Software testing means testing the software to make sure they’re up to the standard to hit the open market. It involves the execution of the software/system components manually or with automation, to make sure that the software runs as expected. The primary goal of software testing is to figure out the gaps in the software, identify bugs, and find out the requirements of the software.
Software testing happens right before the software is introduced to the general audience. This makes sure that users get software that runs smoothly and offers a safe, pleasant experience.
What is Software Testing?
Software Testing is crucial for any business that develops software. It helps in identifying bugs or errors in the software. With software testing, you can ensure that the product going out in the market is error-free and delivers customer satisfaction. The definition of software testing by Wikipedia states: “Software testing is the act of examining the artifacts and the behavior of the software under test by validation and verification. Software testing can also provide an objective, independent view of the software to allow the business to appreciate and understand the risks of software implementation. ”
What is the Need for Software Testing?
Software testing is important as it can prevent software from being released with bugs. Doing software testing is cheaper than releasing a patch for the bug. That’s not all, software bugs can result in monetary and human life loss. There are tons of examples of harm caused due to faulty software:
- In April of 2015, Bloomberg Terminal (London) crashed due to a small software glitch that affected over 300,000 traders. It became the cause for the postponement of a 3bn pound debt sale.
- Nissan had to recall more than 1 million cars from the market due to a software failure. The software issues created problems for airbag detection sensors. Due to this software glitch, there were 2 reported accidents.
- Starbucks had to close about 60% of stores across USA and Canada because of software failure. Some stores even served coffee for free as they were unable to process the transactions.
- Amazon’s third-party retailers had to suffer huge losses as some software glitch resulted in the product price being dropped to 1P.
- Vulnerabilities in Windows 10. This bug allows users to skip security features due to a small flaw in the win32k system.
- In 2015, an F-35 fighter plane fell prey to a software bug, making it almost impossible to detect targets.
- China’s Airbus A300 crashed due to a software failure on April 26, 1994. This resulted in the death of 264 innocent people.
What are the Benefits of Software Testing?
Software testing offers a lot of benefits for both users and businesses. Some of the top benefits include:
- Cost Effective: For businesses who develop software, testing them before releasing them can help in saving money. Testing any IT product before actually releasing it can help you prevent monetary losses in long term. In case any bugs are caught in the testing phase, they can be fixed right away. Which ultimately costs less.
- Security: This is probably one of the best benefits of software testing. If you release an app or software that’s unsafe, it could result in data breaches. Continuous data breaches can be a mark on your reputation.
- Quality Products: Testing software online can help in removing issues from the software, and makes sure that you only put out quality products. Testing makes sure that only quality products are delivered to the customers.
- Customer Satisfaction: The primary aim of any product/software is to provide a satisfactory experience to customers. UI/UX testing ensures that you are able to provide nothing but the best experience.
Top Software Testing Tools for Businesses
If you don’t want to spend too much time manually figuring out bugs for your business, then you can include some automation into the process. Here’s our pick for the best software testing tools for businesses.
- TestRail
TestRail is your perfect source for scalable, customizable, web-based test case management. You can set up TestRail in a matter of minutes for your business. You can either use the cloud software, or you can install TestRail on your server.
Features of TestRail:
- Smoothly manage manual and automated test cases, plans, and runs.
- Allows you to get real-time insights into the testing progress with highly informative dashboards.
- Boost team efficiency with milestones, personal to-do lists, and email notifications.
- Integrate easily with tools in your CI/CD/DevOps pipeline including Jira, Bugzilla, Jenkins, TFS, and more.
- Separate enterprise editions for larger teams and deadline-based projects.
- Xray
Xray is ranked among the top software testing tools and automated test management apps for QA. The tool is full of features that can integrate seamlessly with Jira. The aim of the software is to help businesses test their software vigorously and put out only quality products.
Features of Xray:
- Can move quickly between requirements, tests, defects, and executions.
- Neatly organize tests in folders and test sets.
- Test environments
- Test plans for tracking progress for software testing and bug fixing.
- Built-in Rest API
- CI Integrations
- Built-in Reports
- Zephyr Scale
Zephyr Scale is a scalable, performant test management solution built inside Jira. It offers test planning, reporting capabilities, and reusability functionalities.
Features of Zypher Scale:
- Reuse tests and get rid of duplication.
- Improve visibility, data analysis, and collaboration capabilities.
- Test automation and DevOps ready.
- Empower your teams with BDD, CI/CD, and automation using built-in functionalities.
- Practitest
PractiTest is a great end-to-end software test management tool. Tons of quality assurance teams meet on this platform for the testing process, and a deeper understanding of test results.
Features of Practitest:
- A huge range of third-party integrations that come with bug tracking, automation, and robust APIs.
- Fully customizable and flexible for unique needs of QA teams.
- Reuse old tests and compare results across different releases and products.
- Get access to important data instantly with advanced dashboards and reports.
- fast, professional, and methodical support for teams.
- Testpad
Another great software testing app on our list is Testpad. Testpad is a simpler-to-use manual testing tool. Instead of relying on managing cases at a time, it uses checklist-based test plans that a number of teams can adapt to their needs. These include Exploratory Testing, the manual side of Agile, syntax-highlighted BDD, and traditional test case management.
Features of Testpad:
- You can invite guest testers via email, they don’t need to make an account.
- The app is simple enough to use by non-testers.
- Drag and drop functionality to organize test plans
- Add new tests while testing, as you think of new ideas.
- Lightweight integration with issue trackers.
FAQs
- What is software testing?
Software testing is the process where quality assurance teams check if the software is up to expectations. Software testing helps in figuring out whether software is ready to be launched or not.
- Which are some of the best software testing tools?
There are hundreds of software testing tools in the market. But, not all of them have the same type of functionality to offer. Here’s our pick for the best software testing tools:
- TestRail
- Xray
- Zypher
- Practitest
- Testpad
- Which factors should I consider while choosing a software testing app?
There are a number of factors that you need to consider before signing up with a software testing tool:
- Cross-platform compatibility
- Ease of maintenance
- Quality customer support
- Ease of creating custom tests
- License costs if included
- Support and update policies of the tool
- Reviews of the company
- What are the different types of software testing tools?
There are different types of software, so it makes sense there are different software testing tools as well. Some of the most common types include:
- Automated testing tools
- Load testing tools
- Cross-browser testing tools
- Defect testing tools
- Mobile compatibility testing tools
- API testing tools
- Security testing tools
Final Take
Software testing is crucial for every kind of business. Regardless of the type of software, it has to be thoroughly tested before they’re released to the general public. Without proper testing, software can create major financial and physical losses. Businesses should rely on automated and manual software testing tools to make sure they’re putting out the best tools.
