Azure DevOps is a modern-day tool used for version control and trouble-free team management. An individual can manage his entire team with a minimum of a browser as a requirement. The team can easily be part of different countries and manage their activities without any delay. The development team can be in one country, and the testing team can be working in another country. Even If the management has trust issues, the Azure Audit does an audit of each activity that the team is doing, and the management must only worry about cross-country chatting and financial management.

The following types of testing are mission-critical for ensuring the success and reliability of your software:

1. Unit Testing with Azure DevOps
2. Integration Testing with Azure DevOps
3. System Testing with Azure DevOps
4. Functional Testing with Azure DevOps
5. Acceptance Testing with Azure DevOps
6. Smoke Testing with Azure DevOps
7. Regression Testing with Azure DevOps
8. Performance Testing with Azure DevOps
9. Security Testing with Azure DevOps
10. User Acceptance Testing with Azure DevOps

1. Unit Testing with Azure DevOps

Unit testing is breaking the code into its parts and testing each separate code one by one. This testing technique should never be confused with any other testing technique. This is because unit testing is like laying a brick. Brick by brick, the developer will lay code and test each code unit; this is what unit testing is all about. Azure DevOps creates version-controlled parts of the project; they can be assigned, and the automation tests can be tested using a version-controlled build. It also provides the user with the ability to have a view based on recent pipeline activities and control access to various stakeholders.

Fig 1. Pipelines in Azure DevOps

2. Integration Testing with Azure DevOps

Integration testing establishes testing techniques for when the individual bricks of code are laid together to test the data movement and failure points when separate developers merge their code together. Since each developer is separate, they can make fatal flaws in how the code blends together. Terraform is a recommended tool from the Azure team for such chaotic activity. The tool allows the user to create their own customised configuration files and allows the developer or tester to test the ability of their code to work with these config files, along with an additional static code analysis feature. For more information regarding Terraform, visit their website, Terraform by HashiCorp. Another cool thing about Terraform is that it is Datadog-ready.

Fig 2. Integration Testing flow using Terraform

3. System Testing with Azure DevOps

System testing tests all the modules together and is closely related to integration testing in the sense that all modules are integrated together to do a full system QA. Azure DevOps allows integration with various service providers. The workings of this are already mentioned in integration testing. Another nuance of system testing is that the testers may not have the necessary understanding of how the code works. It is divided into functional and non-functional testing.

Also Read: Testing Assistive Technologies in a Product

4. Functional Testing with Azure DevOps

Testers like to fondly call functional testing feature testing because it’s exactly that. The tester tests all the features of the individual module and sees that the features that you intended to have in the software are there in the product. A few years of experience will tell you that Azure DevOps is a lifesaver in terms of linking manual test cases with bugs, PBIs, and feature requests. The Azure DevOps and its rich UI provide a very good mapping of individual features of the product, which allows newbies to join the team to understand the pros and cons of the product within a 60-day period for the development or testing team. Some of these details can be used again by automation to conduct regression testing.

5. Acceptance Testing with Azure DevOps

Code must be accepted in the context of business, user requirements, regulation, the vision of the developers, and feedback from the testers. Just like the Azure DevOps functional test. Azure DevOps is good at keeping track of users’ use cases, scenarios, and even edge cases. Every idea from every individual on the team can be tracked and used at any phase of the project to get a customer-centric product. Standardised tests in the context of regulations that will be applied to the product can also be added to plans in Azure DevOps when they need to be conducted.

6. Smoke Testing with Azure DevOps

This is simply to check or test whether the build is stable enough or worthy enough to do a sanity or regression test. The plan will mostly come from years of experience from previous releases or simply from a list of critical functionalities that should be working, based on the consensus made by the management on what should be working.

7. Regression Testing

Smoke tests and sanity lead to regression with regular intervals to submit a bug. The entire code is under scrutiny. Azure DevOps can help in creating manual tests in a flash based on queries from in-sprint QA and years of experience in testing the product. Azure DevOps helps in creating the test plan and managing it at the time of execution with the help of filters and neat charts that provide feedback to management and the tester about their progress. What shift managers fail to manage in factories, Azure DevOps does in a flash: employee engagement when the work is in progress.

8. Performance Testing

Performance testing is a test to know whether software performs at scale, on a good foundation for speed, and to remove bottlenecks whenever developers and testers identify bottlenecks. The example provided below is based on a tool of preference based on popularity. Ex: JMeter and test engines connected to the virtual machine and various other tools and app services to conduct performance testing using a dashboard from Azure DevOps Performance testing is simple with Azure DevOps.

Fig 3. Load testing flow in Azure DevOps

9. Security Testing

Test the HTML and JavaScript code; for other cases, it’s different, for vulnerability to threats, security loopholes, risks, and emulating an actual hack or attack. Pen testing is one example of security testing. Security testing involves adding common CVE-identifying tools to a Kali Linux machine, adding them to Azure DevOps using Azure agents, running security tests, and providing feedback using Azure charts using data available to Azure DevOps.

10. User Acceptance Testing

Code must be accepted in the context of business and user requirements, as well as based on regulations, by the end users. Support engineers love it because it integrates well with the sales force. Continuous cooperation among support engineers, in-sprint engineers, and regression of manual and automation can constantly happen. They can quickly interact with urgent changes and ensure that the code is stable after testing.

Conclusion

Based on the above description, Azure DevOps is a tool that allows a wide range of integration with tools of maximum importance in the development and testing of a new product. Along with it, it has control over the process of development and testing with neat features like version control based on Git and Team Foundation. Everything is audited. The dev team, management, and product owners can all be in sync with the latest features and details. Since Microsoft owns almost everything related to IDEs, Git, and cloud infrastructure, it is going to be the future of everything in development, at least for the foreseeable future.

The post Empowering Testing Excellence: Exploring the Synergy between Azure DevOps and Diverse Testing Techniques appeared first on Indium.

At a basic level, microservices make up applications. They’re small and compact files that provide a multitude of services.

They’re programmed to ensure decentralized management (especially for data storage). And they’re designed for quick access too.

We use them in our daily lives, and for a variety of functions. They can be anything from productivity applications, to small games, or special professional programs.

Testing a Microservice

A bundle of microservices make up an application. And it’s important to test each microservice separately and in conjunction with each other.

That’s one of the pros of a microservice. They launch separate of others within an application. And this lets you deploy and test each without problems.

From there on, we’ll need to plan our approach for testing. Specifically, we’ll need to…

• Understand different testing types.
• Understand different testing strategies.

We’ll explore both below. We’ll mention the 5 testing types and the best strategies for each.

1. Unit Testing

While contract testing checks for communication, unit testing checks for coding. It ensures that a microservice does what it’s supposed to do with each test.

And here, a unit represents the smallest possible portion of a microservice that can be tested.

With unit testing, it’s key to test each unit in isolation. After that, units can be tested together (integration testing). And this ensures that microservices collaborate well in an application.

Important Note

This tends to be the first type of microservice testing that’s performed. It’s usually performed during the development process (instead of before deployment).

This makes it a cost-effective form of testing. It aids developers in finding errors early in design, without the need for prolonged testing afterwards.

Plus, the changes can be done quickly – which saves more money.

Testing Strategy

Unit testing is straightforward. It involves taking a microservice, creating a mock object (as a replacement for codes yet to be designed). From there, the unit is tested for proper coding.

There is a multitude of unit testing tools (and for different programming languages). They include,

• Junit (a free tool for Java).
• JMockit (an open-source tool with verification syntax and API).
• NUnit (a framework that works with .net languages).

2. Functionality Testing

This is the beta stage of most apps and software. Here, microservices are tested from a user perspective.

This form of testing can be jammed anywhere in the design stage. Functions can be tested with each microservice. Or, they can be done at the end, testing the functionality of the entire system.

Important Note

What makes functionality testing different from unit testing is the focus. Unit testing focuses on how codes are executed.

It tries to find errors beforehand per microservice.

With functionality testing, the program is handled from an “end-user” perspective. It’s used as if the consumer was using it. The results are then noted down before any adjustments are made.

Testing Strategy

Functionality testing should be done after unit testing for smaller apps. For larger ones, we recommend delaying the process to the end.

It can, however, be executed for larger apps through the design process – by testing the functions of unrelated components separately.

3. Integration Testing

What happens after a unit is tested? What happens after functionality is checked?

Several units are banded up together and tested. This is called integration testing, and it checks as to how each unit communicates with each other.

The focus here differs from unit testing. While unit testing checks for functionality, integration testing looks for defects when multiple microservices interact.

Strategy for Integration Testing

One is called the “Big Bang”strategy. It involves testing all microservices together after development is complete.

This strategy saves time, ensuring that integration testing isn’t done frequently. But it comes with the drawback of pinpointing errors.

When an error message (or an undesired result) is presented, it’s hard to tell which microservice is at fault. It’s also difficult to tell which coding line is responsible.

Thus, this strategy works for small applications only (ones with a minor amount of microservices – and little upgrades).

As for larger applications, we recommend an “incremental strategy.” Here, microservices are categorized (as to how they logically relate to each other).

Then, they’re tested for proper functionality. While this strategy isn’t as comprehensive as the previous – it works well for large applications that require frequent updates.

4. Contract Testing

A microservice communicates between a client and an API provider. And with a contract test, a developer can tell if any communication issues exist.

Contract testing focuses on setting an endpoint through testing. Tests are done until the desired response is found after multiple tries.

Coding lines are changed in accordance with the results of each trial.

Contract testing looks at the program from an end-user perspective (like functionality testing).

It ensures that a user operates each microservice smoothly and without issues. And if any disruptions happen through the experience, then they’re fixed.

Why They’re Necessary

They’re vital for documenting the final product. Contract testing is what defines the advertised “specs” of a program.

It sets the system requirements, speed, and effectiveness of the app.

As a result, this form of testing is always done after an app is completed. It’s done to ensure that the final product hits the specification goals set by a business.

The Right Strategy

Contract testing should only be done to optimize microservices “per business specifications.” Not every microservice should be tweaked for maximum performance. This should be left to the business to define.

5. End to End Testing

This is similar to integration testing. In fact, it’s a combination of contract and integration testing, only on a large scale.

Here, the focus is on the system as a whole. This, it includes backend systems and interfaces too. And what’s being tested is the entire system before deployment.

The goal is to ensure that the entire system works as specified (irrespective of individual microservices).

How This Affects Microservices

Microservices can be tweaked as a result of end-to-end testing. This form of testing ensures that the right code branches are used in a program.

And if there are any missing functions, then the tests check for microservices that can fill in the blanks.

Strategy

This tends to be the longest form of testing in any application’s design.

A good strategy is to create test cases. They should be executed, with the results being compared against the desired outcomes.

This form of testing should be done manually. It’s difficult to automate since the entire system’s components work at the same time.

Its amount of times should be limited. Being an exhaustive form of testing, it can cost a business too much when designing an application.

Creating a Comprehensive Testing Strategy

One of the problems with the microservice design is how you plan to test. You can mix and match the forms of testing you do.

You can also schedule different tests for different times (throughout the design cycle).

Basically, what works for one app may not work for another. Thus, we recommend consulting previous projects when designing a test strategy.

That way, you can fully test your codes with minimal time and financial investment!

The post Testing Microservices? Here’s a Guide on Designing a Strategy! appeared first on Indium.

Part of that involves functional testing. Below, we’ll discuss what that is, it’s necessity, while comparing it to other types of testing.

We’ll also discuss important tools that may help out with the process.

Functional Testing: Definition

This is a form of software testing that checks how a product operates. Specifically, it ensures whether the software works in accordance with specific system/business requirements.

Most of the time, this form of testing doesn’t require to view the software code. This means that most functional tests are classified as “black box” testing.

Black Box Testing

It’s defined as a test that checks how the code operates, without peering into its internal structure. It looks at software from an end-user perspective. It checks different functions while mapping out a cause and effect graph.

The goal is to see if the code works in accordance with a specific outlined input/output, as defined by the software’s developers. So, is it a Quality Testing Measure? No. Think of it this way.

With functional testing, you check how a product (or app) works and how its functions are executed. However, what you do not test is how fast they’re executed or how the performance of an app changes across browsers.

As a result, this type of testing looks at the details of how an app operates.

The Focus of Functional Testing

This test looks at almost every function in software and not just focus on specific facets. It focuses on how all the functions of a program are to be used.

Functional testing looks at multiple factors, from APIs and security, to user interface, security systems, and how the application functions under testing.

Additionally, the testing can be done manually, or in an automated manner. Though automated testing covers as many functions as possible, and with more accurate results.

Primary Goals

While functional testing looks at all uses of a system, it prioritizes the basic functions of software above others. Specifically, it concentrates on…

• An application’s main functions
• Basic use. This involves checking navigation, and how easily a user can change interfaces, screens, and access to different tools
• Checking how accessible a system is to a user
• Functional testing attempts to check the functions that display error messages. It also checks whether error messages displayed as suitable for the situation.

How Functional Testing is Performed?

In order to functionally test an application, the following steps must be observed…

• Define input (testing data).
• Define “output expected using the defined input.
• Execute multiple test cases.
• Comparing real results with the expected output.

How Functional and Non-Functional Testing Differ

To clarify what functional testing looks at, we’ll do a comparison on what each focuses on.

(A) Goal

Functional testing focuses on specifics. A client or software designer supplies certain specifications to be verified against the system. From there, the tester operates within those parameters.

With non-functional testing, general metrics such as scalability, reliability, and performance of the software are checked.

(B) Priority

Functional testing is usually performed before non-functional testing. The reason is, it’s difficult to assess the general performance of a system if the specific functions of a system aren’t working properly.

(C) Tools

Since functional testing looks at specifics, both manual and automated testing tools can work. In fact, manual testing is sometimes easier for functional testing.

But for non-functional testing, automation is faster – where manual testing is more difficult.

(D) Sources of Input

Functional testing is done to check that the software conforms to design and business specifications. Non-functional testing is performed to check general metrics, like scalability and speed.

(E) Results

Functional testing looks at what the software does. Non-functional testing focuses on the quality of the said product.

Functional Testing Tools

Functional testing can be performed manually. However, there are certain tools that may speed up the process – even assisting functional testing teams.

They include the following:

(A) Selenium

Another thing to know is the “different parts” of Selenium. This tool comes as a Web-Driver and IDE version. The Web-Driver versions let you create regression tests for browsers. It lets you create testing scripts for multiple environments.

This is a tool specifically developed for web applications. When testing an app on multiple tools, this is a prime option.

It’s written in JAVA, and it’s fairly recent, only being a year in age. The tool costs $29/month for use, which is cheap from a business perspective.

But the IDE version is more focused for bug scouting. There, you can create scripts for exploratory testing. And Finally, Selenium comes with an add-on for Chrome and Firefox. This lets you playback interactions between the executed script and browser.

(B) QTP

It’s another tool that is recommended, it is designed by HP for functional testing. Also known as “Quick-Test,” this tool was launched in March 2018, and uses the Windows operating system.

It provides an easy to use and handle interface. It lets you select and perform different operations via mouse and keyboard.

It also provides a keyword view for creating tests and steps in a table format. A user can swap into an expert view, which lets them view and modify the source code as they test.

The only drawback of this tool is its operating system limitations. It’s primarily designed for a Windows setting. As a result, if you’re using Mac (or even Ubuntu), you may struggle a bit with this tool.

(C) SoapUI

This open-source app testing tool is the oldest thus far, launched back in 2017. It focuses on Java.

This tool supports many web protocols, such as SOAP and HTTP. This tool also comes with great variance in what it allows you to test.

Through it, you can perform load, compliance, functional, and regression testing. It works best for those seeking tools that support a large range of technologies and protocols. That is – if your business focuses on designing many types of APIs, then this tool is for you.

(D) Watir

This is an open source tool that uses the Ruby language. It’s powered by Selenium. In fact, you can use this tool in combination with Selenium.

It is known to ease the writing of Selenium scripts, which allows you to perform functional tests faster and at higher frequencies.

Also, this tool is useable on multiple browser systems. And like its Selenium variant, it comes in multiple packages,

• Watir-Classic.
• Watir-Webdriver.
• Watir-Spec.

In Summation

Functional testing attempts to ensure that a system functions “perfectly” – according to developer specifications.

It’s less focused on quality and more on whether a system works or not. As a result, it’s a vital part of testing and is a pre-requisite to quality control.

If you’re a software tester (or seeking better tools to learn), you can try the above-mentioned tools. We believe it might assist you in the programs you’d like to test.

The post A Quick Guide to Functional Testing appeared first on Indium.

Apart from bugs, it also helps you identify missing requirements and gaps within the application, thus enhancing the quality of the product.

A software testing process can be broadly classified into two types, Functional testing and Non-functional testing. The difference between the two is shown below

The post Functional vs Non-Functional Testing appeared first on Indium.

Over the past few years, the evolution of tech and the internet has had an impact on eCommerce.

This includes the rise of online marketplaces, an increase in mobile users and tremendous growth in digital marketing.

The eCommerce retail sales are on upward trajectory. Stats show that retail eCommerce sale may exceed US $4.058 trillion by 2020.

Now, what software testing has to do with eCommerce industry? With the majority of the companies taking the digital route, the competition is getting tougher every day.

In order to retain your current customers and get more new customers, you must give the best possible experience for your customers. This is where software testing plays a crucial role.

Software testing Services is the way to determine how closely the program designed matches with the specifications.

Software testing is mainly based on the program specifications that are derived from the test case scenarios. It is a best practice to test the website before launch.

eCommerce websites are largely dependent on functional testing to verify their functionality before they are launched into the market.

Through functional testing, one can determine the working of their system in a way that can be useful.

 Functionality Testing helps accurately to check whether all the demands are incorporated in the software program or not. Let us dig in deeper to know why software testing is important for eCommerce websites.

1. The competitive market demands for customer-friendly features and designs:

Whether you are a start-up or a well-established company, the designs and features of your company website must be appealing.

The companies always want to make sure that their website is completely user-friendly. Yet, sometimes there might be some slip-ups when the designs and features may function oddly.

This is when functional testing comes in. To make sure the adequate functioning of your website you need to run the functionality test.

2. eCommerce sites are exposed and need security:

The eCommerce websites are prone to threats like hacking or crashing down way more than any other websites.

This is one of the very important reasons as to why the eCommerce websites are taking security testing into consideration.

Most of the customers purchase the products online using their confidential data. These data include their –bank account details, PIN codes, card numbers, and many more.

Therefore, it is very important to perform regular tests in order to ensure the privacy of personal data information of your customers.

By performing security testing services the eCommerce websites check the Payment Gateway and avoid any glitches from taking place.

3. The sites are browsed through different browsers:

The eCommerce websites are usually filled with plug-ins from the JavaScripts. They contain rich images, integrations from social media, description of the products, and videos for informative purpose.

They also make the experience of the customers worthwhile. However, the website is not opened in just a single browser. Many browsers like – Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Opera are used by visitors.

The job of an eCommerce website is to ensure that irrespective of any browser the user experience should not be compromised.

This is when compatibility testing comes of great use. When you run the compatibility testing on your website you will be able to identify the ease of usage on different browsers.

This will prevent the company from being robbed of potential revenue.

4. The billing of the products needs to be verified accurately:

As important as maintaining the privacy of customer’s data is, ensuring the correct billing of the products is equally important.

Most of the companies serve their customers with special offers and discounts from time to time. Sometimes these offers are focused on the customers making a purchase of a certain amount.

Therefore, the billing account needs to be programmed in a way that can take in all the information required in order to determine the accurate price of a product.

These kinds of services are provided to ensure the long-lasting allegiance of the potential customer.

Also, the applicable taxes on the products are needed to be calculated precisely. Once the bill is determined there are automated processes which are needed to be performed.

These automated processes include the generation of invoice and emails sent for the product placement confirmation.

To ensure the appropriate functioning of these processes functional tests are required to be carried out.

The functional tests will ensure the functioning of the eCommerce websites remains intact.

5. They are accessed from several platforms:

In the era of technology, the customers make use of laptops, desktops, smartphones, and tablets to access the eCommerce websites.

Therefore, it is the responsibility of the company to make sure the user experience is seamless across all devices.

To ensure the appropriate functioning of the websites through various platforms, compatibility testing is carried out.

This will help in fixing all the shortcomings of your eCommerce website.

Conclusion

The eCommerce industry is constantly evolving which makes it even more difficult to keep up with the ongoing trend.

Therefore, it is very important to perform software testing accurately way before the website is even launched.

In this highly volatile atmosphere, performing software testing will surely prove to be beneficial.

By doing so you will be able to reduce the error that may affect the traffic of your website.

Also, the access of the website can be made easier for your company’s potential customers, which will ultimately result in converting them into loyal ones.

The post The Evolution of the eCommerce Industry and the Role of Software Testing appeared first on Indium.