There are few things more frustrating for testers than having the testing process stop and start due to unavailable resources or data from another team. It should be a smooth execution from start to finish. Unfortunately, we all know that is not always the case.
When testing mobile apps, common roadblocks include requiring an environment to test in that may not be ready, data to use in the test, other areas in the department may be too busy or do not prioritize the resources you need from them, or added pressure on time constraints from a management team that does not take all these roadblocks into account.
But all that changes with service virtualization for mobile. With BlazeMeter’s Service Virtualization, developers can now virtualize or simulate a mobile gateway (and all the associated backend services) to create more thorough testing. Service virtualization provides a temporary bridge from the beginning of the test to the end, so you are not stuck waiting on others to do your job.
This blog will discuss what service virtualization is, the top reasons to use it, and why pairing BlazeMeter’s Service Virtualization with Perfecto’s robust testing platform will elevate your testing strategy to another level.
What Is Service Virtualization?
Service virtualization is a facsimile of real web services. Service virtualization is designed to simulate live services if they are unavailable in order to test applications. Mock actions that are created will receive mock responses, giving the tester a tentative idea of how the tests will work once the real web services are available.
Service virtualization is especially helpful when a team is early in development and the mobile gateway is not yet built, there are third-party issues securing the resources needed, or you are experiencing firewall or other network issues.
For example, using a mock API for testing can aid in end-to-end testing and also gather feedback from developers. Say you are testing a digital banking app. It requires the ability to utilize a number of backend services (one of the many known as the “API Economy”) that are not yet available:
- Account Services – Allowing the user to log in.
- Transaction Services – Letting the user see where transactions are stored.
- Third-Party Services – Looking up nearby ATMs.
With service virtualization, all of those abilities can be simulated in order to continue your testing.
Back to top4 Practical Reasons to Use Service Virtualization
Your mobile gateway is the conduit providing communication between a mobile application and the respective backend resources —think of it as a broker helping facilitate the process. You can get an idea of the role a mobile gateway plays with the diagram below.
Maybe you have most things working on your side behind the mobile gateway, but you are missing something — data, for example — that is preventing you from proceeding with testing. Without a bridge crossing the gap left by the unavailable mobile gateway, you are stuck. But with service virtualization, you are not. Here are some of the best reasons to leverage the capabilities of service virtualization:
Parallel Development
Parallel testing with service virtualization means you can create a virtual mobile gateway that provides developers with something to test against while at the same time the gateway team is able to continue to develop the real mobile gateway services independently.
To further improve testing visibility and pipeline efficiency, teams can also monitor the execution and performance of virtualized tests in real time using platforms like Splunk and Perfecto, which collect and visualize data from devices and scripts run in the cloud.
It goes without saying (but we will say it anyway) that this results in a vastly more efficient process and contributes to a shift-left testing practice.
Security
Many organizations outsource mobile development to specialized mobile app creation shops or other external vendors. Because of this, they may not want to make a live gateway publicly available during development. A virtualized service can be created and made available on the public internet so that an external vendor can test the mobile app without accessing the organization’s internal corporate network.
Cost Savings
Sometimes the mobile gateway is available, but the other required services behind it may not be for a number of reasons: they are down for maintenance, an unavailable test system, or even working with a third-party that charges a high price for access. Service virtualization can replace these missing components in a far less cost-prohibitive way.
Negative Testing
Did you know that 80% of testing is negative testing? Teams often need to create an intentionally hostile environment for mobile testing to see how their product stands up to adversity. How does the app respond to 4xx and 5xx errors?
With service virtualization, you can create a virtual mobile gateway that is intentionally slow, intentionally gives bad data, or gives data that is out of order or incorrectly formatted.
Back to topThe Benefits of Service Virtualization
If you have not picked up on it by now, service virtualization is an excellent tool to temporarily fill in the gaps of your testing journey. Streamline your testing and see the results roll in by:
- Removing dependencies & testing faster.
- A quick & easy setup.
- More complete tests & greater test coverage.
- Simulating realistic testing.
- Leveraging an affordable and flexible option.
- Boosting efficiency and collaboration.
- See these benefits in action with our virtual services webinar.
Bottom Line
Bottlenecks, dependencies, and roadblocks are enough to frustrate even the most seasoned tester. Maybe you have even pondered the idea of service virtualization but have stopped short because you think your environment is too complicated or you have too many backend systems replicate. The good news? You would be wrong.
By leveraging BlazeMeter’s Service Virtualization with Perfecto’s unrivaled testing platform, you can develop your apps to scale and with greater complexity than you ever thought possible. We help you simplify and streamline your testing process, so you can get back to the important stuff: testing!
Take the power of your testing back into your own hands. Try a free 14-day trial of Perfecto today.
Want to learn more about BlazeMeter's Service Virtualization in combination with Perfecto's testing platform? Get a custom demo of Perfecto and BlazeMeter!