Application quality is not dependent just on automation: Find out other factors

The success of any software application depends on the quality of the application and is in turn an important factor for the success of the IT organization. Customer satisfaction is an important factor for the success of any company and in case of IT concerns it is achieved through providing the clients with high quality of software applications. There are a large number of factors or aspects that determine the quality and performance of the software application apart from test automation.

Flexibility and Extensibility:

Flexibility may be defined as the ability of any software application of adding, modifying or removing any functionality from the system without damaging the same. Extensibility on the other hand is the ability of a software application in terms of adding more functionality without causing any damage to the system. This can also be thought of similar to a subset of flexibility. The changes in the functionality often occur in accordance to the varying requirements. It may also be seen as an obligation in case the development process ranks as one of the iterative methods. With Change being an inevitable element in the development of software, this makes it to rank as one of the most important properties with respect to the quality of the software application.

Maintainability and Readability:

Maintainability focuses on the modifications regarding error corrections as well as minor ones related to the functions and not the major extensibilities of functions. These modifications are able to be supported with valuable interface definitions, documentations, as well as self documenting codes and may be the code documentations. The relationship between maintainability and documentation is directly proportional. With the documentation being more useful and correct, maintainability also gets enhanced.

Performance and Efficiency:

Performance is generally measured in terms of the time that the software takes to response. This response time of the software needs to be within the acceptable intervals i.e. within a maximum of few seconds.

The response time of the software must not increase with an increase in the transaction count. With the resources being expensive, efficiency of the software needs to be supported with effective allocation of resources.

Scalability:

It has been observed that the response of a scalable system to the user actions is within an acceptable amount of time, even if load increases.

Scalability is of two types Vertical and horizontal. Vertical scalability occurs when more hardware requires to be added for handling effectively a rate of increased user transaction. This should not lead to any changes in the architecture while adding this.

Horizontal Scalability may be expressed as the ability of running a software application on a number of machines that are increasing consistently leading to multiple processing. An ideal scalable system needs to suit both these methods.

Security:

Security is an important attribute of software development as well as its quality. Security is highly significant in terms of mobile based or web or that usually have millions of users and provides the option of remote access to the system.

A security policy needs to be constructed and applied effectively without leaving any points of entry. Constructing a security policy often requires including techniques of authentication and authorization protections against network attacks, data encryptions and more. An effective policy must be aimed at constructing security leaks or else the entire application may collapse within a day not withstanding a single attack resulting in a considerable loss to the developing organization.

Availability, Robustness and Fault Tolerance:

For a software application to be robust enough, it needs to hold on to its availability and not lose it even in the most disastrous situations. This makes it to continue running even if some of the components in the application to fall off or break down.

A robust software application should recover itself, even if the entire application crashes, making sound use of the data and backup hardware powered with approaches of fault tolerance. Always there must be another plan a B or even C, D plans.

Reliability:

Reliability is another factor that determines the quality of the software. It can also be explained in terms of integrity as well as consistency of the software application even while running under conditions of high load. This makes it is relevant to availability as well as scalability as an unreliable system is not scalable.

Testability

A software product must facilitate establishment of an acceptance criteria and support the evaluation or assessment of its performance. This characteristic needs to be built-in at the time of designing the application. This would help in determining if the application is easily testable. A complex design results in poor testability.

Usability

A software application must be usable in the sense that it becomes convenient as well as practicable to use. This feature of the software application is affected by the interface of human-computer. The Graphical User Interface or GUI as it is commonly known as is the software component that is mostly impacted by this

API Readiness – Gallop and SmartBear Joint Webinar

Business organizations are demanding excellence in software and digital media to capture market. In order to   deliver greater efficiencies in reduced time lines, software developers are integrating APIs at staggering speed from public, private and partner resources. APIs help interacting with the software world, saving time and resources the reason why developers relay upon APIs. With the rise of disruptive technologies and adoption of digital technologies in the systems of engagement, quality issues in the use of APIs are getting amplified resulting in loss of brand credibility and trust. IT teams need pragmatic processes, tools and techniques to test & fix bugs in APIs to deliver higher quality. For early risk mitigation, developers need to prioritize the importance of testing APIs for their security, integrity and vulnerabilities.

If already working with APIs one can understand the importance of APIs and testing APIs. If not it must be surprising, What APIs are and how harmful it can be to use APIs without testing.

Starting with what are APIs?

In the simplest terms, APIs are sets of requirements that govern how one application can talk to another. It’s a software-to-software interface. The user is unaware of the interaction between different software which happens at the background before a task is completed. For example: if a user want to book a ticket online for a movie from the website, the website sends the user credit card credentials to a remote application for verifying the information and a movie ticket is issued only after the payment is confirmed. It is called seamless integration where the user doesn’t know what goes on in the background.

How do they work?

An API is a set of functions, procedures, and other points of access which an operating system, an application, a library etc., is made available to programmers in to allow it to interact with other software. APIs and Web services are not visible to Web site surfers and software users. They run silently in the background, providing a way for applications to work with each other to get the user the information or functionality needs. For example:    The icons to share articles on Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or Reddit. These are links which help to do the service of posting or tweeting without leaving the webpage. The user need not leave the current webpage to do the posting. It makes it easier that one need not develop applications from scratch. It saves time and resources.

API readiness

Testing APIs to track how the API handles problems helps to fix discrepancies.   API testing helps to identify whether the API crashes or handles the problem? When it crashes to how much level is the crash? Shipping software with API failures leads to loss of customers and brand credibility. Ensuring API readiness through testing ensures quality and integrity of the software making it trustworthy software from a reliable branded company.

A real time cost benefit analysis of offshoretesting vs. QA staffing

A real time cost benefit analysis of offshoretesting vs. QA staffing

A software development process is incomplete without testing. After a software product is developed, it is the task of the testers to find out if the product meets the performance and practical requirements. If not, then it is the task of the developers to rework on the project until or unless the performance requirements are met. It is a practice that every responsible and credible IT service provider needs to provide to their clients as based on the quality of products delivered, payments are dispatched from the end users.

Cost Cutting Techniques by Testing Using QA Staffing

If a company has its own testing facility then it becomes simple to conduct testing but at the same time becomes a bit cost effective. Efficient QA staffing or hiring testers on a full-time or contract basis for testing purposes help resolves issues pertaining to handling such IT process.

IT Companies look for profits and that can be attained if cost cutting measures are adopted in the testing procedure. Following cost cutting measures can be attained by hiring testers by an IT firm.

• In this context, it needs to be said that both money and time is saved if the defects in the software are identified early.
• Also once a flaw is detected in the software during the testing process, money is saved if the time taken to rectify the software is less.
• Better customer service helps in comprehending the user requirements and this is a good thing from the testing perspective.
• If the end users demand modification or enhancement in the software, it is necessary for the service provider to respond accordingly.
• For an IT company to deliver quality and efficient services, it becomes easy to identify the lacunas associated with the company’s developers and programmers.

Cost Cutting using Offshore Testing Services

All the above steps do contribute to cut costs so far as software testing is concerned. Yet another method that can be implemented to reduce cost is through outsourcing of software testing. IT companies engaged in the development process have identified that offshore testing contributes significantly to cut costs thereby raising the profit margin. There are a number of service providers that do testing for companies at comparatively low rates.

For a client company who wants its software to be tested by a service provider, does not have to incur unnecessary expenditure on recruiting testers and this cut costs for the company drastically.However, there are certain disadvantages associated with such process. The prime being that the company doing the outsourcing has to depend totally on the service provider doing the outsourced jobs.If the service provider fails to make timely delivery of the projects, then the company image is very much tarnished in front of the end users. Often this results in the company losing business.

But in general it is observed that outsourcing is the preferred choice of most IT companies

Reduction of expenses with resources

• There is a significant reduction of expenses with resources.
• The providers of testing services are not only adept in using the costly testing tools, but they own them.Because of this, the testing process is a cost saver.
• For the small software development firms which do not have the resources to hire a testing team, outsourcing is the best option.

Use of quality software

• In most cases off shore testing is associated with the use of quality software.
• The pertinent service providers usually stick to best practices in the process that incorporates prompt identification of defects, smart approaches in preparing test cases, thereby saving time, effort and cost.

Faster testing cycles

• The testing service providers use skills in automating testing resulting is faster testing cycles.
• They also optimize staffing thereby enabling handling of fluctuations in demands.
• Also, since most of them cater only to the testing process, their focus is to provide quality and timely testing services.

Safe practice

• As compared to QA staffing for testing purposes by IT companies, it is observed that outsourcing is a safe practice provided the service providers approached for accomplishing the tasks have the requisite credentials in terms of experience, infrastructure, human resources.
• Therefore, emerging companies, with limited IT infrastructure prefer outsourcing rather than building in house testing facilities.

The IT companies in this process access dexterous team of software testers. The professionals engaged in such testing process are skilled in using the different testing tools.

5 Best practices for Ad-hoc testing

Ad-Hoc testing is a kind where the tester performs the test without any prior planning. In fact, there is no adequate time for properly designing test scenarios with the desired results. In most of the cases, the tests are carried out without any documentation describing the basic specifications and requirements. While executing such tests the tester can easily adopt this approach to tests any part of the system and find out the hidden bugs, if any. Usually, the tester applies skills, intuition, experience and knowledge for the software testing. As far as applying this process is concerned, it is usually carried out under demanding project schedules. There are times when it is impossible to perform extensive testing. Under such circumstances, ad-hoc testings are adopted in place of conservative processes.

However, before indulging in its practice, it is always advisable to follow certain guidelines that will help the tester to acquire more this type of testing.

Get familiar with the software

Knowledge about the architecture of the software is essential to ensure success in ad-hoc testing. Hence, the trick is to get accustomed with the way the software functions.

Test properly

Merely going through the testing procedure is not enough. The best part of ad-hoc testing is that it allows you to test all the software parts without facing any kind of restrictions. The testers can utilize this factor in their favor. They can perform the tests on various levels of the applications. Moreover, it is equally important to focus on the areas that have more risks. Although these are performed without any planned process, an expert tester will always consider the risk analysis first. Hence, it is advisable to begin with the fundamental risk identification and analysis. Once the tester comprehends the necessary areas, he can move onto the bigger folds.

Compare with a tester who lacks knowledge

An adept tester has the desired opportunity to rely completely on his knowledge and ability. This allows him to think about the specific and related testing situations. Such a scope will enable him to look for more number of software bugs during the process.

Experience matters

If your tester has considerable experience, he will be able to find the bugs as compared to an inexperienced tester.

Never mind the numbers of tests

This is another factor that will have an impact on your success or failure. The number of tests decides how many bugs you come across. Mostly, when there is a tight schedule to maintain during project completion, several rounds of testings cannot be possible. But if you consider the best practices, the more tests you perform, the better will be the visibility of the bugs.

Benefits of Ad-hoc Testing

The ability to learn is the final word on ad-hoc testing. The capability of the tester to learn about the software is critical along with the ability to find out the bugs. While discussing about the best practices, the question might arise as to why is it necessary to opt for ad-hoc testing. Well, there are several advantages associated with this testing process. One of the major reasons is that it can be used as an additional testing layer during the regular testing processes. Secondly, this kind of testing offers quicker results and it can considerably improve the aim that could not be developed during the conservative testing methods.

Improvisation is an essential factor in these kinds of tests. It enables the testers to focus on the software instead of the official documentation. In this process, the tester will learn more about the software – its integrations, architecture and flow. It is considered one of the most efficient ways in which software testing is carried out under demanding timelines.

Gallop and Xamarin’s Joint Webinar – Mobile App Testing in Agile Environment

Gallop Solutions, a US based colocated software testing services company is conducting a joint webinar with Xamarin, a leading cloud-based mobile app development & testing platform provider based at California Thursday, May 7th, 2015 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EST . This webinar helps developers and testers to understand the essentials of Mobile App Testing that ensure apps function and perform seamlessly on every device, delighting customers.

The Webinar is designed to help professionals to create a striking and artistic balance between UI/UX designing and performance of mobile apps. Webinar suggests required performance improvements of connected systems to enhance mobile app performance which is crucial before building a mobile product. In a situation where apps range from a number of fancy heavy weight testing tools to all-in-one tools, the webinar also helps in identifying feasible, simple tools and creating a tailored combination which proves to be efficient.

“Fixing bugs of most recent mobile app failures doesn’t create new experience for the customers.   It’s something more.. our Webinar is intended to build an approach right from designing and testing the app to evolve based on customer feedback,” said Ananth, Mobile Test CoE Lead, Gallop Solutions”. Excelling in a swift market requires ensuring quality through testing by identifying flaws beforehand and avoiding defects from creeping live. Switching from manual to automation testing, implementing Agile and Devops techniques helps in faster testing processes.

Join our joint Gallop_Xamarin Webinar “Mobile App Testing in Agile Mode” by experts Ananth, Mobile Test CoE Lead, Gallop and Spencer Montgomery, Partner Manager, Xamarin, who can help to implement strategies for a successful mobile app.

Speaker 1: Ananth Vinnakota, Mobile Test CoE Lead, Gallop

A management graduate from California State University, Ananth is an expert strategist in both business and business technology road maps. With mastery in vertical and horizontal cross platform mobile technologies and solutions, he is a business incubation specialist in mobile products integrated with cloud and big data.

Speaker 2: Spencer Montgomery, Partner Manager, Xamarin

Spencer has been with Xamarin for over a year now. Apart from being responsible for maintaining a wide range of consulting partners, he is also the technical lead for Xamarin Test Cloud and has specifically been assigned to customers throughout the Americas and APAC Regions.

About Gallop Solutions

Gallop Solutions is a US based Colocated Independent Testing Services & Specialist QA Staffing Services Company operating since 2003 with offices in Philadelphia, Dallas & California. Our services are backed by Proprietary Testing IP (Enterprise Test Acceleration Suite – ETAS) for enhanced productivity and in-house R&D teams. We are a 100% subsidiary of Cigniti Technologies, World’s 3rd largest independent software testing services company with over 1600 consultants globally across various domains with 400 located in North America.

About Xamarin:

Xamarin is the new standard for enterprise mobile development. No other platform enables businesses to reach 2.6 billion iOS, Android, Mac and Windows devices with 100 percent fully native apps from a single, shared code base. Xamarin is used by over 900,000 developers from more than 100 Fortune 500 companies to accelerate the creation of mission-critical consumer and enterprise apps. Xamarin’s global customer base in 120 countries includes Dow Jones, Bosch, McKesson, Halliburton, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cognizant, GitHub, Rdio and WebMD. Xamarin is a Visionary in Gartner’s 2014 Magic Quadrant.