A Quick Overview
Are you planning to conduct a software development project? Well, there are a plethora of things which need to be taken into consideration, and the most important of these two are software development and software testing. There was a time when software testing was completely ignored; however, this is no longer the case! Today, testing turns out to be equally important since here you are guaranteed with absolute quality, robustness, reliability and spotting as well as rectifying errors in no time.
Now you tell me there is no point in creating an app which is prone to hundreds of bugs or crashing down at any point of time, is it? In addition, all this can lead to costly errors as well as poor user experiences. The competition is getting fierce across the globe, and one doesn’t have any time to make mistakes. By conducting appropriate software testing services, you are bound to have an app which is thoroughly evaluated and verified, and the developed app has successfully met its pre-defined requirements. This is when the need for developing a kick-ass software testing strategy comes into play. The following post emphasises on what is a software testing strategy is, why it needs to be incorporated in the first place, and what its role is in the ever-evolving Software development lifecycle and some of the best software testing practices to take into account.
What is a Software Testing Strategy?
Whether you are conducting a software development project or a testing project, both require ample of time and energy and tons of investment, so making random choices is definitely not an option here. You need to make well-informed decisions, and it is a completely non-negotiable thing. And above all, you need to understand what it takes to create a proper budget. You see, not all types of tests need to be conducted in the same manner; some might require appropriate system insights and deep coding knowledge, whereas others might not and simply need to be automated. Each testing strategy is different and so needs to be their own skills, specific technical skills, knowledge, and tools.
So a software testing strategy can be well-defined as a high-level plan which successfully outlines how different types of testing activities are conducted, especially while you are at it.
The strategy incorporates everything from what approach is used to what tools and techniques need to be taken into consideration. Basically, you are creating a successful roadmap which ensures all the testing procedures are well organised and systematic. So identifying the current and potential risks, improving efficiency, meeting project deadlines or exceeding customer satisfaction, all these benefits are completely given!
In short, if you are planning each and every testing activity, then you are creating a software testing strategy. Great — now that we’ve clarified what a test strategy is (a high-level, long-term plan that outlines testing for a development project), let’s break down the key components that lead to its successful execution.
The key to success is creating a well-crafted test strategy, and for that, you need to understand the required ingredients or components.
Scope of testing
The first and foremost thing to do is to pre-define the boundaries of all the procedures of testing. Here, you need to be pretty specific regarding what will be tested and what will not, basically you need to establish the testing scope from the outset.
Testing objectives
The outline basically comprises of objectives and goals of course, in the context of testing procedures, right from identifying defects to validating overall performance as well as compliance.
Test Approach
The next aspect or component is the test approach, which features everything from what type of testing or activities will be conducted, performed and testing techniques used.
Test environment
This component is about specifying the hardware, software, operating systems as well as network configurations which are needed to conduct proper testing. So in a nutshell, you need to create a clear test environment setup, which is a replica of the production environment. By doing so, it is possible to minimise discrepancies.
Test schedule
You are bound to receive a timeline for testing activities, small or big milestones, meeting deadlines, everything is so detailed that you no longer have to worry about anything else, everything is so well-planned.
Risk Management
The last aspect to consider is identifying potential risks, as well outline mitigation strategies.
Types of Software Testing Strategies
Static Testing Strategy
Often considered as dry run testing, this software testing strategy might give you a feeling of drowsiness. No kidding! The strategy is meant to ensure the entire development process runs successfully, and for that, you need to thoroughly analyse the software documentation, code, and functional specifications. You see, you need to do this once and for all, but after that, you will be able to identify potential issues even before they arise.
So it is all about thoroughly reviewing and analysing the design, or code without executing the software. You see, by using this strategy, errors can be easily fixed as well as turn out to be less costly.
This definitely saves time, resources, and costs. Now you must be wondering what errors this testing strategy can spot? coding errors and inconsistent naming conventions.
Benefits:
- Early defect detection
- Enhanced code quality
- Reduced costs and time
- Prevention of common issues
- Enhanced collaboration
Structural Testing Strategy
The next one is a structural testing strategy, which is also known as white-box testing and features designing different test cases based on the software’s internal structure and logic, as well as code. Here, you will have a better understanding of how loops in the software work. And do you what’s more interesting aspect here, you no longer have to keep on creating similar test cases since different ones can be taken into loop once, twice, or more. And there is no context of the overall functionality of the software.
No wonder it is also known as structure-based, glass-box, clear-box, and white box testing. Just make sure that before performing such a testing strategy, you have understood the code thoroughly.
Benefits:
- It doesn’t require lots of manual intervention
- Not time-consuming at all
- Spotting defects in an early phase.
- Removes redundant code.
- Easy coding is done
- Bound to receive detailed testing of the software.
Some of the common types of structural testing strategies include mutation testing, Data flow testing, control flow testing, slice-based testing and more. The key to successful structural testing is to choose a label and name the tests in the correct manner, so that in case if someone else is running the tests, it is possible to locate them seamlessly. Run tests on a separate basis, so it becomes easy to identify and fix bugs. And lastly, make sure to generate tests before you make any other changes; after all, the test needs to run as expected.
Behavioural Testing Strategy
The behavioural testing technique, is often called black-box testing, mainly focuses on verifying whether the software is working in sync from the end-user’s perspective.
Imagine you are a pilot by profession, and before you take off, you believe that all the components of the aircraft are thoroughly checked and tested, also proper validation is done just to ensure absolute safety. Similarly, behaviour testing is done to ensure the app goes through meticulous quality checks before the big launch.
In this type of testing, all you need to do is keep the external behaviour of a software application in check. It is one of the core types of functional testing. This is done to ensure whether the software system has successfully met the expectations and requirements of the end-users; no wonder this is extremely important if you want to launch a successful app development project.
Some of the most interesting aspects of behvaior testing include:
- Boundary Value Analysis,
- Equivalence Class,
- Domain Tests,
- Decision Tables,
- Orthogonal Arrays,
- State Models,
- All-pairs testing,
- Exploratory Testing
Benefits:
- Assures high quality
- Finding out hidden bugs
- Leveraging AI in testing
- Simulate Various User Scenarios
- Assists in working with critical tasks
- Visual Testing
- Cloud-based testing
So if you want to find out how the system behaves externally, you need to conduct system testing.
Front-end Testing Strategy
Front-end testing means you can learn how an application’s user interface behaves as well appears in front of the end users. So basically, this type of testing is done to ensure whether all visual elements and interactive components are functioning in the correct manner across all platforms.
Right from unit testing to integration testing, end-to-end testing, visual regression testing, cross-browser testing, accessibility Testing, and responsive testing are different types of front-end testing.
Front-end testing is done to ensure all GUI elements are functioning in the expected manner. So here all functionalities are thoroughly tested and verified just to make sure the website’s or app’s presentation layer is bug-free or error-free.
Benefits:
- A guaranteed user experience where everything works without any glitches
- Ensures uniform behaviour irrespective of different types of browsers being used, with high cross-browser compatibility.
- Ensures responsive design validation
- Identify and correct performance issues if not done in a proper then you will be responsible for reducing the speed user interface responsiveness and forget about the loading times.
- Early detection of bugs on the user interface
Software Testing Best Practices to Consider
Test early
Make sure you begin testing as soon as possible, by testing early, it is possible to identify relevant defects in the initial stages of the development, making things way easier and less costly to fix. Not to mention, early testing means it is possible for the software to meet its requirements and functions in the expected manner.
Define clear testing objectives
The next best practice to consider is defining clear testing objectives. Once you know exactly where you need to head towards, there are fewer chances of being distracted. Your testing objectives will act as a guide, there is no point in doing something if you don’t know what exactly you want to achieve. For example, be it verifying a specific functionality or uncover potential defects. Nothing can stop you from having focus on testing efforts, and of course, these tests are absolutely meaningful and effective.
Creating comprehensive test cases
The next best practice is to maximise test coverage and effectiveness. Here, you can think of combining both automation and manual testing strategies for achieving successful outcomes. You see, when you incorporate manual testing, it means you are allowing exploratory testing and human judgment, whereas automating testing certainly helps in executing repetitive tests quickly and efficiently.
Mixing two types of testing strategies means it is possible to maximise test coverage with an efficient use of resources.
Collaborating seamlessly across teams
The next best practice to take into account is creating comprehensive test cases. By doing so, you can be doubly sure of the fact that all aspects of the software’s functionality are tested thoroughly. All the test cases need to be well-detailed and ensure high coverage, irrespective of a wide range of scenarios and edge cases, to uncover potential defects.
Making constant improvements
Last but certainly not least, make sure you keep on reviewing and improving the testing procedure is very important to enhance overall efficiency and effectiveness. Some of the core activities to take into account include:
- Identifying certain areas of improvement
- Enhancing test coverage
- Optimising test cases
- Adopting new testing tools
- Delivering high-quality software testing strategies
Conclusion
In the end, it is all about getting the final product to meet pre-determined quality standards, and this aspect makes developing a software testing strategy a must-do thing. Here, I would like to mention certain questions to ponder before choosing the right testing strategy for your project.
What are the functional and non-functional requirements, compliance needs, and quality standards which need to be met?
Are all the resources available for testing? Are there any industry-specific or regulatory testing requirements?
Have you figured out all the high-risk components, functionalities, or areas by conducting proper risk management?
Have you considered the entry and exit criteria?
What about comprehensive test coverage and traceability to requirements?
Conducting a software testing strategy is not easy, but it’s a doable job; also, it can save you from ample of hassles which might be a hurdle in the app development project. I hope you did find the following post worth considering. In case, if you have any doubts or concerns, feel free to mention them in the comment section below.
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