Your Guide to Compliance Testing

When it comes to testing and releasing high-quality applications, it is imperative that testing teams perform a host of tests—from performance testing to accessibility testing, end-to-end testing, and more.

Of all these various testing types, compliance testing is one of the most critical components of a robust testing process because it ensures that your software application exists within the bounds of legal regulations. 

In this blog, we will explore the ins and outs of compliance testing in software testing and why it is the piece of the testing puzzle that will set your team up for success. 

Related Reading: The Future Is Now: Mobile & Web Application Testing With AI

What is Compliance Testing?

Compliance testing helps teams determine whether an application adheres to legal requirements, industry standards, and internal policies before release. This ensures that your team not only avoids fines and loss of reputation, but that your application adheres to accepted standards of quality and that your customers are protected.

Compliance Testing Overview

The primary goal of compliance testing is to verify that an application aligns with established regulations, standards, specifications, and legal requirements. This ensures that systems operate in accordance with both internal policies and external regulatory guidelines. 

Some key objectives of compliance testing include:

• Confirming that apps align with industry standards and government regulations to mitigate the risk of non-compliance.
• Ensuring data privacy, security, and integrity under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and similar policies.
• Minimizing organizational risk and builds trust.
• Facilitating regulatory adherence across diverse cloud environments.

In short, compliance testing validates that your application adheres to both internal policies and external regulations, which provides a host of benefits. 

The Importance of Compliance Testing

Let us take a closer look at some of the important reasons to prioritize compliance testing.

Whether it is data privacy laws like GDPR or industry-specific regulations such as HIPAA in healthcare, compliance testing plays a vital role in maintaining trust and security. 

The following are some of the reasons to prioritize compliance testing before releasing your application into production:

Adhere to Legal Requirements

Compliance testing ensures that your organization adheres to laws, regulations, and industry standards. Non-compliance with these regulations can lead to legal consequences, costly fines, and even loss of reputation to your organization.

Risk Mitigation

By conducting compliance testing, organizations can identify and mitigate risks to data security and privacy. Compliance testing can also enhance and maintain your app’s overall reputation for security. 

Ensure Data Security & Privacy

Compliance testing is essential for ensuring that sensitive customer data is handled and protected in accordance with data protection regulations (such as GDPR and HIPAA).

Maintain Reputation

Compliance testing helps organizations uphold their reputation by demonstrating their commitment to following ethical practices and industry standards. Avoiding data breaches and other security threats instills ongoing trust from customers. 

Quality Assurance

Compliance testing in software testing helps maintain standards of quality, ensuring that customers are satisfied with your application. Customer satisfaction breeds customer trust and loyalty. 

Embrace Continuous Testing

Compliance testing encourages organizations to continually monitor and improve their testing best practices and internal regulations. With evolving regulations and legal requirements, organizations must continually embrace new testing, which allows them to create the strongest possible applications.

Related Reading:  Why Outperformers Choose Continuous Testing in DevOps

Compliance With Accessibility Testing Regulations 

Compliance testing is an important component of accessibility testing. Not only is accessibility testing a regulatory requirement (see the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, Section 508, and the Americans with Disabilities Act), but it is also a social one. Failure to ensure accessibility could result in fines of up to $150,000. When you incorporate automated accessibility testing tools into your testing pipeline, you will easily ensure compliance with regulations while increasing your user base. 

Making an app accessible to as many users as possible is both good business and the right thing to do. 

Some benefits of accessibility testing for mobile apps include:

• Ensures usability.
• Meets legal requirements.
• Makes content accessible to all.
• Improves overall user experience. 

As you can see, compliance testing and accessibility testing go hand in hand. 

Related Reading: Automated Accessibility Testing Tools: What to Look For

Types of Compliance Testing in Software Testing

Compliance testing can be categorized into several types:

Security Compliance Testing

Assesses security controls and measures to protect sensitive data while identifying vulnerabilities and gaps in security protocols. 

Regulatory Compliance Testing 

Ensures adherence to specific regulations, such as GDPR and HIPAA, and verifies compliance with legal requirements to prevent fines. 

Operational Compliance Testing 

Evaluates adherence to internal policies and operational procedures, testing operational controls to ensure they align with organizational standards.

Related Reading: How to Do Risk Analysis in Software Testing

Bottom Line

Compliance testing is the key that ensures an organization’s applications are secure, reliable, and comply with regulatory requirements. Compliance testing should be prioritized in software testing to maintain your organization's reputation and bottom line.

When it comes to choosing the right compliance testing tools, Perfecto is the ideal solution. Compliance testing with Perfecto is a seamless experience and allows testing teams to keep pace with regulatory requirements. 

When you test your apps with Perfecto, you will experience:

• Unified testing
• Advanced automation.
• Full toolchain integration.
• All results in one place.
• Accelerated testing.
• Shift Testing Left.

Experience complete continuous testing for yourself by signing up for a free 14-day trial of Perfecto today. 

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