Top 7 Software Testing Myths

Testing is an easy task: This is the biggest myth for testing profession. Usually developers believe that testing is an easy task but the fact is different. Testing was never easy otherwise automation testing tools wouldn’t have born. The tester tests each and every loopholes of an application thoroughly so that the end user will get better quality user experience. Hence we can’t compromise on the quality of testing at any cost and for the same we have to give enough effort and time for testing.

Need of Test Cases in Automation Testing

Why Automation testing? With time everything changes and so the case for any technology or industry. There was a time when our demand was limited but now they are crossing every limits and boundaries. As a result we need continuous enhanced supply. In IT industry similar situation occurs very frequently and these result in technological depreciation. The technology that was born yesterday will vanish tomorrow and the place will be acquired by a newer one. Similarly software applications are getting complicated with time. They are now more complex and bigger in size than before. Now a software application keeps millions of modules and pages within itself in order to meet the demands of industry. As a result its complexity increases and hence it is creating problems for both developers as well as testers. In our topic, we are concerned about testers and hence we will discuss about their issues in creating better software applications. In complicated projects the job of a tester becomes much complicated than that of a developer and hence they must need support in the form of different software testing tools to make the process smoother. These testing tools are otherwise known as automation testing tools and they are highly efficient in testing any complicated application in less time and effort.

Reasons behind Testing a Software Application

Software development is just a business transaction between the customer and IT company. So each IT company wants to make the client happy by delivering a high-performing, reliable and flawless software application. At the same time, it is also important for the developer to ensure that the software confirms to specific customer requirements and predefined standards.

The best testing tools of 2014

Why testing tools: If anything that starts with the very beginning of any project and that ends with the project is nothing but testing. Testing is an integrated part of any software development application. Industry understands the importance of testing and hence all the major IT companies focus more on a testing than others. Because they know that testing is the key of success of any software application or product. They use to have a dedicated QA team to deal with all types of testing methodologies. Before a decade testing was performed by manual testers but, with time industry realized that for quality and efficient testing we need some software tools which can test an application thoroughly and quickly. These software tools are also known as automation testing tools. They are gaining a tremendous popularity in a very less span of time due to their efficiency and accuracy. Today we will discuss about some of the industry leading automation testing tools in our topic.

Testing the smartest way - What needs to be considered

Manual testing is still an open option: In past decade, the IT industry has witnessed a tremendous changed within itself due to a lots of triggering factors. Penitration of mobile networks and mobile internet, huge acceptance of smart phones and tablets in the industry has been triggering the changes in the IT industry. Previously it was mostly dominated by desktop applications. But now the web applications have taken over the place. In this changing environment different processes of a software development life cycle has been changed.

Emerging Trends in Software Testing for 2015

The new technologies and innovative development platforms make it easier for programmers to create user-friendly and modern software applications within a shorter time span. Most enterprises are adopting the new technologies to curtail both development cost and time. That is why; it has become essential for each organization to optimize its testing and quality assurance (QA) efforts to keep pace with the frequently changing software development requirement. It is also important for the company to keep track of the emerging software testing trends for 2015.

Which One Would You Prefer? Manual or Automated Testing

The bugs, errors or flaws in a software application have a huge impact on the user experience, hence its popularity. So most enterprises, nowadays, deploy a dedicated team of software testing professionals to ensure that their applications are flawless. But most businesses find it a daunting challenge to choose the type of testing that effectuates the process of testing the software. As an enterprise has option to test the software manually or automate the testing process, it becomes essential for it to choose the right testing option. However, an enterprise can always consider automating its software testing process to avail a set of additional benefits.

Six Reasons Why an Enterprise Should Opt for Automated Software Testing

1) Quick and Effective Software Testing
Your testing team may need additional time to set up the testing environment and test cases. But they can complete the testing project in a quicker and more efficient way after writing the test cases. Further, the test cases can be reused to conduct regression testing each time the code is changed. Further, the testers are not required to submit the same information again and again, or remember to run specific tests. You can always consider test option to beat competition by launching the software on schedule.

2) Reduced Testing Cost
You can further curtail the project cost by automating the testing process. While automating testing process, you have to initially invest in software testing tools. But these tools can be used in the longer run to test several software applications. Further, the tools work much faster than human beings, while identifying defects in the software more quickly. Thus, test automation will help you in saving both time and money.

3) Visibility of Results
Unlike manual testing, automated testing allows the test results to be viewed and accessed by several persons at a time. As the manual tests are conducted by individual testing professionals, the results cannot be viewed by others during the testing. But testing systems can be accessed by multiple users at a time see the test results. Thus, test automation makes it easier for your business to enable the members of distributed teams to collaborate and deliver high quality software.

4) Keeps Testers Motivated
While testing software manually, testing professionals often feel bored after completing the same task again and again. For instance, many professionals find it boring and frustrating to fill out the same set of forms repeatedly. But test automation saves professionals from carrying out same tasks again and again. They have to put time and effort initially to write test cases. After writing the test cases, they will remain committed to the process by reusing the cases to carry out repetitive tasks.

5) Option to Test Things Not Possible Manually
In comparison to automated testing, the scope of manual testing is restricted. In addition to being quicker to run, the test cases further enable professionals to test certain things that cannot be tested manually. For instance, test cases can be written and used to decide if the software application can process a specific number of transactions at a time. Likewise, test cases can also be used to check if the application can be accessed simultaneously by a higher number of users. Also, these aspects of the software can be tested effectively without putting any extra time.

6) Wide Variety of Software Testing Tools
The availability of a wide variety of testing tools and frameworks has made it easier for enterprises to automate their testing efforts. A business can further use open source software testing tools to identify the defects in an application without investing extra funds. Based on the nature and requirements of your software, you have option to choose from a number of popular software testing tools like WinRunner, LoadRunner, WATIR, TestComplete, HP Quick Test Professional, IBM Rational Functional Tester and Visual Studio Test Professional.

However, it is always important for an enterprise to decide what, when and how to automate software testing. Also, it must choose the right software testing tools to automate the testing more efficiently.

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 software application 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.

Why software testing is increasingly being outsourced and what should businesses consider

Among other business activities, software testing (ST) is being increasingly outsourced nowadays to reduce the exorbitant expenses that are associated with it as well as to make sure that the evaluation is conducted by the best in the business.

Let us get into further details. Various critical business applications are being evaluated by third party vendors these days, as each and every business is striving to cut costs. Software development and testing are highly expensive processes and involve a number of critical parameters to be attained. Testing is often plagued by software failures and other uncalled for incidents that compel huge investments to go haywire. That is the reason, ST often demands huge investments to make sure that there is enough fund for rigorous in-house evaluation of the software by the most experienced as well as trained software professionals along with an able backup process to compensate any kind of failure whatsoever.

The digitisation of modern businesses has led to increased reliance or dependency on software systems for internal as well as external business activities. This has in turn led to increased emphasis by the business houses on evaluation or testing of these software systems within the process of development. All these have collectively resulted in the increase of software testing outsourcing.

A large chunk of ST centres where the projects are outsourced are located offshore – in countries like India, China or other countries in Asia. This is done after a lot of impeccable planning, taking into account the location of these countries as well as the difference in time zones wherein these countries are located. In case a company can obtain the results of evaluation over night, it effectively helps them to streamline the process of development they follow.

Now let us discuss the factors that the businesses need to consider while outsourcing software testing services.

Selection of Engagement Models

The first factor that needs to be considered is the engagement model that a business should rely on. This is ostensibly the most crucial aspect as the entire outsourcing plan will depend upon a correct decision. The process includes a number of factors – evaluating strategies of international business, selection of a geographical location, a thorough understanding of the landscape along with deciding on the particular strategy, etc. Some of the engagement models are:

Incremental Outsourcing

Businesses can opt for mitigating the risks associated with outsourcing by breaking the entire project into smaller projects that are more manageable or can be outsourced to the service providers in stages.

Holistic or total outsourcing

In this particular model, multiple projects or programs are outsourced to a service provider who takes up the responsibility of program management as well as the delivery on the client's behalf.

Mobilization

The agreement includes a mobilization period for both the parties. This particular phase includes setting up of an effective communication protocol between the client and the vendor that defines breakdown structure of work, standard template sharing, setting up of test strategy, etc. This generally includes testing engineers and leads, project managers along with technical specialists. Knowledge acquisition, evaluation of infrastructure, integration with the different third party service providers are other aspects of mobilization.

Whatever processes or steps are followed, every single company needs to do a lot of homework in a thorough as well as impeccable way before they opt for ST outsourcing. An able service provider will be able to effectively single out the pitfalls at the very outset. This ensures that uncalled for situations can be avoided later on while testing the software and delivering the project well within the deadline. Besides, it will also help in reducing the costs and help the companies to stick to the budget that they have initially fixed for the completion of the project in question.

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

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

Avoid QA Challenges with a Unified Test Management System

Enterprises often explore innovative ways to optimize the performance of their software applications. Some organizations automate the testing efforts, whereas others opt for test management systems. But a number of recent reports have highlighted how an organization can optimize quality assurance (QA) efficiency through a single or unified test management system. Agile project management approach requires organizations to build a cohesive unit by eliminating the barriers between the team of software developers and testers. As the efficiency of the QA process is affected due to diverse and incompatible systems, it becomes essential for each organization to avoid QA challenges with a single test management system.

QA Challenges that can be Addressed with a Unified Test Management System

Integration of Onsite and Offshore Business Units

A constant increase is noted in the organizations outsourcing their software testing projects to reduce operational costs and shorten release cycles. Many enterprises even develop and test software applications in a distributed environment. So the test managers find it a daunting challenge to integrate the onsite and offshore business units. A unified test management system will enable them to facilitate smooth and uninterrupted communication between in-house and remote teams regardless of their location.

Smooth and Uninterrupted Communication

An organization must implement an efficient communication system to identify and fix the bugs, errors or flaws in a software application immediately. The organizations that hire skilled remote QA engineers to curtail project cost must facilitate clear communication between the developers and testers. Often the absence of real-time updates affects the project negatively. When the members of geographically spaced teams cannot communicate with each other clearly, it becomes difficult to share real-time updates. A unified test management system will reduce both labor cost and production time by facilitating clear communication between the members of geographically spaced teams.

Provide a Single Framework

An organization can use a single test management system to provide a single framework to its distributed teams. In addition to facilitating clear and uninterrupted communication between the teams, the single interface will allow the teammates to upload test scripts, cases and metrics immediately. Further, the interface will provide each member with the tools required to carry out their activities. The QA managers can use the unified interface to monitor the progress of the entire development cycle by avoiding the unnecessary operations. The unified test management system makes it easier for enterprises to provide a single interface to the members of its distributed teams.

Automate the QA Initiatives

Each enterprise wants to optimize its QA initiatives by using test automation tools and frameworks. But organizations often find it a daunting challenge to automate the QA efforts in a distributed environment. A unified test management system makes it easier for enterprises to automate the software QA efforts. The offshore QA engineers can write test scripts based on the information received by them. The test scripts can further be reused to reduce the time and effort required to evaluate the software application. The unified test automation system provides a testing dashboard to users for storing the automated test cases. Thus, the existing test scripts can be reused for future projects. As the test scripts are accessible to members of the distributed, they can simply save the test scripts on their computer, and run these without writing new scripts.

With more and more companies working with distributed teams, it becomes important to use a unified test management system that allows the members to communicate and coordinate with each other without any hassle. A single test management system also allows organizations to optimize the QA process by using automated test tools and frameworks. At the same time, an organization can use the system to adopt Agile project management techniques.

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

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

Surviving the Top Ten Challenges of Software Testing

With the ever increasing innovations in the world of automated testing tools, a large number of organizations make the best possible choice, attempting to make the tools suitable for functioning in their environment. This article outlines the major challenges that are most often seen in organizations that struggle to make effectual automated testing a reality. The earlier these challenges are detected, the better prepared a company will be for the purpose of dealing with them.

Top Ten Challenges of Automated Testing and Solution Strategies

These challenging issues are presented from the least to the highest effect on the overall test automation system.

1. Purchasing the wrong tool

Solutions

• Take time before defining the tool requirements in terms of applications, people skills, technology, process and organization.
• Involve potential users in order to define evaluation criteria as well as tool requirements.
• Build an evaluation scorecard for comparing the tools' performance against a set of common criteria.
• Perform a POC (proof of concept) as opposed to an assessment.

2. Incompetent test team organization

Solutions

• In the testing team involve a test scriptor who is comfortable to work with code and capable of taking the basic testing which has been developed by a testing analyst.
• The person should also have the knowledge of converting it into an automated script.
• With basic scripting concepts initially start simply to add complexity later.

3. Lack of support management

Solutions

• Communicate that it takes planning and time to build a steady foundation of the right tools, processes and people.
• Present the challenges along with the benefits while making the case to management for acquiring testing tools.
• Reinforce management for carrying a good amount of influence in the way people are going to accept automated testing tools.
• Keep the management informed about tool progress and other related issues that arise.

4. Incomplete test type coverage

Solutions

• When evaluating tools, prioritize what types of evaluation are the most challenging to your success. Then evaluate the candidate tools on those criteria.
• Understand the tools as well as their tradeoffs. In order to get higher levels of type coverage of test, you may need to utilize a multiple tool solution. For example, you may need to combine the playback or capture tool along with a load test tool for the purpose of covering your performance test cases.
• Remind people that 100% test type coverage cannot be possible. However, after having 80% of the automation tests, you can manually deal with the rest.

5. Incompetent tool training

Solutions

• In the tool proposal include money for the purpose of training at least a core section of people.
• Choose the most applicable topics for training to match people.
• Organize tool training performed by a vendor at your location to use your own application as exercise.
• For 3 or 4 weeks, get a skilled consultant who is experienced in tool training.

6. Lack of acceptance and tool ownership

Solutions

• You are recommended not to cut the tool training. Training never guarantees success, but you may be at risk of technological abandonment without it.
• In your organization, include someone for the job of a tool smith. This person will be the resident expert on the testing tools.
• It takes the management to emphasize on the tool effort and usage is an essential part required for the testing process.

7. Lack of a basic understanding of test process or what to test

Solutions

Create a list of evaluation criteria for functionality that you are looking forward to considering while using the automated testing tool. These criteria include:

• Repeatability of tests
• Risk or complexity of applications
• Ease of automation
• Simplicity of operation
• Level of documentation of the functional requirements.
• Analyze your existing set of test scripts and cases to see which ones are most applicable.
• Examine your latest testing procedure and find out where it needs to be adjusted for applying automated testing tools.
• Try and make changes in the latest ways you execute tests.
• Involve professionals who will be using the tool for the purpose of helping in designing the automated testing method.

8. Lack of management processes of configuration

Solutions

• Consider the people as well as processes that are required to manage the test scripts or automated testing.
• Look for tools which accommodate changes gracefully to the user interface.
• Trace automated test scripts as part of the configuration set of an application.
• Include the potential automation test SCM person in evaluating testing tools and their respective offerings of test management.

9. Lack of tool interoperability and compatibility

Solutions

• Select tools having cross-platform capability as much as possible.
• Consider writing bridging scripts, as well as shell scripts possibly in non-proprietary scripting languages like Tcl.
• Critically evaluate whether the ability of performing cross-platform testing is a strong requirement.

10. Lack of tool accessibility

Solutions

• If obtaining a quality technical fit is an issue, find information regarding lesser-known testing tools by networking with other testers.
• Try and find tools that is going to work between platforms.
• Use free or low priced tools in order to investigate the possibilities of building your own testing tools.

It is important to understand that even the organizations that have developed core competencies in dealing with test automation also struggle with these challenges at times. Although, herein the challenges are only focused, there are a number of benefits that can be accomplished from test automation. Tools are a part of an efficient test approach, but not the overall approach. A workable process executed by motivated and trained staff is needed in a controlled environment. Successful software automation tests are possible if the basic issues are managed and addressed.

You can hire testers from top qa software testing companies in 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, we would be glad to assist you at Mindfire Solutions.

15 Tips - How to make your software testing more efficient?

Software testing is a phase that is very much essential for a great software. Just the word software testing will not make your software error-free; you have to approach the entire process in such a way that they turn out to be free from all bugs, performing efficiently. The process of software evaluation thus not only has to be optimized but needs to be correct as well. Here are some tips which you should implement in your evaluation process so that any mistake can be avoided and the end result turns out to be exactly what you had wanted.

1. Good test plans- The most important thing in case of any evaluation is to have an excellent test plan. To guarantee that you have to make sure that an experienced tester like QA manager or lead writes out the plan. While writing, an organized approach should be taken. The plan should cover all things related to testing products, budget limitations, scopes of evaluation, deadlines, test objectives, risk identifications, test execution schedule, etc.

2. Understanding the product- The product or application in this case should be understood thoroughly so that the tester can understand the requirements which will result in detailed as well as complete test coverage. Even if you are not involved in development cycle, it would be a good idea to be involved in decision making meetings or processes. Hold conversations with developers so that you get to know about the application better.

3. Intelligent storing- Do not spread your documents over servers or even store them as emails. You will reap best benefits if all things are stored in a single place so that whenever you need to go back and find some record you will know where to find. Avoid keeping bug reports stored in emails.

4. Testing often as well as early- The evaluation should be done as early and as often as possible. Problems when identified early are easier to fix as compared to those identified later, which are difficult as well as expensive to fix.

5. Writing test cases early on- During design along with requirement analysis phases of Development Life Cycle you should start writing the test cases which will help in understanding whether all of the requirements can be tested or not.

6. Testing with a positive mindset- While starting the process your attitude should be positive; do not think there will be no errors or bugs in the code. If your intentions are to find bugs then you are bound to find them.

7. Writing effective evaluation cases- Test cases should be written with clear steps as that will become handy later on for the reproduction of test cases for testers as well as developers.

8. Understanding testing coverage- When testing, the application must be divided in a smaller functional module as that will help in the understanding of testing coverage. The modules should again be divided into yet smaller logical parts; write test cases in a single module.

9. Using good metrics- Choosing right metrics is extremely important as they will help in achieving of productivity along with efficiency. Metric chosen must be simple for execution as well as effective nature-wise.

10. Bug report should be clear, descriptive and good- This will ensure that the software testing conducted is more efficient. Since this job is creative as well as challenging you have to handle the situations well. Good bug reports will help you save company resources.

11. Going beyond the requirement testing- A good rule in this industry is to go beyond the requirements so you should be testing the application for something that it is not meant to do.

12. All teams should get test cases- While writing a test case the location must be kept central so that it can be accessed by all teams. Analyzing test cases will help in development of better quality application by developers.

13. Increasing communication with developers- During meetings, you should always discuss all points with developers and even ask for additional information on unclear aspects so as to avoid all kinds of misunderstandings. This will help you resolve problems quickly and easily. 14. Identifying regression test cases- You should identify and then group sets of regression testing cases as that will help in effective testing of manual regression.

15. Testing team should own test environments- Test environment and production should be exact replicas of each other. While developing, developers add configurations in run script, but failing to add them in configuration file or release document would result in failed application during production despite working in lower environment. So the test environment should be owned by testing teams so that things like these can be controlled.

For promotion of good software throughout the world, good testers must share experiences and best testing practices with fellow testers. You can hire software test professionals from top automation testing companies India who can help you accomplish testing within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide QA software testing services. If you would like to hire software testing company or would just like to speak to one of our expert software 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.

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.

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