There is no doubt that the system of building and managing businesses in the current age has evolved towards a more technically-inclined approach. The competition in most sectors has grown intense and for any business enterprise to stay relevant, it must utilize every available resource to maximize efficiency and enhance output.
This brings to the fore the numerous benefits of incorporating technological systems of operation to improve workplace productivity, staff performance and develop products that meet customers’ demands.
These benefits also create a clearer perspective on the importance of engaging a professional software testing company to provide quality assurance and software testing services.
What is software testing?
Otherwise known as White box and Black box testing, Software testing is a term used to describe a series of processes involved in ensuring that a software product meets the requirements and demands of the business enterprise and that it is free from defects. The major aim of software testing is to spot and fix errors or defects that were otherwise missed during the production phase.
Why is software testing important?
Software testing is important for several interesting reasons. With the use of software testing, bugs and errors can be identified easily and fixed before a product reaches the consumers. Software testing places a product in a constant wheel of evolution thereby making it possible to create software products that are at an apex of perfection.
It becomes a lot easier to put out products with high performance, reliability, and topnotch security thus resulting in maximum customer satisfaction. The fact is, failing to test software products has consequences that are not pleasant to the growth and success of your company or business enterprise. Time and time again, companies in the scene have suffered losses and even struggled to stay afloat in the competition because of minor errors that could have been easily fixed.
For example, in 1985, Canada’s Therac-25 radiation therapy machine malfunctioned as a result of a software bug that caused it to deliver lethal radiation doses to patients resulting in the critical injuries of 3 people and the death of 3 others. Another classic example is the crash that happened on April 26th, 1994. On the said date, China Airlines Airbus A300 crashed due to a software bug. The end result was the death of 264 people.
Each of those casualties and losses could have been avoided if proper software testing had been carried out.
Types of Software Testing
Due to the diversity of software, and the needs of businesses, there are over 150 types of existing software testing. However, each of them falls into three main categories namely functional, non-functional, and maintenance testing.
Functional testing
The concept of functional testing routes around cross-checking the software product against the functional standards or specifications. It involves scrutinizing each software function through the imputation of values to be sure that the output meets the fundamental and functional requirements. Functional testing focuses on testing basic usability, accessibility, error conditions, and mainline function.
This includes everything from security, APIs, and Databases to the User interface. It can be conducted manually or automatically. Examples of functional software testing include Unit testing, Smoke testing, User acceptance testing, Regression testing, White box, Black box testing, Sanity testing e.t.c. When employing functional software testing, common tools that are usually employed are SoapUI, Selenium, QTP, JUnit, and Watir.
Nonfunctional testing
Unlike functional testing, Non-functional testing as the name implies focuses on scrutinizing the features or components of a software product that do not play crucial or critical roles in the performance of that product. Those features, although not very crucial, contribute to and define the concept of a user’s experience of a software product.
Features that escape the eyes of a functional test might not cause immediate problems to the user but be an indication of a more complicated problem. Common types of Non-functional testing range from Performance testing, Load testing, Usability testing, and Security testing.
Benefits of software testing for businesses
Enterprises that take advantage of software testing do not only position themselves to beat the competition, but they also create access to tons of benefits.
Here are six amazing benefits of using software testing.
1. Product evolution and innovation.
Using software testing places your products in a constant state of evolution. The correction of different bugs and errors can generate fresh ideas that can be used to improve the quality of your product. With the correction of each error, comes insight into diverse ways that your software product can be upgraded. That way, it becomes more convenient to provide value that your customers can appreciate.
2. Enhanced Customer satisfaction
In building a successful enterprise, it is important that you are aware of the demands of your customers and ensure that products are designed to meet those demands. The consequence of neglecting those demands are failed products and unhappy customers. One of the benefits that most companies enjoy from employing software testing, is that they gain an assurance of being able to satisfy their customers by tweaking their products to meet the demands of those customers.
3. Increase in revenue
Effective software testing has the capacity to bump up sales! As a result of building a product that makes customers happy, you are bound to experience a spike in the demand for your software. Customers love to get value for their money and when they do, there is a higher chance that they will recommend your products to their colleagues, friends and family members.
4. Enhanced Security
In building a software product, a vital sphere that you must be extra careful about is the subject of security. Apart from the fact that important company data can be lost to hackers or data thieves, protecting the important details of the users of your software products should be of utmost priority. Software testing enables companies to be able to spot loopholes in software systems and correct them early. When your software products are secured, your customers will have nothing to be afraid of.
5. Prevent losses and damages
One of the major consequences of failing to test software products before launch is a loss of money or damage of some sort. Software testing saves money as they are cheaper and easy to control compared to the cost of fixing the many issues that could go wrong when a product is not tested.
How to select a software testing company
Choosing a software testing company and trusting them to do a good job on your software is a crucial decision that should not be made in hurry, but with caution. The first thing to consider in choosing a software testing company to work with is their reputation. There are a lot of software testing companies but few are competent. A good way to filter the chaffs from the grain is to listen to what people are saying about them.
There is a high chance that companies with great reputations are in a better position to work with than others. Companies like tezza business solutions that already have years of competence, experience and expertise should be amongst the few you should consider.
You might also want to compare the quality of their services with respect to their fees and charges. Are their fees too expensive or too low? Is the quality of their services worth their fees?
Another factor you should consider while looking for a software company to work with is the experience and skill sets of their testers. It is important that you look at the skills and qualifications of the testers and how they have handled previous jobs. Avoid software companies that are hesitant to reveal the qualifications of the testers. Most usually outsource or crowdsource their software testing services.
You should also cross check the compatibility of your software testing company with that of your team. Make sure that they are familiar with similar software products and quality assurance and can test your software on as many platforms as possible. Doing so will help you know what to expect during collaboration.
Lastly, have a clear picture of what will be tested and ensure you provide sufficient information about it. Some companies can only handle all the grunt work but cannot deal with the analysis. Hence, providing outlines and technical documents will be necessary in identifying a good software testing company for your project.
Difference between quality assurance and software testing
The difference between Quality assurance and software testing is quite simple to understand. Both of them support and improve software products. However, while software testing focuses on fixing bugs, errors and defects on the product, Quality assurance centers more on improving the quality of the product by an upgrade of the development processes and techniques.
The goal of Quality Assurance is to ensure there is a successful implementation of the company’s quality objectives while that of software testing is built around ensuring that the functionality of the software is error and defect free.
Risks of insufficient software testing
As noted, software testing is an important aspect of product development that must not only be neglected, but must also be done properly to prevent catastrophe. Here are a few risks of insufficient software testing.
- Reduced company reputation
Research shows that 33% of most customers never return after using a bad or efficient product the first time. Releasing products that are bug filled will give your company the wrong identity. As a company, your reputation exceeds your awareness and it is your responsibility to ensure that most people remember your products with a smile on their faces.
- Poor customer satisfaction
Most customers have expectations when they get a software product. They expect efficiency, speed, and a friendly yet easy to navigate interface. When the above and more are lacking, a lot of customers would feel like they got nothing in return for the money they spent.
- Unnecessary expenses and delayed product launch
One of the many side effects of failed software testing is that you end up spending more than necessary. It is easier and less expensive to discover bugs and fix them before a software goes live. However, when a software testing fails to address those glitches and errors, the company will be forced to spend more money and other resources to fix the challenges. Along with that, inefficient software testing can ruin the sequences and plans for the software launch thus causing delays and postponements.
Manual testing vs Automation testing: Which is better?
Manual testing and automation testing are both efficient. In manual testing, a person performs each test in an orderly fashion of steps while automation testing has no human factor and focuses on the use of test scripts, test automation frameworks and other tools.
The major difference between the two is WHO does the job. In manual testing, the tester does the job while automation testing makes use of tools and scripts. Despite the pros and cons of both of them, automation testing is in a better position to perform better because of its speed and the ability for increased test coverage. That does not take away the fact that it is possible to handle more complex test scenarios.
Software Testing life cycle
Software testing life cycle (STLC)is a procedure used to explain the various phases of software testing that are involved in improving the quality of a software product. Software testing life cycle includes, Requirement analysis, test plan creation, environmental setup, test case execution, defect logging, and test cycle closure.
Understanding how much good you’d be giving your company by using software testing is vital as you prepare to launch your software product. The journey of building and launching your software product can be a tasking process and we would love to assist your company navigate through it with ease. Contact us here and we will reach out as soon as possible.