management realizes that quality is but a systematic issue and automatically, the task of managing is executed better. Problems are openly discussed as well as resolved in an orderly manner. The defects are found earlier than the system test leading to the creation of several bad fixes. Eventually, the cost of solving the problem is the highest among all.

Variable Culture

In a variable culture, the management usually does not consider quality to be a management issue. Personal efforts in solving problems are often preferred over a systematic approach, as a result of which, it is found that the employees identify more defects compared to what they could fix. Accordingly the average cost of fixing a defect is higher than that of a routine culture and lower than that of a steering culture.

Ways of Preventing Defects

Preventing the defects from arising in the very first place is essential for the simple reason that fixing them requires considerable effort, time and money. Early defect detection has a number of advantages. Following a list of some of the prominent ways in which the software defects can be checked:

• Analyzing the software requirements well beforehand is a significant way of preventing troubles. The specific customer needs are to be analyzed and then transformed into product specifications with expertise. Interactive sessions with the customers is helpful in this regard.
• Reviews, both self-reviews and peer reviews, work wonders in uncovering defects instead of finding them out later. Self-review, in particular, allows reduction of problems related to implementation of algorithms, incorrect logic and missing conditions. Many software organizations are making this a part of their best practices of coding.
• Documentation and defect logging leads to better management of the troubles as well as the depletion trends and costs. A defect logging tool allows correction of the problem, identification of the phase and so on.
• Analyzing the root cause can be done via applying local expertise and targeting the systematic errors. This largely helps in saving time and costs involved in fixing the troubles.

Having considered the above discussion, implementation of the defect prevention procedures into the application software testing process is the most difficult of all tasks. If carried out successfully, it can actually prevent the troubles from arising and pave the way for smooth operation of the enterprises.

We provide software testing services. If you would like to talk to one of our certified software testers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Say ‘Hello’ to QTP Automation Testing

Every organization wants to send the perfect product into the market and hence care the most about the quality of their developed products and applications. Quick and efficient way to ensure quality testing is by using QTP Automation testing.

And when the QTP Automation testing is being outsourced, they want cent percent assurance form their offshore software testing team if they would be able to carry on the job perfectly.  QTP Automation testing tool helps in automated regression testing for all the test cases without a lot of manual interventions. The basic thing is that it takes time to build the scripts – once the scripts or the test cases are built, it will help the software testing team to run regular testcases just after a new build integrated in the production server to assure all other previously developed feature are not affected, quickly.

QTP testing involves "record and play” and “Keyword-Driven testing", both the technique delivers a successful and error free product/ application. Mindfire Solutions is one of the best hub and destination in term of providing QA and testing services. Its offshore QTP Automation testing team consists of 15 dedicated test engineers having ISTQB and QTP certification. The team has capability to handle projects of any nature and they can carry out testing with QTP automated testing tool on Cross Platform (WIN XP, 2000 server, Vista, Mac OS X etc.), Cross Browser (IE 6, 7, FF 2x, 3x, safari etc.), including the Web and Desktop environment.

Mindfire Solutions QTP Automation Testing India unit’s engineers have 8+ years of experience and have undertaken more than 20 Quick Test Pro Automation projects in the last 8 years. The Automation testing team successfully delivered many quality software products for different business domains; one of many examples is Environment Health & Safety Application- a QTP Test Case.

QTP Automation tool is not an open source tool and it is costly to purchase a licensee to test application, many software product houses hesitate to go for automation testing with QTP tool because of its cost. To address this concern Mindfire Solutions offers automated regression testing service on QTP Automation Testing in a very innovative way. Mindfire’s QTP experts will generate the QTP test scripts for your application every day or in the required interval of time and daily testing reports will be sent to you regularly, on your demand.

Say Hello to “QTP Automation Testing” and drop us a quick note to hire best dedicated QA and QTP Automation testing engineer or a team of people to maintained best quality of your developed product/ application through sales@mindfiresolutions.com or call 1-248-686-1424.