The core objective of agile methodology is to develop and deliver products faster. As businesses embrace test automation in agile software development, the overall productivity and deployment of software development activities accelerate to deliver high-quality software. Businesses get a fully functional, bug-free, and flawless product as a final product.

However, implementing the right automation testing tools plays a vital role in enhancing the effectiveness of the agile and DevOps implementations.

Content

1. What are Agile software development methodologies?
2. Where does test automation fit into agile development?
3. Four key factors that depict the importance of test automation in agile ?
4. Benefits of implementing test automation in an agile environment
5. How to implement test automation in agile?
6. What tests can be automated in agile?
7. Five major automation testing tools businesses can leverage
8. Conclusion

Agile software development methodologies

Agile software development methodologies include Scrum, Kanban, Extreme programming, Lean development, and Crystal development.The scrum method is an important agile methodology wherein the development and testing activities are run parallelly within sprints.

A set of features are released in each sprint during the agile process, and continuous development and testing are performed to ensure faster releases. But, to ensure faster and quality releases, manual testing does not suffice in the latest agile and DevOps scenarios. Thus, businesses should embrace test automation using the latest automation tools to carry out the testing in an agile environment.

Where does test automation fit into agile development?

The product is developed in iterations during the agile development, and testing is done within sprints. Each time a new feature is added to the software, the software needs to be tested again to ensure there are no bugs. Testing each feature manually becomes almost impossible for the QA team with so many new features added. Hence, automation testing should be leveraged for faster testing outcomes in agile development. Businesses should leverage various automation testing tools, such as Selenium, TestNG, Appium, Tricentis TOSCA, etc.

During automation testing, testers need to develop test cases according to the needs of the software to be tested. These test cases can be executed multiple times while performing continuous integration or continuous builds. This form of automation testing ensures that the software remains bug-free, and even if a bug is introduced, it can be easily identified in the early stages and can be fixed early.

This form of automation testing ensures that the software remains bug-free, and even if a bug is introduced, it can be easily identified in the early stages and can be fixed early.

Four key factors depicting importance of test automation in agile

Test scripts reusability

Automated test cases can be reused, which means these test scripts can be re-run several times in different ways. This test reusability will reduce the maintenance costs to a great extent. The application of reusability eliminates human errors and saves cost.

Optimal test coverage

Test coverage plays a vital role in improving the efficiency of software testing activities. The depth and scope of tests are increased through automation testing activities. This is because testers need not run all the tasks manually. Instead, the testers can create a test suite for every feature of the application, such as internal programs, data tables, and memory contents.

By leveraging automation testing, complex test cases can be automatically run, ensuring better and faster test coverage. The manual testers’ work is reduced, and they can be used for other important tasks.

Faster test execution

The efficiency of the development process is significantly improved by the test automation process. Testing is done parallel to development to ensure all the bugs and issues identified are resolved at the earliest. Further, this sort of testing is also known as the ‘Fail Fast’ method, wherein as the defects are found early in the SDLC, they can be fixed early, and it also saves a lot of time.

Typically, if the automated testing is performed from the initial unit testing phase, then the defects can be found early and fixed, rather than fixing them at a later stage. Moreover, the time-to-market of a software product is also drastically reduced through the application of continuous testing. Developers and testers can save time and ensure to deliver a high-quality product at a quicker pace.

Cost-effectiveness

At the initial stage, the cost of test automation will be more as the required training, tool cost, and tool setup needs to be taken up to ensure effective test automation. However, with the test automation once set up, the cost factor will be reduced as the automation activity goes on for a longer time.

Further, without investing any additional costs, test cases can be run several times as and when required, thereby improving the overall speed and efficiency of the software testing activities.

Benefits of implementing test automation in an agile environment

•Parallel testing can be performed wherein the same scripts are run on different devices

•When the testing is done using test scripts, the reliability factor is scaled up to an all-new level

•Agile software development can be carried out at a faster pace through the strategic application of test automation

•Initially, the costs are high for implementing test automation in agile, but, eventually, the ROI is more

•If a specific test script is developed, it can be used several times to test the software for bugs.

•Test automation is an innovative way for carrying out agile methodologies cost-effectively and efficiently. Thus, it helps to improve the overall software testing activities by enabling a high-quality product in a shorter time with faster releases.

How to implement test automation in agile?

Develop an effective plan for agile automation

For the success of an agile project, it is essential to prepare an automation testing plan that must cover the automation framework and. Also, ensure a proper collaboration between QA and the development teams.

Determine the test cases that can be automated

Not all test cases can be automated; therefore, identify the test cases that can be automated beforehand.

Conduct parallel testing

With automation in place, QA teams can execute several tests on different devices, browsers, and operating systems simultaneously. Specifically, parallel testing saves a good amount of time for the teams.

Adopt DevOps Integration

DevOps ensures proper collaboration between developers and operation teams. Also, testers can integrate the automation tool into CI/CD pipelines for effective testing.

Select the right automation tool

Testers should select the right test automation tool (open source or commercial tools). Test automation tools reduce regression testing time and ensure faster testing outcomes with high-quality software. However, while selecting the test automation tool, testers should ensure that the tool matches their technical skills, software testing needs, current IT infrastructure, etc.

What tests can be automated in agile?

•Unit tests

•Smoke tests

•Integration tests

•Regression tests

•API tests

•Security tests

•Accessibility tests

•Performance tests

Automation testing tools to leverage

•Selenium

•Tricentis TOSCA

•Appium

•TestNG

•Katalon Studio

Conclusion

Automation testing helps QA teams create test cases that run automatically when new code is pushed to the code repository. Automation testing also scales up the agile development activities if combined with the right tools, expertise, and an effective automation testing roadmap.

Leverage the test automation services from a next-gen testing services provider to get high-quality products with a faster time-to-market and quicker ROI.

The post Importance of Test Automation in Agile first appeared on TestingXperts.

1. BDD (Behavior Driven Development) Testing: An Overview
2. Significance of BDD Testing
3. Seven Benefits of BDD Testing that Ensure High Product Quality
4. BDD Testing: Use Cases Examples using Gherkins
5. Conclusion
6. How TestingXperts Helps Businesses with BDD Testing?

BDD (Behavior Driven Development) Testing: An Overview

BDD is a software development methodology that emphasizes collaboration and communication among developers, testers, and business stakeholders. BDD testing is a testing framework that uses natural language to describe the behavior of an application, focusing on its functional requirements and business goals.

BDD testing involves creating executable specifications called “scenarios” that describe the desired behavior of an application in a structured format. These scenarios are written using a natural language, such as Gherkin syntax, that is easily understandable by non-technical stakeholders.

BDD testing encourages collaboration and communication among all stakeholders, which helps ensure that the application meets the business goals and requirements. It also promotes test-driven development and agile methodologies, which can improve the quality of software and reduce time-to-market.

Significance of BDD Testing

BDD testing is becoming increasingly important in modern software development practices. BDD is a collaborative approach to software development that involves the entire team, including developers, testers, and business stakeholders, to ensure that software is developed to meet the needs of all stakeholders.

BDD testing emphasizes the importance of defining the behavior of a system before it is built and then testing that behavior to ensure that it is correct. This approach helps to eliminate ambiguity in requirements and ensures that software is developed to meet specific business goals.

BDD testing frameworks like Cucumber and Behave are gaining popularity among digital businesses because these frameworks enable the creation of executable specifications that both technical and non-technical stakeholders can easily understand. These specifications can be used to automate testing and ensure that software meets the requirements set out by the business.

Overall, BDD testing helps to ensure that software is developed to meet the needs of all stakeholders and that it meets the highest standards of quality. It is a collaborative and inclusive approach that is becoming increasingly important in modern software development practices.

Seven Benefits of BDD Testing that Ensure High Product Quality

Improved Collaboration:

BDD testing encourages collaboration between business stakeholders, developers, and testers. This helps to ensure that everyone involved in the software development process is aligned on the business goals and objectives and that the software being developed meets those goals and objectives.

Greater Clarity:

BDD testing uses a plain language syntax that is easy for non-technical stakeholders to understand. This makes it easier for business stakeholders to communicate their requirements and expectations to the development team and bring all teams on the same page.

Enhanced Test Coverage:

BDD testing focuses on testing the behavior of a software system, which helps to ensure that all important scenarios are covered. This helps to reduce the risk of bugs and other issues being introduced into the software.

Faster Feedback:

BDD testing provides faster feedback to developers, which helps to reduce the time it takes to identify and fix issues. This helps to ensure that the software is delivered on time and within budget.

Reduced Costs:

BDD testing helps to identify and fix issues early in the software development process, which helps to reduce the overall cost of development. This is because fixing issues later in the development process is often more expensive than fixing them earlier.

Increased Agility:

BDD testing is a flexible and agile testing methodology that can adapt to changing business requirements and objectives. This helps to ensure that the software being developed is always aligned with the business goals and objectives.

Improved Quality:

BDD testing helps to ensure that the software being developed meets the business requirements and objectives and that it is of high quality. This helps to ensure that the software meets the needs of the end users and it is reliable and easy to use.

BDD Testing: Use Cases Examples using Gherkins

How TestingXperts Helps Businesses with BDD Testing?

TestingXperts (Tx) is one of the Top 5 pure-play software testing services providers globally. Tx has been chosen as a trusted QA partner by Fortune clients and ensures superior testing outcomes for its global clientele. Tx has experience with all industry-leading performance testing and monitoring tools, along with expertise in end-to-end application performance testing services, including network, database, hardware, etc. With a highly skilled team of performance testers, Tx helps businesses benchmark their application performance. Tx provides customized test results reports to clients that help them make informed decisions.

Our team of experienced professionals provides a comprehensive suite of services to help you achieve better quality software development through Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) testing.

Tx’s BDD Testing Services: Key Differentiators

Comprehensive Approach:

Our BDD testing services cover the entire software development life cycle, from requirements gathering to testing and deployment. We work closely with you to ensure that your testing strategy aligns with your business objectives and delivers the desired outcomes.

Experienced Professionals:

Our team of BDD testing experts has years of experience in the industry and has worked on projects of varying complexity. They bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to every project, ensuring that your testing strategy is well-designed and executed.

Customizable Solutions:

We understand that every project is unique, and that’s why we offer customizable solutions tailored to your specific needs. Our team works closely with you to understand your business objectives and develop a testing strategy that aligns with your goals.

Test Automation:

We use industry-standard tools like Cucumber and Selenium to create automated tests that verify the functionality of your software. This allows us to test your software quickly and efficiently, while also ensuring consistent and accurate results.

Cost-effective Solutions:

We offer competitive pricing for our BDD testing services, ensuring that you get the best value for your investment. Our focus on efficiency and quality ensures that you get high-quality testing services that meet your budget requirements.

Results-driven Approach:

Our BDD testing services are designed to deliver results. We work closely with you to identify key performance indicators (KPIs) and measure the effectiveness of our testing strategy against these KPIs. This ensures that you get the desired outcomes from your testing efforts.

Continuous Integration and Delivery:

We can help you set up a continuous integration and delivery pipeline that automates your software development and testing processes. This allows you to quickly identify and resolve issues, and deliver high-quality software to your users faster.

Conclusion

In conclusion, BDD testing is an effective approach to software testing that focuses on collaboration and communication between developers, testers, and stakeholders. It encourages the use of plain language to define test cases and promotes the creation of a shared understanding of the requirements and behavior of the software. By leveraging BDD testing, digital businesses can ensure that their software meets the desired outcomes and that all stakeholders are aligned on the features and functionality. BDD testing also helps to identify defects early in the development cycle, reducing the cost and effort of fixing issues later on. Overall, BDD testing is a valuable methodology for teams that want to improve their software quality and deliver software that meets the needs of their users. To learn how Tx can assist you with high-quality QA and testing services, contact our experts now.

The post How Behavior Driven Development (BDD) Testing Transforms Product Quality first appeared on TestingXperts.

Today, every enterprise needs high-quality products and faster time-to-market to deliver a great customer experience (CX). But for businesses to fulfil the rising need for high-quality products, adoption of the latest and robust software development and testing methodologies is necessary. This is where the agile and DevOps methodology comes into the picture.

The agile methodology plays a significant role in improving the team’s productivity with its iterative model. Whereas, DevOps methodology ensures effective collaboration between the development (Dev) and the operations (Ops) teams. Since Agile and DevOps methodologies are critical for enabling faster and quality releases, businesses are adopting them rapidly.

Content 1.  Overview of Agile and DevOps Methodologies 2.  Agile Vs DevOps Methodologies – Detailed Comparison 3.  Various Phases of Agile and DevOps Lifecycle 4.  How has the Journey from Agile to DevOps helped Businesses? 5.  Significance of DevOps CI/CD Implementation in today’s Agile Environment 6.  Major Software Testing Types for Successful DevOps CI/CD Implementation 7.  Conclusion 8.  How Can TestingXperts (Tx) help?

Overview of Agile and DevOps Methodologies

Agile Methodology

It is a software testing methodology that is guided by certain principles stated in the agile manifesto for software development. This methodology follows an incremental/iterative approach, and the main aim of this approach is to deliver quality software. It also involves continuous collaboration between stakeholders and teams and ensures continuous improvement of product’s quality. Moreover, in this approach, the software is developed and tested in small stages known as sprints, and each sprint varies from 1-3 weeks.

DevOps Methodology

This methodology aims to break traditional silos between cross-functional teams in the waterfall model. It is an evolution from agile methodology and is an enterprise software development and testing approach that emphasizes collaboration and communication between cross-functional teams. This approach involves continuous development, continuous integration, continuous testing, continuous delivery, and continuous monitoring processes to ensure faster releases and high-quality software.

Agile Vs DevOps Methodologies – Detailed Comparison

Various Phases of Agile and DevOps Lifecycle

How has the Journey from Agile to DevOps helped Businesses?

In 2001, the agile manifesto had its birth which gave rise to the agile methodology. This manifesto contained certain values and principles that guide developers and testers to break the project into smaller parts, accelerate feedback loops and align product features with customer needs. The early adopters of agile methodology were small software start-ups that were eager to disrupt the market and were willing to take the risk. As this methodology matured, large enterprises started adopting it. The agile approach worked fine for some time as it helped developers to produce software in smaller parts. But later, it was realized that it lacks the capability of continuous testing and continuous delivery.

Due to the rising need for faster releases, high-quality software and faster time-to-market, businesses needed advanced methodologies such as DevOps processes. Companies started shifting from Agile to DevOps methodology as it helped them in many ways as listed below:

Significance of DevOps CI/CD Implementation in today’s Agile Environment

CI/CD stands for Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Delivery (CD), wherein a modern software coding philosophy allows developers to implement small changes and check code frequently. The main goal of CI is to establish a consistent and automated way to build, package, and test applications. CD is closely related to CI and enables automation of the entire software delivery process by leveraging automation tools. Further, it commits and delivers the integrated code into the production stage without any bugs or delays.

Both CI and CD are the backbone of today’s DevOps environment. There are various benefits that businesses can leverage by implementing the DevOps CI/CD pipeline.

• Helps in early bug detection –

Automated tests enabled by implementing CI/CD pipeline helps to detect bugs early in the SDLC.

• Improves the software quality –

Faster bug detection ensures faster bug-fixing and ultimately helps to ensure secure and reliable software.

• Ensures faster time-to-market-

Enabling CI/CD pipelines helps to increase the speed of software delivery considerably. It further helps businesses to reach the market faster and achieve a competitive edge.

• Allows faster feedback –

Typically, for any changes committed to the code, tests are run simultaneously, which helps to avoid any link breakage. Faster feedback through CI tools helps to check and improve the product quality.

• Provides greater visibility –

The CI/D pipelines give greater visibility of the entire DevOps process. This helps teams analyze the processes of software build, test results, and issues effectively.

• Automation saves QA teams time and efforts –

Automated CI/CD pipelines frees up team members so that they can focus on more important tasks and innovation. This ultimately saves their time and testing efforts.

Evidently, for businesses to reap complete benefits, they should embark on scalable CI/CD DevOps implementations by leveraging various software testing methods.

Major Software Testing Types for Successful DevOps CI/CD Implementation

1. Test automation in DevOps-

Test automation is the backbone of the DevOps process. Therefore, businesses must leverage automated testing using various open-source and commercial tools to ensure continuous testing and the continuous delivery of software.

2. Security Testing –

This methodology lays a strong emphasis on security. Businesses must leverage security testing to safeguard software from threats and vulnerabilities.

3. Performance Testing –

To ensure software delivers a great CX even under heavy loads, businesses must leverage performance testing. This testing method helps businesses to improve the performance and load handling capacity of the software.

4. Accessibility testing –

Businesses must also leverage accessibility testing to ensure equal access to apps for all users, including people with certain disabilities like hearing impaired, impaired vision, cognitive limitations, etc.

5. Usability Testing –

Businesses need to ensure that the apps have an easy-to-use interface and proper navigation for enabling a great CX. To achieve seamless apps, businesses must leverage usability testing.

Conclusion

Businesses are rapidly moving towards DevOps methodology for various reasons. Firstly, it is an evolution from agile methodology thus making it easier for today’s businesses to adopt it. Secondly, this methodology allows businesses to reach the market faster and improve organizational culture. Lastly, it ensures great customer satisfaction, which is the need of the hour for all businesses. Businesses must leverage test automation in DevOps from the next-gen QA and independent software testing services provider for successful DevOps implementation and faster delivery of high-quality products.

How Can TestingXperts (Tx) help?

TestingXperts (Tx) has been at the forefront in enabling test automation in DevOps services using the latest software test automation tools and also with an in-house accelerator, ‘Tx-Automate.’ Our test automation services best support business objectives by enabling an effective test automation strategy that is aligned with enterprise’s business goals.

The post Agile Vs DevOps Methodologies – A Detailed Comparison first appeared on TestingXperts.

Software testing metrics are crucial for every agile team member, testers, QA managers, project managers, and others, as these metrics help to effectuate the software testing process one step forward. Typically, all activities done by software testers or QA teams are essentially measured, reported, and tracked with the help of these testing metrics. There is no better way to improve agile software testing than to measure the software testing progress leveraging some effective software testing metrics.

But, testers often face difficulty deciding which metrics to choose from the numerous software testing metrics available. Moreover, even if one selects the right metrics, the key to software testing success and progress lies in quantifying results obtained from evaluating these metrics. Therefore, in this blog, a detailed outlook on the agile software testing metrics has been detailed.

Content

1. An introduction to Agile Software Testing Metrics
2. Broad types of software metrics
3. Why should businesses know about Software Testing Metrics?
4. What are the benefits of leveraging Software Testing Metrics?
5. Some characteristics and components of Software Testing Metrics
6. Broad lifecycle stages of Software Testing Metrics
7. Four main categories of software testing metrics
8. What are some of the critical software testing metrics businesses should know?
9. 4 Best practices to follow for tracking Software Testing Metrics effectively
10. Conclusion

An introduction to Agile Software Testing Metrics

Software testing metrics are quantifiable measures used to determine the progress of the software testing activities. Typically, they help teams track and monitor the software testing progress, quality, and productivity. The main aim of these testing metrics is to increase the efficiency of the overall software and uat testing process. These testing metrics help stakeholders make informed decisions about further improvements in the testing process by providing related information. There are many types of software testing metrics but broadly divided into four main types.

Broad types of software metrics

Source code metrics –

The software’s source code is vital and measured for its quality using published source code metrics. These published metrics are divided into five categories based on their measure, size, complexity, coupling, cohesion, and inheritance factors.

Development metrics –

These metrics measure the software development. It is vital to measure the number of defects within the code and the time taken to fix them. There should be more emphasis on the number of defects in the code than the time taken to resolve those defects. Suppose multiple defects are occurring numerous times in the code and required to be fixed multiple times. In that case, it depicts a gap in the developer’s skills or misunderstanding of the software testing requirements that need to be adequately addressed.

Testing metrics –

These metrics measure the product’s testing efficiency and evaluate the functionality and quality of the software. There are two main categories of testing metrics based on what they measure. The first is test coverage, and the second is defect removal efficiency. Test coverage metrics measure how many test cases were executed, how many test cases were still left to be completed, what parts of the software were tested, how much percentage of testing still left, etc. Whereas the defect removal efficiency metrics measure how many defects were identified, how many defects were removed, etc., and these metrics help improve the software product quality.

Project/Program level metrics –

These metrics relate to the project quality and are used to quantify defects, cost, schedule, productivity and estimate various project resources and deliverables. Project metrics help teams to assess the health of a project and make informed decisions. These metrics reveal how well the project is getting completed as compared to KPIs selected previously. It helps project managers evaluate the project’s status, foresee possible risks, assess the team’s productivity and work quality.

Why should businesses know about Software Testing Metrics?

•  To track the quality and progress of their software testing projects

•  To determine the productivity of the existing software testing process

•  To identify the areas of improvements

•  To effectively manage priorities and workload between software testing teams

•  To help stakeholders make informed decisions about the software testing quality

•  To track and monitor the effectiveness of organizational testing processes

•  To estimate the cost and plan the schedule for future software testing projects

•  To help stakeholders decide if the existing technology or process needs an upgrade

By analyzing all the above points, businesses can further evaluate their software project’s effectiveness and software testing efficiency by using these metrics.

What are the benefits of leveraging Software Testing Metrics?

These testing metrics helps to:

•  Improve the overall project planning

•  Confirm if the test quality is up to the mark

•  Analyze risks if any

•  Estimate the future cost and time

•  Identify the areas of improvement

•  Manage the workloads

•  Reduce the overall test time

•  Improve the product quality

•  Enhance the customer satisfaction

•  Increase the ROI

•  Reduce the overall costs of the testing process

•  Forecast the production delivery

Some characteristics and components of Software Testing Metrics

•  Should be simple, easy to understand, and computable

•  Should be independent of the programming language

•  Can be automated so that testers may not have to take readings manually

•  Should make use of consistent units of measurement

•  Should be cost-effective

•  Should be adaptable to every software testing need

•  Should be able to validate the testing process reliably and accurately

Some of the important components of Software QA and test metrics are:

Broad lifecycle stages of Software Testing Metrics

Stage 1 – Analysis:

This stage involves the identification of metrics to be used. Once the metrics are identified, parameters are defined and set for evaluating the metrics.

Stage 2 – Communication:

In this stage, the need for the metrics is communicated to the testing teams and stakeholders. The testing teams are also educated about the data points that should be collected for processing the metrics.

Stage 3 – Evaluation:

In this stage, the data is captured and verified by the testing teams. It also involves the calculation of metrics value as per the data captured.

Stage 4 – Report: 

In this stage, a formal report with an effective conclusion is developed and shared with the stakeholders. Feedback is collected from the stakeholders regarding what further actions are to be taken up.

Four main categories of software testing metrics

Process metrics:

These metrics are used to measure and improve the ability of the software testing process, e.g., how many defects were identified during the testing process, how many defects were fixed, how much time was consumed in fixing the defects, etc.

Product metrics:

It deals with the quality of the software product and describes the product’s characteristics such as size, complexity, design features, performance, quality level, etc. The main aim of these metrics is to improve product quality.

Project metrics:

It describes the project characteristics such as cost, schedule, productivity, and also measures project efficiency such as how well the project is moving, and whether it is going as per schedule, or is it lagging behind the plan, etc.

People metrics:

It measures the ability and skill levels of software testing teams. E.g., Are teams working as per schedule, are the quality of defects teams identify within the stipulated time, the productivity of the team, etc.

What are some of the critical software testing metrics businesses should know?

Seven Types of Software Testing Metrics

1.  Metrics for tracking agile testing efforts

2.  Metrics for tracking test efficiency

3.  Metrics for tracking testing efforts

4.  Metrics for tracking test coverage

5.  Metrics for tracking test effectiveness

6.  Metrics for tracking defects

7.  Metrics for tracking the cost of tests

1. Metrics for tracking agile testing efforts-

These metrics measure the testing efforts put in by agile testing teams to test the product. The metrics that come under this category are:

1.1  Sprint Burndown:

It is a chart that depicts the graphical representation of the rate at which teams complete their tasks and shows how much work is yet to be completed within a defined sprint period. Typically in this chart, the sprint dates are represented on the x-axis, and ideal effort hours for completing a task using the remaining hours of effort are represented on the y-axis.

1.2  Velocity:

It measures how much work a team completes on an average during each sprint. It compares completed tasks with the team’s estimated efforts. Agile managers use these metrics to predict how quickly teams can work towards attaining goals by comparing hours committed to and completed hours in previous sprints.

1.3 Code complexity:

These metrics count some linearly independent paths through a program’s source code. It is derived via a measure named cyclomatic complexity. These metrics help agile teams to determine the risk of unstable or error-prone code. By leveraging these metrics, agile teams ensure that the code adheres to established industry standards, such as indentation, inline comments, and correct usage of spacing.

2. Metrics for tracking the test efficiency:

Test efficiency is an important attribute that needs to be evaluated effectively. It depicts the quality level of the software testing process. Below listed are some of the metrics used for test tracking and to know its efficiency:

2.1  Passed test cases percentage = (No.of passed tests) / (Total no. of tests executed)×100 2.2  Failed test cases percentage = (No.of failed tests) / (Total no. of tests executed)×100 2.3  Blocked test cases percentage = (No.of blocked tests) / (Total no. of tests executed)×100

2.4 Mean time to repair (MTTR) = Total corrective maintenance time / Number of repairs

3. Metrics for tracking the testing efforts:

It is an important metric that measures or quantifies the efforts put in by testing teams to test the product. It helps stakeholders to evaluate and compare the expected vs actual testing efforts of testing teams.

3.1 Test execution coverage percentage= (Number of tests run) / (Total number of tests to be run)×100

3.2  Number of bugs per test = (Total number of defects) / (Total number of tests) 3.3  Average time to test a bug fix = (Total time between defect fix & retest for all defects) / (Total number of defects)

4. Metrics for tracking the test coverage:

These metrics depicts the real scenarios and situations of the testing process. It measures the total number of test cases executed vs the total no. of test cases that are still left pending for execution. Below listed are some formulas used for tracking the percentage of test coverage: 4.1  Requirements coverage = (Number of requirements covered)/(Total number of requirements)×100 4.2 Automated test coverage: This metric measures the percentage of test coverage achieved by leveraging automated testing. With time, the test coverage percentage should significantly increase and results in improved software quality. The more automated test coverage percentage, the lower are the chances of defects in the software.       Automated Test Coverage = (Total automated cases)/(total automation candidates)x100

5. Metrics for tracking test effectiveness:

In contrast, to test efficiency metrics, test effectiveness metrics measure and evaluate the bugs and determine the test set’s quality. Some of these include: Test effectiveness using defect containment efficiency = (Number of bugs found in test) / (Total bugs found(Number of bugs found in test+Number of bugs found after shipping))×100

6. Metrics for tracking defects:

It measures the defect percentage, defect density, defect severity, and all other aspects related to defects. These metrics help evaluate how many defects and their severity level to ensure the quality of the software testing process. Some of them are:

6.1  Accepted defects percentage = (Number of defects accepted as valid by a dev team) / (Total number of defects reported)×100 6.2  Rejected defects percentage = (Number of defects rejected as invalid by a dev team) / (Total number of defects reported )×100 6.3  Deferred defects percentage = (Number of defects deferred for future releases) / (Total number of defects reported)×100 6.4  Fixed defects percentage = (Total no. of defects fixed) / (Total no. of defects reported)×100 6.5  Critical defects percentage = (Critical defects) / (Total defects reported)×100 6.6  Defect density = (Total number of defects) / (Total number of modules) 6.7  Meantime to detect = (Number of defects found) / (Total execution time (in hours)) 6.8  Defect severity index = ((No.of critical defects ×8)+@(No.of high severity defects ×6)+@(No.of medium severity defects ×3)+@(No.of low severity defects ×1)) / (Total no. of defects) 6.9  Defect Age (severity wise distribution): This metric reflects how many of the open bugs are open for long and the corresponding severity

6.10  Defect leakage: This metrics helps to counts the total number of escaped defects within the sprint that were found by the user rather than the agile development teams. Agile teams calculate defect leakage percentage per unit of time, per sprint, or release, etc.

Defect leakage percentage = (Total number of defects found in UAT/Production) / (Total number of defects found before UAT /Production)×100

6.11 Defect categories: The software defects can be divided into various categories such as:

• Area-wise distribution: These metrics reflect the defect distribution based on the testing type performed. E.g. Security defects, performance defects, Functional defects, etc.

• Component-wise distribution: This metrics represents the number of defects in each module of the software. By adding the number of defects in each module, testers can identify the total number of defects in the software. • Severity-wise distribution: This metrics represents the severity level of defects. It is possible that areas that have a minimum no. of defects could contain high severity defects; thus, those defects should be rectified first. It is usually represented in the form of a histogram or a Pareto chart. 6.12 Defect cycle time: These metrics measure how much time do these agile teams take from the point teams start fixing the bug till the time bug is resolved. It can be represented with the help of a chart where the x-axis represents the time, and the y-axis represents the number of hours taken to resolve the defects.

7.  Metrics for tracking the cost of tests:

During the software testing process, several components contribute to the testing cost, such as resources involved, tools and infrastructure cost, etc. It is important to track and evaluate the testing cost and to compare expected vs actual testing expenditure. The following metrics can track it:

7.1 The actual cost of testing = (Actual budget of testing) / (No. of testing requirements or test case or test hour) 7.2  Budget variance = Actual cost – Planned cost 7.3  Schedule variance = Actual time is taken to complete testing – Planned time

4 Best practices to follow for tracking Software Testing Metrics effectively

1. Link software testing metrics to business goals:

Practically, it is almost challenging to track almost everything. Therefore, software testing metrics should be linked to business priorities. It is important to prioritize and select the most relevant metrics to business, which helps them achieve their goals.

2. Analyze the trends, not just numbers:

Often, it is seen that whenever testing metrics targets are met, the software teams declare it as success. But these simple, quantifiable targets do not represent the entire story. There is a lot more effort behind software testing, and therefore, trends need to be analyzed from time to time to determine in which direction the testing efforts are going and how progressive the final results are.

3. Break measurement periods into shorter time frames:

This helps the software development teams to analyze the software metrics and trends from time to time. With the help of shorter timeframes, teams can effectively determine how well the software testing process progresses.

4. Notifies progress to stakeholders:

Software testing metrics are used to represent complex processes to management and stakeholders with the help of simple numbers. These metrics should not be treated as a means to judge individual performances as the software testing process involves a lot of effort and other non-quantifiable aspects. Thus, metrics should always be used as a discussion starter by which teams and managers could discuss necessary improvements.

Conclusion:

There are many types of software metrics available in the market. But, choosing the right metrics, implementing them correctly, and following them effectively is the only key to the success of the software testing process. TestingXperts has been at the forefront leveraging software testing techniques to deliver superior quality deliverables to its clients. Talk to our testing experts today to know about different software testing types and get an edge with high-quality products.

The post A Detailed Guide on Agile Software Testing Metrics first appeared on TestingXperts.

1. Shift Left Testing Approach
2. Why shift-left?
3. What are the types of the Shift-Left Testing model?
4. Shift Right Testing Approach
5. What are the different methods of shift-right approach?
6. Why shift-right?
7. Conclusion

Shift Left Testing Approach

As the name suggests, the shift left testing approach starts to focus on testing as early as the requirements phase. Generally, the software testing process originates with static review of requirements specifications with a focus to identify and remove ambiguities in requirements and enhance the quality of requirements consumed down-stream. Shift left testing helps in identifying any defects early in the lifecycle.

The shift-left testing approach introduces testers at the primary stage of development to help them understand what requirements are being scoped and what the testability of those requirements is.  Shift left testing also helps testing teams to identify high-level test scenarios and start work on the detailed test cases.

Why shift-left?

– Time and resources are saved: Shift left approach helps in finding defects earlier in the software development lifecycle, allowing resources to invest less time in finding defects, thereby increasing quality and improving efficiency.

– Defects are found and fixed early: It’s very cost-effective to start identifying defects in requirements/user stories as it helps the testers to understand the testability of each requirement.

– Faster product delivery: Shift-left testing streamlines the development process, thereby ensuring faster delivery.

– Enhanced design: Through shift-left testing, bottlenecks, roadblocks, and possible performance failures are detected early on in the lifecycle, leading to a better design.

– Improved timelines and better ROI: With the shift-left testing there is less rework, projects work according to their regular timelines and the quality is always at the top. This ensures in delivering faster to the market with improved ROI.

Thus, the shift-left testing approach is an easy and economical way of reducing the time, efforts, and cost in improving the software at a complex state.

What are the types of the Shift-Left Testing model?

– Traditional shift left testing: In this testing approach, the focus is exclusively on the unit and integration testing by using API testing and modern test tools. This approach even has a drawback as it fails to focus on system-level and acceptance testing.

– Incremental shift left testing: In this testing approach, complex developments are broken down into smaller pieces to simplify the process. This practice of allowing the smaller segments to be tested one after the other helps the segments to be built upon each other. The incremental shift-left approach is widely adopted and used in the projects that have been having high complexity in the hardware.

– Agile/DevOps: This method helps in performing testing in numerous sprints and it is widely applied for developmental testing without operational testing. The Agile/DevOps Shift Left testing has gained popularity and it is preferred widely by many enterprises.

– Model-based shift left testing: This is the latest trend in shift left testing with a concept to find bugs at the earliest. Generally, shift-left testing is practiced at the early stage of a development cycle. But, in this method, the testing approach is during the design and development phase. This includes executable requirements, architecture and design models and helps in eliminating 45-65 percent of errors introduced in these early phases.

Shift Right Testing Approach

As we all know that shift-left is critical to software quality assurance and is an essential step in ensuring quality from the start, this approach alone is not enough to maintain performance and user experience. This has resulted in organizations adopting a ‘Shift-Right’ approach. The shift right testing approach initiates the testing task from the right that means the post-production of the software. In this approach performance and usability of an application are continuously monitored and feedback is sought continuously from users to understand the user behavior.

This approach helps in launching new features in the application fast and test by simulating its behavior in production.  This is achieved by gathering continuous feedback from the users through both formal and informal communication channels.

What are the different methods of shift-right approach?

A/B Testing:

This type of testing is commonly referred to as split testing or bucket testing. In this method, various new designs of a webpage are tested against the original designs of a page. The goal of this testing type is to determine which design generates more conversions. A/B testing is a part of the Conversion Rate Optimization process where the page with variation is compared with the ones of the original page. The page that helps in achieving better conversion is considered as the winner in the challenge.

Continuous Quality Monitoring (CQM):

This approach helps in improving the system quality during any software life cycle stage. A wide range of different tools and techniques are used to monitor the quality of the application. Code instrumentation, real user monitoring, and virtual user monitoring are a few CQM techniques that are used in the software during its production phase.

Chaos Testing:

In this method of testing, errors are introduced to the system to check its functionality and recovery in error conditions. By understanding how the system responds in stress conditions, it becomes easier for a team to identify and fix the bugs. The principle of chaos testing is to verify how the system responses when sudden attacks are introduced in the infrastructure, or the application or the network. The results achieved with this practice helps in improving the overall application standard.

Why shift-right?

– Quick feedback: Shift-right approach, allows the teams to gather user feedback and incorporate them in quick succession. – Maximum test coverage: Shift right approach to testing provides testers the freedom of testing more and testing timely. This helps in eliminating more defects at the preliminary stage and provide a better quality application. – More automation: Automation saves time and effort. Automating large parts of the process, when features and patches are being built into the application, helps in saving time and eventually helps in providing quality at speed.

Thus, adopting a Shift right testing approach offers improved customer experience and enhanced test coverage.

Conclusion

Considering the above-stated details, both shift-left and shift-right testing approaches are equally important and help in delivering a unique and different way of testing the software application. At TestingXperts, we follow both ‘Shift-Left’ and ‘Shift-Right’ software testing approach that adequately touches each and every aspect of the application to ensure best possible quality. Connect with us and allow us to make your software ready for business quickly.

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The advent of Agile and DevOps as a practice over the few years has helped enhance the quality of software immensely. The highly collaborative nature of both the methodologies has led to rapid deployment cycles, and in some cases, it has also helped in achieving the speed of Continuous Integration. The best way to ensure the quality of the software is by implementing the right amount of QA. In fact, implementing an integrated DevOps and continuous testing quality approach has become relevant for all the organizations now.

A highly iterative DevOps process lays more pressure on the QA role to properly evaluate software while working closely with developers, network professionals, and business stakeholders. In this article, we will explore how DevOps is the best way to strengthen the project and be absolutely sure of what you are shipping to the customer. With high-quality software as the main aim, here are some DevOps QA best practices that will help accelerate the software delivery and also maintain the quality of the software.

DevOps QA Best Practices

1. Disentangle from the traditional roles and responsibilities of QA:

The traditional roles and responsibilities of QA are more time-consuming, contradicting the basic fundamentals of agile, i.e. quick turnaround and early feedback. Hence, with DevOps, integrating QA early-on in the lifecycle helps to significantly reduce development cycles and also meet customer expectations as intended.

2. Communication and Collaboration are Imperative:

Strong communication and collaboration help in maintaining a clear focus on software quality while making an early release possible. Communication helps in making the objective clear while collaboration makes it easy to deliver the software on time. In several cases, a different pair of eyes looking at the same application helps to identify a different issue. Keeping everyone on the same page is vital to a project’s success.

3. Include QA in the Requirements Gathering Process:

It’s essential for every work stream to have a common understanding of what functionality is built. Involving QA at the start is vital, as the requirements/user stories get assessed from a testability standpoint. This helps in identifying critical areas for tests and planning the test efforts better. An added advantage is that everyone is able to collaborate with each other early on.

4. Detecting Software Defects Early:

One of the main advantages of DevOps methodology is the way its iterative approach helps in detecting software issues. This is very critical to minimize re-work effort and thereby to control the cost of quality.

5. Multiple Virtual Testing Environment is Essential:

The volatile growth in the global software market and the rapid advancement in computing technologies have shortened the software development lifecycle. Due to the focus on cost-effectiveness, the focus has now shifted to optimizing the software development lifecycle. In order to overcome the problems of hardware cost and environment set-up, multiple virtual testing environments are essential for testing. A virtual testing environment provides isolated sandboxes for running applications, which presents homogenous environments on heterogeneous hardware.

DevOps is not just a process, but an effort to improve an organization’s overall culture and practices in order to ensure a better customer experience and improved business outcomes. To facilitate continuous delivery, DevOps has become a priority.

The post Accelerate Software Delivery with DevOps Best Practices first appeared on TestingXperts.

1. Test automation and Continuous Delivery
2. Implementing Test Automation
3. Benefits of Test Automation
4. Conclusion

The post Ensure Continuous Delivery in Agile Testing Cycles with Test Automation first appeared on TestingXperts.

DevOps has become a popular methodology of collaboration in today’s technological world. DevOps is the combination of development, operations, and QA, promoting clear communication and collaboration between individuals and teams. The differences between the developers and the operations teams are well known to all.

However, with the advent of DevOps, the battle lines have been erased to a certain extent. DevOps has been moving rapidly from being a concept to reality and enhancing the business impact, speed, and quality of the application delivery. Many organizations are shifting to DevOps to reach the continuous delivery stage and to achieve agility with efficiency.

What are the tools required for DevOps?

In this infographic, we will discuss the ideal set of tools to help you with your DevOps journey.

Recommended for you: Accelerate Digital Transformation with DevOps

The post 7 Types of Tools to Make your DevOps Right – Infographic first appeared on TestingXperts.

Test automation significantly shortens the testing lifecycle and increases the speed of the testing process.  Automating your test scripts allows you to save a huge amount of time instead of just running them manually. Automated tests can be easily built once you have the primary tests in place, which means that the testers can add tests into the regression pack and build a greater test coverage quickly. This implies that every industry at this time or in future will need help on all aspects of Automation Testing. Let us understand how test automation as a service is bringing value to the organizations.

Role of Automation Testers Redefined

The role of testers has been transformed with the arrival of the concept of Agile, DevOps, and Continuous Delivery. This concept has been evolved from the arduous Manual Testing process to fast and recurrent Test Automation. Automation has been highly responsible for the transforming and evolving role of a tester. In an Agile environment, when testers and developers have to collaborate, the overall culture of the teams change, testing gets quicker, and releases get more frequent. Automation cannot work without an effective testing strategy. The role of a tester will progress in an automated testing environment.

Clear focus on Quality of Testing

As quality is kept at the forefront these days, there is an increasing need for automation to ensure quality. This is a shared responsibility of the development team and the testing team. Automation can create a huge difference in redefining software development at every stage of the cycle. Furthermore, organizational strategies will be changed, and there will be evident structural changes to accommodate quality within their systems. Quicker delivery will be the main objective, but only automation can help in achieving speed with quality.

Quicker Feedback

Speed has become the prerequisite across various industries. Automation can, in all possible ways, help give instant and rapid feedback to the team, which also cuts down the delays and lays focus on improvement. Automation adds value by speeding up the arduous and tedious testing activity that is required for making sure that you achieve the desired result. In a certain way, automation in testing makes the activity more and more perceptible and assessable for considering the ensuing activities.

Conclusion

Automation testing is the sure-shot method, bringing desired value to the organizations and helping them bring agility with quality. The need for automation testing cannot die in the future but only provide the desired outcome with well-aligned and dedicated teams that are able to work on projects and scripts.

TestingXperts is a automation testing company provides qa automation testing service with its extensive experience and an intelligent Test Automation Framework ‘Tx-Automate”. Connect with us to leverage our QA Automation Testing services.

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Contents

Test Automation And Agile Testing

Automation, in any arena, increases productivity and reduces cost. Usage of test automation in the entire software testing life cycle (STLC) enables the team to increase test accuracy and productivity. Professionals working in agile recognize the significance of automated testing, but are also aware of the complexity involved with automated solutions.

Due to the constant change in the test objects and ongoing maintenance, it becomes challenging for the team to keep the automation suite up-to-date and relevant. Despite all these issues, the bitter truth is that it is impossible to work in agile environment without test automation. In fact, according to Robert Walsh, test automation incorporates three of the four pillars of agile automation testing i.e. unit testing, acceptance testing, and automated regression testing.

Importance of Test Automation in Agile Testing:

1. Effective rise in development output:

The short development cycle is the most important factor that demands automation in agile testing. The Agile teams have short time frames to grasp the requirement, build the code and then regress those changes. Therefore, it becomes essential to use a method of testing that supports these compressed cycles as manual testing is too resource intensive and can easily surpass the given time frame to complete the task. Test Automation, assists in carrying out the work at a rapid pace without affecting the quality of the application.

2. Efficiently resolving recurring changes:

We are all well acquainted with the fact that projects rarely come with a pre-decided set of requirements. The requirements are developed and changed over time depending upon the priorities of the business. The prompt discovery of issues demanded by agile can only be carried out by an automated method. Test automation helps in bringing the essential agility needed in order to respond promptly and effectively.

3. Easily identifying the code issues:

Test Automation allows the tester to test the code quickly without hampering the quality of testing. It also comes with a collection of pre-decided test scripts that help to identify the issues effectively. Thereby, it allows the tester and the developer to get the exact idea of the code and also helps them to respond quickly.

Why adopt #TestAutomation in #Agile #Testing? Read our blog to know the 5 prominent reasons https://t.co/UDsg1rajDu

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4. Thorough and continuous testing:

Automation allows repeated and exhaustive examination of the code with a detailed overview. A thorough and continuous testing helps in ensuring the quality of the code. The demand of continuous testing in agile, makes it essential to use test automation as it helps in preserving the previous functionality that could have been affected due to the recently added functions.

5. Automated test support activities:

Test Automation not only contributes in carrying out test scripts but also supports in automating other test activities like test reporting, result validation and data set up. Agile testing requires repeated code of arrangements which can be programmed by test automation. It subsequently releases the testers from the mundane and laborious tasks.

At TestingXperts, we have extensive experience to identify automation needs in your agile projects. Also, with our ingenious Agile Software Testing Services, we have helped our clients achieve augmented success. Get in touch with one of our test advisors here..

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