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.

Mobile Compatibility Testing Best Practices

Mobile compatibility testing is a process by which quality and performance in terms of functionality, consistency and usability of the mobile application software are tested. Lack of mature testing tools, different devices and platforms, short release cycles and the diverse network connectivity options are some of the key challenges that often result in numerous missed deadlines and cost overruns in today’s mobile app testing environment.

An inclusive mobile testing strategy involves device and network infrastructure, optimized choice of target devices, an effectual combination of automated and manual testing tools. When it comes to getting your mobile applications to market timely and within budget is it essential to conduct functional as well as non-functional testing.

Let’s discuss about the various elements of an effective mobile compatibility testing strategy and best practices that optimize mobile application testing.

Compatibility Checking

• Testing professionals focus on ensuring excellent mobile application compatibility and functions across multiple devices of different hardware, screen sizes and resolutions.
• A test plan is drafted on evaluating the devices from the end user market. Devices and testing environment are decided respectively, based on the evaluation report.
• Apart from the compatibility checking, functionality on several devices is also checked up for Interoperability after rigorous testing.
• Compatibility and Interoperability analysis is managed and reported using external and internal test management and bug reporting tools.

Best Mobile Testing Practices

Software testing of mobile applications uses many of the same QA & Testing practices typically used for other software applications. However, there are significant factors that can define how successful the mobile app is ultimately.

Below are the best strategies in developing and performing quality assurance on mobile applications for addressing precise aspects of the testing procedure.

• Ensuring that you have access to not just emulators or simulators but all physical devices on which the application run.
• Considering the personnel, additional time or both required to test all the application modules on multiple devices.
• Having an explicit list of devices on which QA will be carried out. Basically, this means that the professionals are committed to supporting some Operating Systems and devices on which the app will perform as designed. The users are informed that although the application might work on other devices, the personnel won’t be held responsible for unexpected issues. Nowadays, this approach is taken by the majority leading vendors, for instance, Skype.
• Implementing a mixed strategy when you have a set-up where you do not have all the supporting devices and so cannot perform exhaustive testing on each. In the early stages of application development, you can use an emulator. Also, keep adding real devices into the testing later down the development cycle. Thus, you can certify that all the objectives and requirements are being covered.

Major Functional Testing

• Checking the application as a “black box” and trying to break it.
• Opening every screen of the mobile app and changing the position from portrait to landscape mode and back again as this is the way to discover most errors.
• Checking device-specific functions, like communication interfaces and sensors.
• Writing test automation scripts for mobile apps by using a standard tool.
• Choosing a test automation tool that fits into the company infrastructure as well as strategy.

Key Non-Functional Testing

• Usability tests.
• Comparing performance levels for upgrades between the new and the released version of the app.
• Checking how the application reacts to SMS, incoming calls, tweets or MMS.
• Authenticating the test device’s battery drain.
• Checking memory usage of the app.
• The ease with which the application is Installed and deleted.
• Checking mobile applications for version upgrades.
• Compatibility and Localization testing.
• Testing the application on various carriers and network connections such as GPRS, Wi-Fi or LTE.
• Choosing the right testing tools.

Mobile testing is more useful, if the testing team and the developer have a better understanding of the target end users of the apps. With the above mentioned knowledge, the development and testing teams can optimize and reduce the amount of development and testing effort required for different devices and varied software versions.

3 Software Testing mistakes that can kill your mobile app

Designing of mobile web applications involves a lot of effort and creativity as mobile users look for sleeker experience as compared to that of desktop users. With the development of mobile applications evolving constantly and at a rapid pace, developers of mobile app are constantly in a process of learning and continuous brushing up of their skills. Release of smartphones with various new features have acted as a catalyst in coming up with a number of challenges for the progressive developer of mobile web applications.

Development of these apps involves a lot of software testing and other scrutiny processes to remove all errors and launch a smooth and well functioning app. Since issues related to the performance of the mobile application such as hanging, crashing, etc comprise approximately 15% to 30% of the user complaints, carrying out software testing is highly important.

However, there are certain mistakes committed while carrying out the software testing of a mobile app that impact performance as well as leads to negative user experience. This requires the developers to be aware of and alert about these common software testing mistakes to avoid them. Avoiding the mistakes by staying aware and alert also leads to the development of a quality and error free mobile app.

Being Your Own Beta Tester

Being the beta tester oneself, is not recommended in case of software testing of a mobile app. With someone else beta testing the mobile app of a particular company, there are certain benefits that are received as compared to the same being done by the developer himself/herself.

• Beta Testers are important as they offer companies with important outside perspective which helps in catching issues within the app.
• Moreover it is not just the bugs that matter but also certain other factors culminate in giving an edge to the developers.
• Errors can also be the result of unclear communication of the in-app purchases or even inappropriate use of advertisements that lead to the entire experience feel a bit of jarring.

These flaws are serious considerations for the mobile apps that need to be identified for ensuring sound performance. It is hard for a developer to find flaws in his/her own creation. Therefore the role of a Beta Tester becomes essential to pin point the loopholes.

Beta testing is indeed a simple task which should indeed accompany each app development. Beta testing should be carried out in the first phase of the mobile app development process so that it is able to catch the problems in the UI before the developer gets totally involved in the design of the app.

App-analytics tools like Google’s Universal Analytics and Flurry can be used to have a closer look at how the testers are using the app. Larger the number of people beta testing the app, the more prepared will it be to venture out in the real world.

Testing the front end in isolation

A very common mistake that most testers commit is testing the front-end but neglecting the experience of the end-user. The end-user experience is important as it is an amalgamation of the back-end and the front-end behavior along with the communication patterns that usually take place in between.

Intermittent or infrequent regression testing

It has often been noticed that testers during the development process, easily fall into the trap of paying a lot of focus on new tests or new code at the expense of regression testing. This provides an easy method for the problems to be crop up and also go unnoticed and especially so in case of problems that are basically related to the performance of the app. Regression tests are vital to pinpoint the blockages so as to uncover the bugs in the code.

Besides errors related to software testing, mistakes that have been committed by designers in the past also impact the quality as well as affect the popularity of the application. In today’s cut throat competition, a company cannot afford to commit these petty mistakes.

A company always expects a high Return on Investment on the huge investment it has made on the building of the app. With an app that is designed appropriately, there are fewer chances for this.

Compatibility of software with Operating systems (Linux, Windows, Mac etc)

Compatibility testing is a part of non-functional software tests. Compatibility is nothing but capacity of existing or living together. In computer world, compatibility is to check whether your software is able to run on different operating systems, applications, hardware, network environments or mobile devices. This testing is conducted to evaluate the application’s compatibility with the computing environment that may contain some or all of the elements mentioned below:

• Computing ability of Hardware Platform (HP 9000, IBM 360, etc.)
• Compatibility of peripherals (DVD drive, Printer, etc.)
• Bandwidth handling ability of networking hardware
• Operating systems (Linux, Windows, Mac etc.)
• Database (MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server, etc.)
• Other System Software (Networking/ messaging tool, web server, etc.)
• Browser compatibility (Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, Netscape, Safari, etc.)

Browser compatibility testing can be more aptly referred to as user experience testing. This aims to ensure that the web applications are tested on multiple web browsers, to make sure the following:

• Users have the same visual experience regardless of the browsers through which they view the web application.
• The application should behave and respond the same way in terms of functionality across multiple browsers.
• Carrier compatibility (Orange, Verizon, Sprint, O2, AirTel, etc.)
• Backwards compatibility
• Hardware (various phones)
• Runs on several host/guest Emulators
• Different Compilers (compile the code appropriately)

Certification testing falls under the category of compatibility testing. Product vendors run the entire testing procedure on the new computing scenario in order to get their software or application certified for Databases or particular Operating Systems (Windows, Linux, Mac etc).

Let’s take a closer look into the types of OS compatibility testing:

• Operating Systems: Your software should be compatible with different Operating Systems like Windows, UNIX, and Mac OS etc.
• Hardware: It checks whether the software is compatible with several hardware configurations.
• Software: It tests the compatibility of your developed software with other software. For instance, MS Word application must be compatible with other software such as MS Outlook, MS Excel and VBA.
• Browser: This testing is conducted to ensure that your website is compatible with different browsers like Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox etc.
• Network: This process basically aims to evaluate performance of system in network with different parameters such as Operating speed, Bandwidth, Capacity. It also tests the application in different networks with all of these parameters.
• Devices: It checks your software’s compatibility with different devices such as USB port Devices, Scanners and Printers, Blue tooth and other media devices.
• Mobile: It checks you software is compatible with mobile platforms such as iOS, Android, etc.
• Software Versions: It verifies the compatibility of your software application with different software versions. For instance, it tests your Microsoft Word to make sure it is compatible with Windows 7 SP1, Windows 7, Windows 7 SP 2, Windows 7 SP 3 etc.

Types of Version Checking

There are two types of checking versions of the software:

• Backward compatibility Testing: It is conducted to check the behavior of the developed software or hardware with their older versions.
• Forward compatibility Testing: It verifies the behavior of the developed software or hardware with their newer versions.

Tools for compatibility testing

• Adobe Browser Lab: This browser compatibility testing tool helps in checking your application in various browsers.
• Secure Platform: This hardware compatibility tool includes essential drivers for a specific hardware platform and it provides information on tool to test CD burning procedure with CD burning tools.
• Virtual Desktops: This operating system compatibility tool is used to run the applications in manifold operating systems as virtual machines. N number of systems can be linked and evaluate the results.

The most imperative use of compatibility testing is intended to check whether developed software works under diverse configurations as mentioned in requirements documentation. This testing is essential to check whether the application is well-suited with the client’s environment.

To endure today’s competitive market, it is important that the software or applications you provide to buyers are worth the amount they are paying. And when it comes to delivering the good quality product it is very important to test the application or software in different development stages including reliability¸ compatibility, quality and delivery.

 

Benefits of Automated Cross Browser Testing

Among software professionals automated vs. manual testing has always been a point of debate. While many realize the utilities of both, the confusion arises from the extent of an automated cross browser testing. With browser wars going on, automated testing tools such as SmartBear TestComplete 9.0 are catching up.

If you are still confused about whether cross-browser testing is useful to you, let’s have a discussion on intelligently deployed test automation for software and its benefits.

• Test automation allows you to achieve detailed product testing with major reduction in test cycle time.
• The efficiency of automated cross browser testing incorporated into product lifecycle can generate considerable money savings and time.
• Faster and better than manual testing.
• Increased productivity.
• Rapid validation of software changes with each new release of application is possible.
• Automated testing enhances the accuracy and significance of testing and results in greater test coverage.
• Automated testing offers a level of consistency, which is not achievable through the use of manual testing.
• Automated testing reduces the time constraints related to manual testing. Scripts can be executed without human intervention at any time.
• Test scripts are re-usable, and can be used across various scenarios and environments.
• Automation removes many of the ordinary functions related to regression testing.

Why You Should Conduct Browser Compatibility Testing

Here are the top reasons why you need to reconsider your testing strategy.

Resolves issues that might keep the vital functions of web application

A web application that performs exactly as desired in one web browser could have some issues when it is run in another web browser. These issues include factors that might keep the essential functions of the application from working simultaneously. There are many client components such as Applets, Flash, JavaScript, AJAX requests etc. may yield varying results based on the web browser they are run in.

For anyone who wants to have a website or application with a professional look, cross browser compatibility testing is essential. It is not that web browsers on personal computers (laptop or desktop) are a concern here, with the ever increasing advancement of phones and tablets with their web access abilities, there is a also a need for cross browser testing of web applications to extend to mobile web browsers.

Makes your web application successful and draws more customers

The times of Internet Explorer or Netscape dominance are over. The more enhanced your web application is and the more customers you have, the more successful their browser usage. In this regard, we can take the instance of the data lately published in Business Insider. It says Google Chrome has just passed internet explorer to become the most popular web browser in the world. If you want to ensure that you don’t lose customers owing to lack of support for one of the three important browsers, you should consider testing your web applications on all the three browsers.

Improves not just the look and feel, but also functionality

If your application behaves well in one browser, you cannot presume that it is going to perform in the same manner in the other two major browsers as well. This is particularly the case with RIAs (Rich Internet Applications). The difference is not just associated with the look and feel, but functionality. The best way to ensure correct functionality in multiple browsers is to repeat the similar use cases or tests across browsers and check the contrast of differences in terms of actions being taken and information being displayed.

Eliminates the need for developing and maintaining separate tests

Conducting automated tests which can be recorded in one browser and then played back in other supported browsers needs new test automation technology. While you can create cross-browser tests through custom scripts, there are several corner cases where these custom solutions won’t work. With automated testing you don’t need to develop and maintain separate compatibility checking tests for each browser platform.

There is a great deal of difference between browsers and even between several versions of the same browser. These variations make it necessary to perform cross browser testing to make sure that each browser renders pages precisely as designed. Performing cross browser testing with the aid of a tool will ensure your application performs consistently across different browsers, operating systems and devices.

Manual or Automated testing – choice for an Agile Environment

Software Testing is not only being deployed to find defects in the software code but more importantly to prevent defects from cropping into the application in the first place. This is the primary reason for which software testing needs to be started as early as in the requirement analysis stage, but not at the end of the development. The perspectives resonate the demands of increasing productivity by agile developments, shorter builds and frequent release cycles. This objective of testing also influences the choice of the type of testing approach – manual or automated.

Manual testing plays a critical role where need for testing is exploratory in nature. Alpha and Beta testing are done by users in actual or simulated deployment scenarios.

Automation testing works fine with unit testing, functional testing, story acceptance testing and feature acceptance testing. However, still some part would always be checked manually.

Test automation has limitations when it comes to exploratory testing. Hence, in such cases, manual testing with a blend of automation capabilities delivers value.

The role of the manual tester is being influenced by the demands of the rapidly evolving applications and IT processes with paradigm changes in the division of the workload into automated, semi-automated and manual. So a manual tester’s inputs go into making the test automation scripts to identify and execute the common defect trends in the system leaving the high priority test areas to the intellect of the testers.

The software industry changes to adopt things like continuous delivery/deployment and reliance on an increasingly fragmented mobile platform set, the testing industry (i.e. the people that comprise it) likewise has to evolve to meet these new challenges. Initiatives like test automation, dog-fooding, crowd-sourcing, among others, are indeed all having very real effects on the role of the traditional ‘manual’ tester.

Automation Test Tools offer a competitive advantage and faster time to market. Various automation tools, available in the market comprising scriptless automation offer GUI to developers that helps them design automated test scripts for frequently repeated tests. While the features vary from tool to tool in the testing landscape, they can be easily contextualized for the business environment and deployed manually.

Automation testing is to assist the manual tester.

From a business perspective, the combination of Manual and Automation Testing is expected to deliver outcomes with cost-time benefit without compromising on the software quality. This means achieving the balance between time and efforts through a comprehensive testing strategy.

From the testers’ perspective, automation takes on the burden of recurrent test runs and reporting while freeing time to focus on exploring the defects that are unspecified in the automation scripts. More- over, test automation itself needs to be tested for its testability which makes it implicit for the testers to be oriented with automation initiatives.

From the industry perspective, the adoption of crowd sourcing is providing great alternatives to accommodate increasing workloads and address the requirements of exploratory testing which is possible by manual testing.

From the technology perspective, the development and deployment of test tools not only streamlines the workloads and reduces redundancies, but also extends the capabilities of software development. Applications are powered, used and managed by complicated information systems in an ecosystem inhabited by users, devices, businesses and the internet. Testing is deployed to aid the move to better, faster and simpler processes. Test Automation is an efficient tool to accelerate outcomes for the business as well the developers that will continue to rely on the experience and ideation of testers.

10 Top Testing Trends To Watch For In 2015

The software testing landscape is consistently evolving owing to the complex software projects. In fact, the software industry has undergone several structural changes in the past few years. In this regard, 2014 was considered a dynamic year owing to the commencement of the SOA (Service Oriented Architecture), cloud testing and virtualization. Internet of Things (IoT) is another primary advancement that is gradually altering the ways in which organizations interact with their employees, customers as well as partners. A report released by NelsonHall in 2014 indicated towards a surge in the software testing domain. According to the report from this leading analyst firm, by 2018 the domain is expected to grow every year by 9.5%.

So which software testing trends are all set to rule in 2015? Here are the top 10 trends that will definitely create an impact on the testing domain –

Security Testing to become top priority

There are certain basic aspects that security testing covers. These include confidentiality, authentication, integrity, availability, authorization and non-repudiation. These tests are performed to judge the capability of the software or a system to prevent unauthorized access to data as well as resources. An enhanced connectivity of data and resources, rise of cloud computing and IoT will inevitably make security testing a priority for the IT organizations.

Cloud Testing will be adopted rapidly

Cloud computing is another field that is increasingly becoming a part of the mainstream IT industry. It is estimated that by 2015 around 26% of the software applications will be hosted on the cloud. This is because cloud infrastructure provides suitable solutions that are cost effective and are easy to build and maintain.

Big Data Testing to become more popular

The era of big data has arrived. This is a trend that is becoming popular rapidly. These tests are no more limited to test data chunks. Rather this test is applied to judge the accuracy of the information obtained. In 2015, the trend for Big Data testing is all set to grow.

Mobile Testing

‘Go mobile’ is the 2015 mantra. This trend will have a huge impact on the software testing industry. The popularity of the handheld devices has led to a steep rise in the use of mobile apps. It is expected that by the end of 2015, the growth will shoot upto 95%.

Agile Testing development

Agile development methodology is applied to ensure a sound testing approach. 2015 will witness continuous testing a lot as organizations aim at reaching the delivery phase without waiting for too long. This will also result in testing in production as testers will be required to provide updates continuously regarding the progress on the software development.

IoT Testing to matter

Internet of Things includes everything that is connected to the internet. In the recent times it has witnessed growth as the world becomes interconnected. As more and more users expect hassle free performance of the apps and other technologies, the demand for IoT testing will increase.

DevOps Movement

Organizations are looking for quick deployment that will be cost effective and of high quality. This is where the DevOps method has a considerable role to play. It belnds the tasks performed by the organizations, developers and professionals. Testing, in this case, plays a significant role. The demand for DevOps professionals will rise in 2015.

Service Virtualization

It allows the DevOps teams to use the virtual services in place of the traditional production services. This helps in carrying out the tests comprehensively even if the important components are not present in the system architecture. With the DevOps movement gaining ground, this, too, will grow.

Telematics Testing will ensure better IT systems

As technology keeps improving, it will have a huge impact on the travel industry as well. As a result, the automotive IT industry will grow in 2015.

Crowdsourced Software testing – how good is it?

This is especially helpful when there is a lack of resources for testing the software in various situations and environments. Owing to its usability, it is gradually gaining popularity.

Depending on these trends, the software testing domain assures better quality solutions and better opportunities for the testers.

How to defend your business against security breaches?

Most of the businesses, nowadays, realize how important it is to have a comprehensive strategy for securing data to protect the organization, its employees as well as the clients. For small to medium businesses, this process is often a hassle free one owing to their size and less complicated business structures. For these companies a standard security plan is enough to achieve the data security needs. On the other hand, the enterprises have a more complicated business structure. There are structural challenges that they should meet including huge clientele, wide array of products and services offered across the globe with various internal departments. The crux is that the business data stored at the enterprises are in huge volumes. For them, it becomes even more necessary to ensure that there are no security breaches.

There are certain data breaches that can be easily taken care of. However, certain breaches, like the one that took place in Anthem are a nightmare for any enterprise. The need is to stay vigilant against the perpetrators. Anthem’s database, consisting of 80 million records of both clients and customers, was hacked. Databases are the treasure troves of a company. So how can businesses fight such breaches and ensure protection for their companies? Here are a few ways in which you can adopt to ensure that your stored data is safe.

Keep an Eye on Accounts

You will have to monitor your existing accounts. The very first thing that the companies must watch out for is someone trying to trick the call center and take away important information. The most common mode is that the perpetrators try to break into by using the security question from the gathered information at the call centers. This kind of fraud is quite common. Thus, it is vital that you watch out for unauthorized activities on all the accounts.

Security Solutions – Your Ultimate Requirement

Firewalls are no longer enough. With the help of the IT initiatives, it is now easy to come up with an integrated approach for securing important data. A solution working on multiple levels is what the contemporary businesses require. What you need is a blend of network, content and endpoint securities.

Opt for Security Testing

IT enterprises need security testing on a priority basis. Most of the solution providers think from the perspectives of the hackers and offer solutions accordingly. Besides identifying the loopholes, they also assess their impacts on your business.

Safeguard Your Mobile Work

It’s no longer the 90’s. It is an age where mobile devices are rampantly used by the staffs to deal with sensitive information. They are working out in the open. They are more than often connected wirelessly with networks while on the go. The need here is to ensure that the mobile technology is safe enough so as to important data can be shared.

Storing sensitive information on cloud is a big no-no

The cloud is in. it is being fact adopted by several organizations to ensure quick work procedures. Using the latest developments is fine but you must practice caution. Never store vital information on the cloud. If you do so, you are leaving out data in the virtual world. This is not advisable at all.

Know About Cloud Service Storage

If you are using cloud storage, read the user agreement first to know how it works. it is necessary to read the volumes of texts to know the cloud service you are planning to sign up for works.

Encryption is the best

By encrypting your data, you can protect it in the best possible way. If your hard drive gets stolen and your data is encrypted, it would be impossible to retrieve it. By far, it is one of the best tools to fight back the security breaches. For those who avail cloud services, use an encrypted cloud service.

Companies face numerous security challenges. Therefore, securing data is not an easy task for them. Besides adopting several measures, the best way is to educate the employees about the best practices so that they know how important their role is in defending the business from security breach.

When Should You Start Considering Test Automation?

Test Automation has always been regarded as some sort of magical proportion that leads to an overall improvement in the quality of the product or the processes. It is also considered to be the ultimate long-term solution with respect to cost reduction objectives for ensuring the quality of the product. The decision to undertake test automation should be preceded by careful consideration of certain aspects. Carrying out test automation should be in situations when the major factors of the development program give an indication of failing to meet the desired expectations. Test automation becomes inevitable in situations when there is no other cost effective alternative.

These indicators that are often experienced by the project team include

• Failing to meet quality objectives
• Unacceptable Defect Escape Velocity with respect to production
• Failing to meet the Target Deployment Velocity in the event of testing being perceived as bottleneck
• Failing to complete the testing activity within the stipulated timeframe

Here it is to be noted that testing often is not the real bottleneck as it is perceived to be. However as long as it is regarded as a bottleneck, rest of the quality issues of the system will remain unaddressed.

In such situations, test automation comes to the rescue as the only way for removing the acuity of a testing bottleneck as well as empowering the team carrying out the testing activities. Test automation in these situations also allows the program to be focused on other issues of the development system like the initial code quality.

Various other situations also demand consideration for test automation-

Stability of the application or product has been ensured

Test automation is to be considered after the stability of the application or that of the product has been ensured. There is absolutely no point in automating the testing of an application or a product that is scheduled to go for incorporation of certain new features that might result in changes with respect to functionality.

Testing interface has been identified

Test automation can be carried after the interface to be tested has been identified and finalized. There are maximum three interfaces that an application or a product can have; Graphical User Interfaces or GUIs, Command Line Interfaces or CLIs and Application Programming Interfaces or APIs. Often an application has two interfaces. Unless the testing interface has been identified automation of the testing process is impossible. Generally, GUI interfaces are difficult to automate as compared to CLIs and APIs.

Scope of the necessary automation has been defined

For successful automation of the product or the application, defining the scope of the same is mandatory. Defining the coverage area for the intended automation tool is essential. This Scope often encompasses various types of testing like Regression Testing, functionality testing or merely acceptance testing. The testing team can also go for automating specific testcases with different features or particular features of different testcases.

Individual testcases for automation have been identified

Choosing to automate testcases does not imply doing away completely with the manual testing method. Instead it can be regarded as a means to reduce human effort and also contribute to enhancement of the manual testing format. Automation leads to speed that human effort do not.

Moreover, it is not possible to automate each and every testcases. There are certain testcases that should be eliminated completely from the scope of the automation to ensure efficiency and accuracy.

• These include testcases that are complicated, long and are in need of manual intervention or supervision at frequent intervals.
• Testcases which consume huge time in case of automation must be eliminated from the scope along with those that pertain to usability testing to ensure quality of the product.

Certain types of software testing need to be automated like Regression Testing, Static & Repetitive Tests, Smoke Testing, Load and Performance Testing and Data Driven Testing.

However in order to carry out successful automated testing, appropriate skills as well as training are essential. Though initially, automated testing does involve a higher investment, in future it does lead to a higher Return on Investment.