Software testing

Business software testing

Software testing and debugging is one of the most important stages of software development. Its main purpose is to test the product for compliance with certain requirements and expected behavior, in order to identify and eliminate errors before the software is released into release and begins to be used by end users.

Software testing helps solve several important problems:

• Ensures software quality . When testing, QA engineers detect problems and defects in the software, so the team can promptly correct and improve the quality of the final product.
• Saves time and resources . Early detection of errors allows you to avoid critical consequences in the future, which saves time and resources for fixing bugs, and also speeds up the process of technical product development.
• Confirms compliance with requirements . Testing helps ensure that the software works correctly and performs all functions as intended.
• Improves user experience . Thorough testing helps build user trust in the product because it performs consistently and predictably.
• Increases business competitiveness . Tested, high-quality software allows the company to work effectively, attract new audiences and maintain high positions in the market. It should be understood that this rule also works in the opposite direction - software with errors and bugs, on the contrary, can negatively affect the brand’s reputation.

How the testing process is organized, what methodologies and approaches our QA engineers use to achieve the best results - we explain in this article.

What are testing principles

Testing principles are the basic ideas and concepts on which the entire software testing process is based. They help organize and manage testing, ensuring its efficiency and quality. Here are the main ones:

• Exhaustive testing is not possible. Testing cannot and should not cover all possible usage scenarios and program states. The goal is to find as many defects as possible, but completely exhausting all options is unrealistic.
• Accumulation of defects. The largest number of bugs and problems in software operation are always found in a limited number of modules.
• The pesticide paradox. If you repeat the same test scenario, at some point this test suite will no longer detect new problems.
• Economic expediency. Testing must be effective and cost-effective. It is necessary to find a balance between the volume of testing and their cost in order to use available resources effectively.
• Testing shows the presence of errors. The main task of testing is to identify defects, not to prove their absence. Even successful completion of the tests indicates that no errors were found only within the tests performed.
• Testing never ends. Testing is carried out at all stages of the development life cycle, from the first stages of design to the launch of product support, to ensure its stable operation and identify possible problems as early as possible.

How testing is carried out

Comprehensive software testing is a complex and structured process that includes several stages: from planning and requirements analysis to defect management. Each of them has its own characteristics and tasks aimed at achieving the developers’ goals. Let's take a closer look at the main stages of software testing and their role in ensuring the quality of the final product:

• Planning . First, test objectives are determined and a plan is drawn up that contains test strategies, methods, and schedules, as well as test completion criteria.
• Requirements analysis and test design . The requirements for the software product are analyzed, functional and non-functional characteristics are determined, test cases and test scenarios are formulated.
• Development of test cases and scripts . In accordance with the approved plan, automated tests are developed, test scenarios are described and testing environments are created.
• Carrying out tests . At this stage, prepared tests and software verification scripts are executed. This process includes running tests, recording results, and identifying defects.
• Results analysis and reporting . After testing is completed, the results obtained are analyzed, interpreted and reports are prepared on the work done. Reports can contain information about defects found, testing coverage, tests performed, and other important data.
• Defect management . The entire testing process is accompanied by defect management, including defect registration, tracking, prioritization, correction and retesting after elimination. This allows you to effectively manage software quality and ensure its successful release.

Following these steps allows you to identify and correct software defects in the early stages of development, which reduces business risks and increases confidence in the stable operation of the final product build.

Main types of testing

There are several ways to classify software testing according to different criteria. One common approach is based on the level of detail of the components being tested. In this case, the following are distinguished:

• Unit testing is performed at the code level and helps to identify problems in the operation of one logically separated or isolated element. Most often performed not by QA engineers, but by developers during programming.
• Integration testing – tests the interaction between different components or modules of the software. The goal is to ensure correct operation of the system as a whole while integrating individual parts.
• System testing – helps evaluate the stability, reliability, security and performance of software. Typically this testing includes all components of the product: interfaces, databases, network connections, and interaction with other systems or programs.
• Acceptance testing is carried out before putting the product into operation and checks the compliance of the software with the needs and business processes of the client.

Another common way to classify software testing is based on the testing objectives. It allows you to determine the focus of the team’s efforts to achieve specific results within the test process. With this approach, the following are distinguished:

• Functional software testing is aimed at checking the correct operation of the functional part of the product.
• Non-functional testing – testing of product attributes related to functionality.
• Load testing – evaluates the performance and response time of the system to external requests in order to achieve the established requirements.
• Performance testing – checking system stability and resource consumption under various loads and software usage scenarios.
• Scalability testing – measures the product's performance as user demands increase and decrease.
• Stress testing is carried out to assess the stability of the system under increasing load.
• Security testing - helps verify the security level of the system and analyze the risks associated with ensuring the protection of confidential data.
• Localization testing – checking the adaptation of a software product in accordance with the cultural and linguistic characteristics of each audience. This is especially important for software designed for use in different countries and regions.
• Usability testing helps to assess how convenient it will be for end consumers to work with the interface of the product being developed.
• Regression testing is the process of retesting functionality after tuning the code to ensure that changes made by developers do not have unintended consequences.

Manual and automated testing - what's the difference?

Software testing can be divided into two main categories: manual and automated , and when testing one product, two approaches can be used at once. But when and which one is better to use? Let's figure it out.

Manual software testing involves a QA engineer performing tests manually or by interacting with specialized software. This is a rather expensive method, since it requires the physical presence of a specialist, plus the human factor must always be taken into account.

Therefore, we, in the AVADA MEDIA team, often prefer automated testing. It involves the development of autotests - special software scripts that are written once and can be executed an unlimited number of times without human intervention, which means increased speed and accuracy, and therefore increased testing efficiency.

Automated testing is appropriate in most cases, especially:

• When conducting a large number of repeated tests.
• During loading and performance testing.
• When you need to completely eliminate the human factor.
• Working with large amounts of data, that is, in large projects.

When choosing between manual and automated testing, our QA engineers always try to find the optimal balance that will be economically feasible for the client and at the same time provide up-to-date test results to ensure product quality.

What programming languages are used to write automated tests?

To write automated tests, specialists can use different programming languages. The choice depends on the specific task, project features or software testing specifics. Here are a few languages that we most often use in our work:

• Java . The Java language is widely used for writing automated tests thanks to its wide range of testing frameworks such as JUnit and TestNG. It provides many features for performing unit tests, integration tests, and other types of testing.
• Python . There are also many testing libraries and frameworks in the Python ecosystem such as unittest, pytest, nose, etc. These tools provide great opportunities for writing different types of tests and provide integration with other tools and services.
• JavaScript . Used for automated testing of web applications, especially using frameworks such as Jasmine, Mocha and Jest.
• PHP . The PHP language provides PHPUnit and Codeception testing tools that make it easy to write and run automated tests for websites, web applications, and APIs.

Software testing in AVADA MEDIA

We, at AVADA MEDIA, specialize in developing high-quality software that meets modern technological trends, so testing and debugging programs is an integral part of our daily work. If you want to bring a product to market that is safe, performs, and is focused on achieving your business goals, contact us.