Software testing is one of the most undervalued areas of development, and it has a significant impact on businesses of all sizes and across all industries. Whether you are wondering why you need to invest in
software testing or you are a software tester yourself, understanding the value behind the role is critical.
Software development projects come in all shapes and sizes, but no matter the scope, proper testing is essential. Software testing can save your business money, improve security and ensure ultimate customer satisfaction. Today, we are taking an in-depth look at the vital role of software testing and why it is so undervalued.
Why Should Developers Be Paid To Test Their Work?
A lot of business owners who do not understand the ins and outs of software development ask this question. Many don’t understand the need to allocate a software testing budget because they are already paying for the development.
The truth is, testing an application is incredibly time-consuming and complex. Because of this, appropriate time, care, and attention need to be taken, and it is only possible with an appropriate budget.
A great example is an eCommerce platform, which is a very complicated application. There are millions of gigabytes of data, lines of coding and various integration points that are all intertwined. With so many moving parts, it is easy for something to go wrong.
Customers will use eCommerce solutions across many different browsers and devices, so making sure it works perfectly on all of these is so important. There are unlimited scenarios for software testers to identify and check, and just one failure in an eCommerce site could be very costly to a business.
Ultimately, software testing is not a one-size-fits-all process. There are various areas to consider, and each brings its own value to a project. It is also important to remember that software testing is not a fixed entity because you can do as much or as little as you want. The more software testing you do, the less risk of failure in the application.
To properly understand the value that software testers bring to a business, we are looking at the various types of testing:
Smoke Testing
Smoke testing is one of the most common types of software testing. It uses a pragmatic set of tests that cover the complete user journey and all of the functions across the application. Developers should always conduct smoke testing before handing over a project, as they can highlight key areas for concern or improvements.
Unit Testing
This type of software testing involves small ‘units’ of the code. It tests each unit to make sure that they are working as expected. For example, if a customer completes a form on a website, the data should be securely saved into a database.
Unit testing will test this standalone functionality of this specific element. Because of the nature of unit testing, software testers will generally only use it for key areas of an application, such as the core functionality.
Regression Testing
Developing a piece of software is an ongoing task, and regression testing is a critical part of this evolving development. Regression testing checks if changing one aspect of an application causes issues with another function. For example, changing the forms used during a checkout process could also impact contact forms.
Regression issues are extremely common, so this type of testing is vital for guaranteeing a good user experience.
User Acceptance Testing
Also known as UAT, User Acceptance Testing is one of the most essential parts of the testing process. Usually, it is the last phase before an application can go live.
During UAT, the developer hands over testing to the client so they can complete full end-to-end testing. It involves creating test cases for a manual tester to run through, and then they can either pass or fail each case individually.
UAT testing is probably the most time consuming of all the software testing types because it involves testing all functions. It isn’t uncommon to have more than 500 test cases for an application.
Despite its importance, UAT is probably the most underrated testing process of them all. When timelines become tight, it is the area that usually suffers the most, but that can lead to serious functionality issues down the line.
User Interface Testing
User Interface (UI) testing is another extremely time-consuming part of a software testers role. This is the part that tests an application across all kinds of devices, browsers and operating systems. Because there are so many possible combinations of systems, testing them all is impossible.
UI testing uses automated processes to test a vast number of variations very quickly. This kind of automated testing can undertake a pre-scripted journey for your application and check if everything works as expected with various setups.
Performance Testing
This kind of software testing determines the number of users, traffic, requests and orders an application can handle. It involves load testing the production environment so that you can realistically see the performance capacities.
In order to accurately complete performance testing, it is critical that you mimic real-life user behaviours. Because real users can be fairly unpredictable, this is not an easy task. Carrying out accurate performance testing is crucial for ensuring the application doesn’t become overloaded and fail.
Security Testing
Security testing is an ongoing process for all websites and applications and should generally be completed twice a year. It ensures a website is secure and safe and can protect a business from potentially harmful cyberattacks. With cybercrime becoming increasingly prevalent, security testing is more important than ever before.
It is clear to see that software testing covers a vast range of areas. From making sure your security is up to date and working properly to checking functionality across a range of devices. Appropriately testing your software is one of the most critical parts of the development process and certainly not one that should be undervalued. To find out more about software testing, discover our range of
training courses online now.
