Testing is a complex activity and a critical part of the product development life cycle. It refers to the process of testing the app’s functionality aiming to find the errors that possibly exist in it. If done successfully, testing significantly improves the quality of web or mobile apps making them bug-free and easier to use.
In order to structure and perform this process correctly, one first needs to make sure that specific guidelines/requirements are met. The best way to do this is to hire an experienced quality assurance company that provides professional qa services and consultancy for businesses. But if you are going to do it yourself, there are quite a few issues to consider. In this posting, we’ve decided to shed light on software testing principles that will help you deliver outstanding customer experience to your customers. So grab a coffee and let’s get started.
Why Software Testing Matters to Business
High-profile software failures are getting increasingly commonplace. For instance, there is a continuous pattern of profitable businesses dropping the ball in terms of software security. As a result, they are losing their loyal clients who have had their sensitive data stolen and passwords compromised. Usability problems are another common issue arising from software development agencies lacking essential business vision and shying away from testing. Usability itself comes down to allowing users to perform the tasks efficiently, effectively, and safely, while enjoying the experience. And this is where a professional quality assurance company can help.
The ultimate goal for any product owner is to provide the best customer satisfaction. QA services are targeted at ensuring that you and your startup partner deliver bug-free products to your customers seamlessly and smoothly, saving your company’s money and reputation. Besides, with a strong understanding of app’s behaviors, weaknesses, and capabilities, you can get an idea of what to expect from the upcoming release. In a nutshell, QA outsourcing services bring immediate value to your business that has a lasting impact.
Essential Principles of Software Testing
Below we have collected the principles that are the absolute core of QA and a crucial part of IT skills development.
- Absence of bugs fallacy: If an app is 100% error-free but it does not meet user needs, then it is considered unusable for users.
- Software Testing is Pretty Much Context-Dependent: Different types of apps require different types of testing approaches. In other words, testing methods are determined by the context of the product developed.
- Pesticide Paradox: Test cases should be updated/reviewed constantly so they are able to find new errors. Repeating the same test case again and again is ineffective for defect-free software delivery.
- Defect Clustering: Typically, a small amount of code contains most of the errors. So it is imperative to find it early.
- Early Testing is a Wise Decision: The earlier you start your test activity, the less costly it will be to catch and fix bugs.
- Exhaustive Testing is a Myth: Exhaustive testing aims to test a web or mobile product in all possible pre-conditions and inputs (both valid or invalid). This approach is considered ineffective and impractical as no matter how you try, you will never be able to cover all the potential scenarios. Besides, it consumes lots of your effort, costs, and time.
- Software Testing Shows Presence of Errors: The main aim of software testers is to make your web or mobile app fail. When testing software, you can only minimize the amount of bugs but not remove them all. In other words, even multiple testing processes cannot prove that an app is 100% defect-free.
Benefits for Business of Software Testing
- Testing Improves Customer Experience/Satisfaction: Software testing allows to build the best UX design possible, helping you gain loyal customers.
- QA Services Maximize Product Quality: Software testing improves your product quality by helping follow product/user requirements.
- Quality Assurance Services Ensure Better Security: Security is another critical point to consider as this is one of the most vulnerable and most sensitive parts. How software testing helps?
- Eliminates lots of security issues and risks beforehand-
- Keeps the user’s sensitive data safe
- Ensures users get a high-quality product.
- Software Testing Saves Your Money: Performing software testing especially at an early stage is cost-effective as it optimizes your budget in the long run.
Conclusion
Software testing is a vital aspect of product development as it verifies if it works as the end-user needs. And it is crucial to get things done as soon as possible. In order to execute testing effectively, one must understand and adhere to the principles/pillars of QA.