The main goal of software testing is to find bugs. However, there are a lot of factors to consider which are important to your testing execution. Here are 5 things to consider when setting up your software testing.
Define the scope of testing
Defining the scope of testing is to detail the objectives of a particular project. We cannot test in every possible scenario, so the user scenarios which are to be tested are detailed here. Understanding a certain, limited number of circumstances is vital to help give a scope, limitation, and holistic overview of your testing before going ahead with it. This can help define the aim of the software, and the requirements and documents created before the software development should be analysed.
TestOps
TestOp isn’t yet clearly defined, but it refers to a methodology that creates a closer interaction between the IT experts and the testers. This means growing the responsibilities of the test automation engineer, thus setting up automated testing environments. There would also be increasing software testing types, as well as more responsibilities for the tester to monitor all systems in both test environments and production. Testing in production is pivotal to the TestOps methodology, as it reduces space and time that is spent on creating test data. It’s more important to free up time for assessing metrics and making changes to small test groups.
Whilst DevOps lies between development and operations, TestOps lies between operations and QA. Though, beyond this, it’s a methodology that fosters a closer collaboration between development, operations, and QA in an attempt to minimise development costs.
Test Automation
Creating a test automation culture can be an effective way at reducing the time spent on testing, whilst also improving QA. Choosing the right test automation product is important, with some of the main tools being Selenium (for automated testing of websites), Cypress (for automated testing of websites), Appium (for automated testing of apps). Software life cycles are becoming increasingly short, and in a time where regular updates are the norm, test automation becomes even more important. The software can test other software, particularly with regression testing.
However, testing of complex functionalities, smoke testing, performance testing, functional testing, and data-driven testing can all be automated to some extent.
It’s important not to aim for 100% test automation, of course, as not all tests can be automated. Realistic goals should be set, and business requirements should demand our attention just as much as technical considerations.
When beginning to use test automation, it’s important to start small. Scripting smaller tests can be easier to maintain as well as reuse. It’s important to look for maintenance issues when debugging failed tests, as the script may no longer be up to date, or the software changes have simply interfered with the test script. It’s also important to look for a change in dependencies, and for this reason, testers will need to be trained on the new infrastructure, hence the TestOps methodology of tightening this relationship between development and QA.
