The Components of a Superior Software Testing Strategy

When it comes to quality applications, user experience is key. Today’s users expect an application that functions seamlessly and is free from bugs, glitches, or slow load times—and the only way to ensure an ideal user experience is to test your application early and often, throughout the development life cycle. 

Software testing is a crucial part of application development, and a well-planned software testing strategy can help to identify and fix defects, resulting in better quality applications and an ideal user experience.

This blog will provide insight into the components that make up a superior software testing strategy to help your team create high-quality apps that succeed on the marketplace.   

What Is a Software Testing Strategy?

A software testing strategy refers to the steps or plan of action needed to ensure the highest quality possible for an application.

Software Testing Strategy Tip #1: Test Early

One of the most essential components of superior software testing strategy is to test your application early. Testing early in the software development life cycle is essential to ensuring that defects are identified and fixed as soon as possible, reducing cost and time required for testing later. When bugs are left in the application and caught later in development, it is more challenging and requires more resources to fix them, as opposed to when they are caught in the early stages of development. 

Many testers are familiar with the testing pyramid, which groups tests into categories to ensure adequate testing coverage. The testing pyramid consists of unit testing at the base, which refers to testing isolated units of code, followed by integration testing, which tests across multiple systems. Next is UI testing, which tests the user interface, and finally, at the top of the pyramid, is manual testing. Utilizing systems such as the testing pyramid can help testing teams build a winning software testing strategy by ensuring no aspect of the application is overlooked. 

Related Reading: The Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC): A Complete Guide >>

Software Testing Strategy Tip #2: Embrace Continuous Testing

Another important component of a superior software testing strategy is to embrace continuous testing. Continuous testing describes the process of testing throughout the software development life cycle, from the early stages of development to post-release. Continuous testing is a necessary component of a successful software testing strategy, as it ensures your testing processes are continuously improving by providing continuous feedback. Continuous testing also serves to identify and address potential risk or bugs during all stages of the software development life cycle. 

Some benefits of continuous testing as part of a software testing strategy include:

• Testing throughout the pipeline to catch bugs as they arise.
• Exposing risks early.
• Receiving immediate feedback.

Related Reading: The Pillars of a Continuous Testing Security Model >>

As the power of AI and ML continue to grow every day, testing teams must ensure they are staying up to date with how these technologies impact the market, as well as their testing setup as a whole. Watch this webinar on the future of testing as part of your continuous testing strategy: 

Related Webinar: The Future of Testing: A Conversation About the Use of AI and ML >>

Software Testing Strategy Tip #3: Utilize the Test Coverage Guide

When developing your software testing strategy, a test coverage guide can be used to identify the most critical test cases, prioritize testing efforts, and ensure that all possible scenarios are covered. The test coverage guide ensures testing teams are testing on the right combination of devices, browsers, OSs, versions, and locations based on customer usage and market trends. 

Perfecto’s annual Test Coverage Guide provides a detailed blueprint for testing on a wide range of devices and operating systems for both web and mobile platforms. Utilize this guide to make strategic decisions about your test coverage based on your unique customer data, their location, device trends, risk factors, and more.

Software Testing Strategy Tip #4: Incorporate Reporting and Analytics

Not to be overlooked in your software testing strategy is the use of comprehensive reporting and analytics. A platform that helps testing teams separate real issues from false negatives, based on code, the testing environment, and other issues is crucial to saving teams both time and resources. With the volume of data involved in testing, the right reporting and analytics capabilities will increase velocity and improve the software testing process. 

Perfecto’s test reporting and analytics includes many robust features that help testers identify and fix issues faster, with greater confidence. Perfecto’s test reporting and analytics includes:

• CI Dashboard
• Root Cause Analysis
• Reportium API
• Rich Artifacts
• Visual Validation
• Heatmaps
• Noise Filtering
• And more

Reporting and analytics tools can help to track the progress of testing efforts, identify trends and patterns, and provide insights into the quality of the software. These tools can also help to identify areas that require improvement and enable better decision making. For example, a major Australian bank significantly reduced analysis time and boosted productivity by adopting Perfecto’s testing and reporting solutions, enabling better decision-making across their digital testing pipeline.

Related Reading: Perfecto Test Reporting and Analytics >>

Software Testing Strategy Tip #5: Beyond Functional Testing

To truly incorporate a winning software testing strategy, testing teams should go beyond functional testing. Functional testing refers to the process of testing the functionality of an application to ensure it functions properly. However, to truly excel at your software testing strategy, testing teams should go beyond functional testing to also test non-functional aspects of the software or application, such as performance testing, security testing, accessibility testing, and usability testing. 

Related Reading: What Is Functional Testing? >>

Testing all aspects of an application or software, from inception to release and beyond, is the key to ensuring a winning software testing strategy. 

Bottom Line

Adopting these key steps for a superior software testing strategy ensures that your application functions properly without compromising user experience. Testing early and often, throughout the development life cycle, and utilizing the tools available, combine to form a comprehensive software testing strategy that will not lead you astray. 

With Perfecto, testing teams can create and test high-quality apps with ease, without leaving room for errors or bugs. To experience Perfecto’s platform for yourself and create a winning software testing strategy, try a free 14-day trial today.

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