Understanding JMeter and Its Usage in Software Testing

Load testing helps enterprises to deploy software applications effectively, and eliminate chances of downtime and failure in future. But testers need to load test the application by emulating a large number of users and under various conditions to obtain its key performance indicators (KPIs). That is why, many professionals use load testing tools to obtain the software’s KPIs by easily emulating a large number of users simultaneously. As an open source load testing tool, JMeter helps testers to assess the performance of a variety of web applications without increasing project overheads. However, its features and functionality also make JMeter a widely used load testing tool.

Why Many Software Testers Prefer JMeter to Other Load Testing Tools?

Pure Java Application

Unlike other load testing tools, JMeter is designed as a pure Java desktop application. So the users can download zip file, and setup the open source tool in a straightforward way. Further, they have option to run the tool on various operating systems that support Java. As most platforms currently support Java, the load testing tool can be setup and run across major operating systems including Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.

Assess both Static and Dynamic Resources

To evaluate the performance of a website effectively, testers need to assess all its resources. JMeter enables users to test both static and dynamic resources used by the software. They can use the tool to test various static resources including   HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Likewise, it can also be used for testing a variety of dynamic resources PHP, ASP.NET, Java Servlets, Java objects, CGI scripts, FTP servers and databases.

Perform both Load and Stress Tests

The testers can further use JMeter to perform both load tests and stress tests. They can assess the application’s performance under varying loads by simulating the number of users expected to access the website simultaneously. At the same time, JMeter also helps testers to determine the maximum load capacity of the web server. So they can easily identify when the web application will start responding to user request slowly or produce errors.

Supports Most Protocols and Servers

JMeter can also be used to load test and stress test a variety of applications as it supports most of the commonly used protocols and servers. At present, the load testing tools support HTTP, HTTPS, TCP, FTP, SOAP, REST, LDAP, SMPT, POP3 and IMAP. Likewise, it also supports databases through JDBC, NoSQL through MangoDB, and native commands and shell scripts. Thus, the testers can use a single tool to assess the performance of various modern websites and web applications. 

Pluggable Architecture

The architecture of JMeter is built based on plug-ins. Some of its commonly used features are implemented through plug-ins. So it becomes easier for testers to manipulate the testing tool through these plug-ins. Also, they can easily enhance its features and functionality by building custom plug-ins. 

Simple Option to Build Test Cases

Often QA professionals have to put additional time and effort for building effective test plans. But JMeter makes enables users to create test plans by following some simple steps.  For instance, the testers can create test plans for testing SOAP layers simply by mentioning the URLs and SOAP requests. They also have option to extend the basic test plans by incorporating parameters, variables, counters, logs, loops and CSV files. They can further refer to the comprehensive documentation posted on its website to manage and maintain the test scripts efficiently.

Generates Informative Test Reports

The programmers need informative test reports to fix the performance issues quickly. Likewise, clear and elaborate performance testing reports help managers to take a number of crucial decisions. JMeter enables testers to present the requests and response in text, HTML or XML format. Also, they can use the Aggregate Graph component of the tool to present the test results more clearly with graphs and statistics.  Also, they can take advantage of the Display Graph option to present the performance statistics through appealing graphs.

Despite being an open source load testing tool, JMeter is being updated at regular intervals. The most recent version of JMeter enables testers to determine the amount of time required by the software to establish connection with the sever using a new parameter called connect Time. Likewise, JMeter 2.13 allows users to customize both aggregate report and aggregate graph. These new features make JMeter score over other open source and commercial load testing tools available in the market.

Ways in Which Software Testing is Helpful for Healthcare Industry

Technology has been advancing in leaps and bounds in the recent eras. All aspects of the human life are now depended on technology in some way or the other. Human life is badly intertwined with the technology and the scenario is no different with the healthcare industry. Healthcare industry uses technology pretty heavily these days in order to maintain information about the patients and related officials and other required details of the industry. This makes testing of the software used in the healthcare industry an absolute must which will ensure that the software is foolproof and will cause no problems when being used.

Healthcare industry is reputed for the use of software which are highly complex in nature and usually contain multiple tiers which are used to integrate variety of information like that of medical plans, enrollments and annual contracts which are to be regularly updated and maintained for long periods of time. All these complexities often lead to data integration complexities which are to be taken care of before releasing them for the use by healthcare professionals so that the data can be safe with them and no data would be lost due to the bugs or glitches.

1. Software testing ensures that the multi-tier system of the software used in the healthcare industry is up and running at all time and springs back to its original form even after snagging under pressure.
2. Via software testing it can be made sure that the various software used by the professionals of the healthcare industry provide equally brilliant results even if there is extra load dumped on them due to any kind of mishap.
3. The software used in the healthcare industry for various purposes, may have to perform tasks continuously for an extended period of time without any possible break. Software testing ensures that these prolonged working periods do not cause any trouble with the performance of the software.
4. The healthcare industry often have to integrate multiple systems together in order to collaborate the data stored in all the systems or in order to maintain a constant flow of data between these systems. The proper integration of these systems are ensured by the implementation of software testing procedures.
5. Software testing helps in checking the cross system impacts on the performance of the applications used in healthcare industry.
6. One of the most important parts of the software used in healthcare industry is the inter dependency of the various apps or software used in the industry, which is checked by the software testing procedures.
7. Just like in the banking industry, the software to be used in healthcare industry are also at a risk of being breached which can give rise to fatal consequences. Software testing ensures that these types of security glitches are avoided.
8. At times the software of the healthcare industry needs to be handled by people who are not very apt with the usage. Software testing ensures that the applications are user friendly.

These are some of the top most ways which software testing ensures that the healthcare industry is benefited from a good software and continues its journey to serve the mankind on a whole. We hope to have made you realize the importance of the various software testing procedure in the success of a healthcare industry software so that you introduce the various processes as early as possible in the software development life cycle in order to provide your customers with a software devoid of all kinds of possible bugs and glitches.

Importance of Testing Applications across Devices & Browsers

If you are aiming at winning the hearts of your customers with the software you have developed, the safest way to do so is by implementing software testing procedure on the same so as to detect the probable bugs and glitches and rectify them.

Since it was discovered, technology has always been a blessing to mankind. With its advancement, it has offered people with ample choice or both devices and browsers through which they can access and utilize a particular app according to their convenience. This has made cross browser and device testing of application an absolute must part of the whole software testing process in order to make sure that the developed application works equally well in all the browsers or devices. This in turn ensures satisfaction of the customers.

When you are developing an application, your target should be to provide your customers with the best possible performance along with awesome security system, so that your customers are head over heels in love with your application. This can be done only by testing the application’s performance in various kinds of devices and browsers which are majorly used by the real time users. Although there are multiple tools available for cross device or browser testing, yet it is better to test them manually because these tools though can perform test in multiple browser or device simultaneously, tends to treat all of them in similar manner, which is not needed at times. While testing the apps manually, you can take into consideration the uniqueness of each of the devices and browsers along with your app and the parts of it to check if they are compatible with each other or not so that you can tweak it accordingly.

Features like Applets, JavaScript, Flash, AJAX requests and more are what contribute to making a browser different from the second one, similar is the cases with the devices that are used. This uniqueness of the devices and browsers makes the application you have developed perform in different ways in different browsers or devices producing varying outcomes. However, it is desirable that your application will perform equally in all the devices or browsers, without any discrimination so that your customers are given ample choices to choose from and also so that you get a customer base. This is what makes testing applications across devices and browsers very important so that your customers do not have to suffer due to their choice of browsers or devices and so that you do not have to suffer the consequences of their choice by compromising on the popularity of your application.

It is quite obvious that you will target the majority while you are developing applications to be launched. This is why it is but natural that you will focus more on the most popular browsers and apps while you are testing your application for its performance in cross browsers and devices in order to make sure that your app and all its parts provides equally awesome performance and security service in all of them. However, it won’t be very wise to neglect the less used counterparts completely. Also while you are manually testing your application, take the various operating systems of the devices into consideration along with the built and other aspects so as to ensure all round performance of it.

So that’s a gist of the importance of testing applications across devices and browsers. We hope to have made you realize the need for the process in order to make your app popular and wanted among customers.

How to Effectively Conduct Bug Reporting for New QA Testers?

The bug reports prepared by testers help managers to take a number of crucial decisions. So the managers need clear, detailed and informative bug reports. But often the reports prepared by beginners do not provide adequate information about the defects or flaws in the software application to the programmers and managers. Sometimes the inadequate and ambiguous information even affects the outcome of the software testing project. That is why, it is important for both experienced testers and beginners to keep in mind some simple points to conduct bug reporting effectively. 

Simple Ways to Prepare Better Bug Reports

Describe Each Step in the Process

The beginners must break down the process of identifying a defect. In addition to mentioning the series of steps taken till the bug is identified, they also need to mention both expected and actual results. When each step in the experience is described, it will be easier for the programmers to fix the bugs based on specific details. Likewise, the expected and actual results will help testers to check if the bug is fixed successfully.

Don’t Analyze the Bugs

Often testers have to analyze and prioritize bugs according to their severity and impact on the application’s functionality. But they need not prioritize bugs while preparing the bug report. The primary objective of the report is to bring all bugs into the system. So the report must convey detailed and specific information about each bug identified during the testing process. The testers must include all bugs in the report regardless of their significance, frequency of occurrence, and severity.

Provide Specific Information

The testers can easily reduce the defect turnaround time by providing specific information about each bug in the report. For instance, while reporting a defect found in a web application, they must clearly describe the page URL, user account details and login credentials. Likewise, they can provide more specific information about the bugs by providing screenshots. The screenshot will complement the description of the bug included in the report, and help programmers to understand the issue clearly.

Reproduce the Bugs

The professionals can further conduct bug reporting effectively by reproducing the bugs. However, the performance and functionality of an application can be impacted by a number of factors during the testing process. So they need to identify and reproduce only those bugs that are persistent and occur frequently. While reproducing a bug, the testers can easily identify the exact steps in the experience, and supplement the details by providing screenshots.

Focus Exclusively on Facts

Often beginners tend to speculate about the source and effect of a defect. The speculative information makes it difficult for programmers to understand and fix the bugs quickly. So the testers must focus only on facts while preparing the bug report. They must report facts about the bug objectively, and avoid trying to speculate about nature and source of the problem.

Make Subjects Descriptive

Often programmers identify and track each issue based on its subject. So the testers must write the subject in a clear and descriptive way. The subject must convey information about the issues in a simple and unambiguous way. When the subject is accurate and descriptive, it becomes easier for programmers to identify and understand the source of the problem. Thus, descriptive subjects used in the bug reports can reduce defect turnaround time drastically.

Assign a Number to Each Bug Report

Normally, testers have to prepare several bug reports while testing a single software application.  So they need to differentiate the reports from each other. When the testers assign a unique number to each bug report, it becomes easier for them to track individual reports efficiently. Further, they   can easily update the status of each report once the defects are fixed. Some testing tools even allow users to add unique ids to various bug reports simply by changing the configuration.

On the whole, the testers need to prepare informative bug reports to reduce the defect turnaround time drastically. Instead of following a predefined template or format, the testers must focus on conveying detailed and clear information about the bugs identified during the testing process. They can even consider reproducing the bugs before preparing bug reports to make it easier for programmers to eliminate the defects in the software application.   

5 Signs that Prompts Business Owners to Initiate Software Testing

Software testing is considered to be the pillar of successful software. If you are in a software business, it is very important that you, as the owner provide facilities for your software to be tested before releasing. However your product will provide you with signs which will indicate the same.

1.  Bugs Leading to Reduced Output: Most of the time if the software has been released without being tested, it develops various kinds of bugs which usually interfere with the way the software is supposed to react and the possible output it gives. This usually leads to dissatisfaction of the customers who terminate the usage of the software. This will ultimately lead to the failure of the software which will lead to the loss of business and should be a clear indication to the owners to start testing their software before launching to avoid such loss.
2.  No Desired Output: The main aim of the business owners is to launch a product which provides the customers with the desired output that will make the customers use their application resulting in desired profit. However, when the developed software doesn’t provide you with the output that it is meant to give, it may be time to start software testing in order to detect the errors which are preventing your application from producing the desired results so that they can be rectified and the settings can be altered to change it. Testing helps in pinpointing the errors and saves time.
3. Loading Problems: You may have created a software and released it in the market for the use by the customers but it can’t handle the load of multiple customers at a time. This will lead to the customer unrest which will soon lead to the customer’s unrest who will shift to a app which has better work ability and doesn’t hang up as easily. This will ultimately result in the loss of your organization and may be one of the most potent signs which indicates that you start testing your software as soon as possible to avoid this kind of problems that lead to discontinuation of the app created.
4.  Lagging Behind in the Market: The advancement of technology has provided us with many benefits but it has also lead to an increased amount of competition as there are multiple apps similar to the one your organization has created which provide people with better performance than yours. This will lead your customers to choose the application created by your opponent rather than yours as it provides better service and desired output in shorter time interval. This will result in you lagging behind in the highly competitive market and is a clear indication that prompt action is required in the field of software testing.
5. Reduced Profit: The main concern of any business organization is to gain profit from the products that they are offering to the customers. As a business owner it should be your top priority to ensure that your organization is always of the profitable side of the ledger and in order to do so you need to provide your customers with quality products. A lack in the profitability is a clear indication that your customers are not satisfied with the quality of product your are providing them with and in order to improve this situation you need to test your software to detect the glitches before offering them to your customers.

These are the top five signs which should prompt any business owner to initiate software testing in order to maintain the profitability of their company. 

ZenQ Software Testing - Mitigating Risks and Ensuring Quality

Software testing is one of the vital parts of the software development life cycle. It ensures that your customer gets an awesome product which is easy to use and is top notch when it comes to security of their data. As a major portion of the popularity of the software depends on the software testing procedure which deals reducing the risks and ensuring that your customers get quality product, it is absolutely important that you choose a good software testing partner and there are only a few companies which can match up to the service provided by ZenQ.

Since its commencement in 2003, ZenQ has become one of the pioneers in the software testing front. With a bunch of extremely talented as well as dedicated staff who handle your project with utmost care, ZenQ will prove to be your best software testing partner to whom you can outsource your job with ease. They live up to their mission of “To be the most dependable quality partner to our clients via helping them release zero-defect products to the market every time, on time and within budget. We endeavor to achieve this by keeping client interests at heart, employing skilled and motivated individuals, nurturing innovation, implementing best of the practices and by investing in cutting edge infrastructure.”

Software testing, now, covers a lot of area which may be broadly classified into:

1.       Functional testing.

2.       Automated testing.

3.       Performance testing.

4.       Security testing.

ZenQ performs all these tests with the best quality of result possible. Apart from this, ZenQ also performs tests on various platforms like web, mobile, tablets and that two using various operating systems that might be used by your end users. The superiority of the reports provided by ZenQ allows your developers to further enhance the work ability of the software and hence attain customer satisfaction.

When you choose ZenQ to be your software testing partner, you are automatically entitled to the following advantages:

1.       Highly experienced staff for the detection of complexities and cross platform tests.
2.      Adjustable QA mindset which can undertake various projects according to the need of the same.
3.     High test coverage and early detection of problems so as to reduce the complexities of the problem.
4.       Quick tests using various automation tools, ensuring early release.
5.      Team building and changing depending on project needs.
6.      Test automation based on proof of concept methodology.
7.       Popular test automation frameworks made into reusable plug-ins.
8.    Detailed reports accompanied by the screen shots, logs, videos and error reports for better understanding by the developers.
9.        Large scale test performance along with detailed results.
10.       Multi level testing facilities for software which could be used by thousands of users at the same time.
11.        Tests under real life user condition to check the performance which will actually be delivered.
12.     Experienced professionals (CISSP, C.E.H., CHFI, etc.) along with customized approach related to PCI DSS, HIPAA, SOX, ISO27001 etc.
13.      Integrated white box, gray box and black box testing with appreciable affectivity.
14.       Industry practices like OWASP, SANS and OSSTMM which are comprehensive.
15.      Cloud and legacy deployment, done manually and effectively, for analysis at run time.

This is just an overview of the immense facilities that you will be able to plunder if you choose ZenQ as your partner in software testing. The main advantage, however, being and excellent end product.

The Importance of QA Testing for Businesses

The main aim of all businesses is to gain profit from the product that they are selling to their customers and one of the best methods to gain more customers is to provide them with quality product that will satisfy the requirements of the customers. The scenario is pretty much the same when it comes to the software industry. This is what makes QA testing an important part of the software development life cycle of the product. The world is filled with competition and people are willing to pay more for good quality products which will deliver better than the rest.

The software which is tested before launching will obviously have better performance than those which are not and hence will be accepted more by the customers ultimately making it beneficial for the business.

1. QA Testing helps Launch Defect Free Products: QA testing helps in detection of all the glitches that the software may have while being developed. The bugs that may affect the performance of the software will be detected in the QA testing phase and can be rectified so that they are not causing a problem when the customers are using them. The defect free product will become more popular among the users and will provide the business with a wider and more loyal customer base that will ultimately help in business expansion and profitability of the organization.
2. 2.       Even Software Developed by the Best Developers has to be tested: Even the best of the developers are ultimately human and to err is human. You can never be hundred percent sure about the developed product hence you need to get it checked to make sure it is performing as you desired it to perform. QA testing also helps to ensure that the software works smoothly under the stress it may face while being used by the customers and the probable problems may be rectified before launching it to the real world. This is beneficial for the business as it will not cause any disturbance for the customers.
3.  QA Testing also helps Provide Publicity: The QA department is basically a representative of the customers to the business organization. Both start-ups and established firms need to get their software tested by the QA department. This will ensure that the product does exactly what the customer requires it to do. Satisfying the customer in this manner will make the customer tell others about the software or the organization who will be eager to use the services offered by the same. Thus helping in the publicity of the business ultimately resulting in the increased business and profit of the organization.

Thus you see how QA testing is important when it comes to business. It will help not only in increasing the customer base of the organization but also help to gain the loyalty of the existing customers so that they avail to your service exclusively. It is a pretty fast paced world and people will not think twice before switching over to better software if you are not able to provide them with quality product. So it is absolutely must for your business to keep your customers satiated with the quality of the product you are supplying which can only be ensured by QA testing. 

Top Reasons for Using Selenium in Software Testing

In the current IT industry, whenever a new software is developed, it is being tested by the various software testing procedure. These tests ensure that the software is as bug free as possible for the satisfaction of the customers who will be using it. Software testing may be of manual or automated type. The automated testing procedures are more popular due to the fact that it costs less and is a speedy process.

Automated testing tools are very popular among various organizations as they are low cost and provide testing results which are reliable and highly accurate. Of the multiple automated testing tools present, Selenium is by far the most popular one. It is applicable for both applicable for the functionality as well as the GUI and is becoming a favourite for the automated testers of web applications.

So, you ask why? Well following are the top reasons for using Selenium in software testing:

1. When compared with the various other automated testing tools, Selenium is far more popular as it has the capability of working on almost all the available operating systems.
2. Selenium is very cost effective when compared to other automated testing tools due to the fact that it is an open source system.
3. Multiple languages such as Python, Pearl, and Ruby, PHP, .NET (C #) and Java are well supported by Selenium. However, knowing any one of these languages well, will allow you to work on Selenium with perfect ease.
4. When you are working with Selenium, you can write your automation test script in any language you wish. The language used for building Selenium is not dependant on the language used for script writing which proves to be a huge advantage. 
5. Be it Opera, Safari, Chrome, IE 6, 7, 8 or Mozilla Firefox, Selenium will work with equal ease on all of the leading browsers and hence is easy to work with.
6. Selenium is backed up by Google and has a very good development team to support it.
7. CSS, Xpath, DOM, and so on are some of the most robust methods of locating various elements when automatic testing is on process.
8. When it comes to implementation of frameworks that revolve around Object oriented programming like Keyword Driven, Data driven and Hybrid, Selenium is unparalleled in the market.
9. TestNG, JUnit, NUnit and so on are the open source frameworks which are well integrated with Selenium.
10. When you work with Selenium, it allows you to work on multiple machines at the same time. Thus it helps in saving your time as you can perform various tests on a number of browsers in different machines and hat too in the same time. This is a huge advantage when you have the task of testing a large project within a limited period of time.

When it comes to the testing of web applications like browser compatibility along with the functionality tests, Selenium is by far the best of the lot. With the various modes and test packages that the automation tool has to offer, you no longer need to search other tools for testing your web application for their superior functionality and can easily deliver quality product to the customers and gain their trust. 

Growth of Software Testing Over the Years

Software testing is a part of the software development life cycle, which is slowly and steadily gaining popularity in the IT industry. The people are slowly and steadily becoming aware of the importance of the software testing procedure in the success of the software. Software testing is an extensive process which starts before the development of the software. It initiates with the feasibility test which detects whether the software is logical to exist in the first place and ends with the likes of beta testing methodology which occurs after the development process has been completed.

When it all began, software was all about development. Organizations were satiated with a good set of developers who used to do all the planning and execute them to provide end users with the software required. But as and when the advancement gained momentum, it was seen that the development alone is not enough to sustain the IT industry. Users want bug free software which will be perfectly secure and functional under various adverse situations. This is only possible with a well-equipped software testing team.

The software testing industry has seen an excellent growth spurt. It has contributed USD 10 billion from zero in a matter of 12 years from 1998 to 2010. Today the software testing procedure has been classified into various parts which tackle different zones of the developing software. The main aim of the software testers is to attain maximum test coverage. Over the past decade, the software testing has grown from a single test which would determine perfect functionality of the software to multiple tests which determines designs, security, tenacity, sanity and other aspects of the software apart from functioning. It is predicted that there will be a huge growth in the specialized software testing procedures which will cover nearly 40 % of the total software testing industry, the rest being occupied by various functionality testing.

Currently, the various IT organizations are paying special heed to the software testing methodologies and more fund are being invested in the same so as to dig out better and more advanced techniques which will result in better software as an end result. The software testing industry is now providing job to thousands of individuals. Organizations are setting up separate testing departments which are in charge of planning the software development which is then executed by the development section and sent back to the testing department which then test the same for various aspects. The results obtained by this process are again forwarded to the development division, which rectifies the mistakes for the sake of even better software for the end users.

With the advancement of technology in the future, it is expected that the software testing industry will grow too as it ensures faster delivery of the developing software to the users and also helps in gaining the satisfaction of the same. As more people are taking an interest in the testing division, it is rapidly developing. It is now being considered as an integral part of the development industry and is becoming equally important. Watching the current and future trends it can safely be depicted that the testing industry will be one of the most departments of the IT industry which will be engaging talented individuals.

Software Testing Life Cycle - The Process

Software Testing Life Cycle or STLC is the process by which the quality of the product is checked using specific steps in a chronological manner to ensure that the desired result is met. Software Testing Life Cycle consists of various phases which needs to be done in a systematic manner to ensure the right end result. Various companies have different Software Testing Life Cycle methods, although the end result remains same.

Following are the steps of STLC:

1.     Requirements phase: Requirement phase is a lot of brain storming with the rest of the group and also with other research and development teams to check if the tests are even practical. You can also check the requirements of the tests and the strategy to be followed to gain the test results.
2.     Planning Phase: This is the first practical step of the test. It allows you to plan all the various activities that are needed to achieve the desired test results and which will allow you to test every aspect of the software. You get to analyse the risk and strategise the process.
3.      Analysis phase: In the analysis phase of Software Testing Life Cycle, you get to analyse the various parts of the testing so that you can decide the depth, complexity, risks and the software development process involved in the process. You also get to analyse the strength of your team and the stakeholders available.
4.     Design Phase: Design phase allows you to actually design the Software Testing Life Cycle. You have to decide the criteria based on which the test is to be conducted. The environment in which the test is to be conducted, the procedures to be followed and the limits of the test as well.
5.    Implementation Phase:This is the phase where you have to balance the pros and cons of implementing the tests on your Software Testing Life Cycle so as to make sure that the actual execution would be flawless. You also have to detect the automation procedures in this phase.
6.     Execution Phase: Execution phase is the one in which the tests of the Software Testing Life Cycle are actually done. You get to do the tests, collect the data and statistically check the progress you have made over a period of time. However, before starting the phase, make sure that the criteria are met.
7.      Conclusion Phase: Conclusion phase deals with the report preparation of the tests conducted so as to show to your stakeholders. Depending on who you send the report, you will have to include or exclude the various technical aspects of your test results. You will also get to deal with the time gap of the test results, weekly, quarterly or monthly.
8.      Closure Phase: Closure phase is the last and final phase of the testing where you get to check if you have completed the procedure or not. You get to fix the glitches and record all the things you have learned in the whole process. You also get to record all the lessons for future use.

So, this in short describes the whole process of Software Testing Life Cycle. We hope you have understood the various steps and are now capable of designing your own Software Testing Life Cycle.

Why Strategize Before Testing Software?

Software testing is a very important part of the software development life cycle and holds a critical role in the process of customer satisfaction as it helps in delivering software with the minimal amount of bugs. The process saves a lot of money too, as the errors of the software can be detected and rectified before sending the system into mass production or before shipping the same. If you are planning to leave the process till the end of the developmental process, you might be making a mistake. Starting the testing procedure along with the development of the software is the best method as it prevents piling up of the errors and also helps with the maximum amount of test coverage. Although most companies think that developers will do the job of a tester, it is a huge misconception. Software testers are a whole different breed who has a hang of detecting errors in coding.

However, testing a software is a pretty tough job as a lot is riding on the process and hence requires extensive planning to achieve the best possible results. Following are some of the reasons why you need to strategize your software testing.

1.     It is a well known fact that a compact product is made up of various modules which compile together to form the whole product. These modules need to be tested individually to ensure that the modules are working perfectly on their own.
2.    While compiling the software together, the individual modules now have to work in collaboration with each other. Software testing has to be done to check if they work properly with one another and how they depend on each other.
3.    The performance of the software in various situations has to be checked to see if it delivers optimum results in various situations or not.
4.     The software also has to be checked for performances at various stress levels to see how the software holds on or to see how quickly it recovers from an unexpected shutdown.
5.      The software also has to be tested to check how fast the updates get installed in the software.
6.     Another important factor which needs to be tested is the user friendliness of the software to check the ease with which the end users can handle the software you have developed.
7.     You also have to check whether the software is providing you with the desired output when a suitable input is provided to it.
8.     The software also has to be checked for security issues to check how easy or difficult it is to hack the system and plunder the data of the customers.

These are just some of the processes which you have to deal with when you are testing a software. Software testing is an extensive process which lasts throughout the whole developmental process and such a vast process requires extensive strategy so that each step is chronologically set one after another in order to achieve maximum test coverage. It is best to leave it in the hands of the professional software testers who have a detailed knowledge of the whole procedure and would plan it so that all the steps are followed according to order and the testing process yields maximum results so that you can provide your customers with a high quality product.

Software Testing and Why is it Important in SDLC

The world is heavily hung on technology today. This leads to the development of newer or upgraded versions of the software of the various gadgets so that your customers are at par with all the developments and get the benefits of cutting edge facilities. But with the increased amount of software developers, you get only little time to form a better version of your software (i.e. upgrade it) and deliver them to the customer. This continuous upgradation often causes the bugs to pile up, which is not desirable. People these days have a huge array of similar software to choose from and they will not hesitate to switch on to a better, cleaner and more efficient product. To ensure that your customers remain loyal to you, you have to make sure that they get bug free updates which are efficient and fast. Thus comes the software testing procedure which shows you the flaws of the developed software so that you can change it before providing the product to your customers.

SDLC or software development life cycle is the whole procedure of the development and testing comprises of an important part of the process. Usually when a software gets released and bugs are detected, they get rectified in the next update. But this may cause dissatisfaction among the customers. Hence, software testing is one to avoid such bugs. It is best to bring forth software testing during the early phase of SDLC so that you can keep cleaning and rectifying the bugs and as when it appears. This will prevent the piling up of the bugs and make sure that his SDLC process is completed within a short period of time. In this way you can provide customers with the latest versions fast and keep them happy and satisfied, in turn ensuring their loyalty to your product. Following are the importance of software testing in SDLC:

1.       When you are testing in SDLC, it shows whether the changes made in the software have been rightly installed or not.

2.       Once the software has been deployed, the cost of fixing becomes very high and it also hampers the reputation of the software. Testing in SDLC ensures that all the problems or bugs are detected and fixed before launching and hence the cost is reduced.

3.       SDLC testing ensures that the software delivers what it is made for. It sees to it that the software is up to mark when it comes to the environmental, sociology and performance specifications.

4.       SDLC testing shows you whether the various components of the software are working properly or not, both individually and in collaboration with one another.

5.       Testing of a product in SDLC always enhances the performance issues as you can tweak the shortcomings to turn them into their strengths.

At the end of it, the software popularity depends solely on the users or in other word, your customers. So you have to do everything to keep them happy and testing your software is a vital part of this process. This helps you to prep your software for various environments or stress levels that your customers may be using your software in. These changes are easily made during the development process or SDLC before the software goes into actual production procedure. 

Software Testing and Its Need for the Banking Industry

When it comes to software, banks probably have the most complex lot of them all. These systems need to be up to date and have a high level of security due to all the monetary transactions that are being conducted through them round the year. What makes these systems even more complex is the multi tier facility and integration of the system with many other systems. Banking systems also have to support a huge number of transactions at any point of time and are used by a large number of people. The banking systems also need to be ever ready to solve customer problems and keep a track of a huge database and everyday transactions. Disaster management is another aspect of the banking software system.

Thus, when it comes to software systems of the banking industry, it needs to be upgraded and of high quality, both in performance and security grounds. This is why banking industry needs software testing of their system to make them bug free and in order to have high quality product which are unreachable by most. Software testing is absolutely essential for the banking software system so that the complex workflow that the system encounters never crashes.

Software testing is the branch of software development life cycle, which helps to keep the system in good shape. It checks the system of bugs, performance and security issues, user friendliness and other issues that may make the software problematic to the end user and cause trouble in delivering the desired results. It starts off with the feasibility tests which detects the plausibility of the existence of the software (which starts before the development of the software) and ends with the beta testing of the software (which occurs after the developmental process has been completed). Basically, the better the testing, the more powerful and workable software.

As the software of the bank is one which requires to be working nearly 24 x 7, hence the quality of product used in these places should be the finest. Also, one of the primary criteria of such systems is the security issues. This is why software testing of these software’s is an absolute must. The various types of software testing techniques that are available in the market will be able to convert the software used in banking industry one of the strongest systems around which are capable of handling the great load and will not snap due to an excess load which it may face from time to time. The testing will also ensure that the system springs back to its former self, even if it snaps. Testing will also ensure that the software is smoothly compatible with other systems which may require depending on it, like the payment gateways and billing desks as well as integration of the various tiers of which the banking software system is made up of. These systems have to maintain as well as constantly update a huge database of transaction which can be made full proof only by the testing procedures.

This is just a gist of the entire scenario to give you a glimpse as to why the software systems used by the banking industry are in dire need of software testing which should be of high quality.