Some important questions related to independent testing: |
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Q1. What do you actually mean by independent software testing? |
| Independent software testing implies “Outsourcing your product testing requirements to competent independent organization in order to obtain unbiased assessment and assurance of your product behavior prior to its release in the market. |
| Advantages include: |
.gif) To meet release deadlines without cutting corners from QA related activities by making use of 24 hour project execution cycle. |
| To cut costs that may be involved in setting up the environment, infrastructure and manpower for testing. |
| To have access to a large pool of technical resources who specialize in testing. |
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Q2. How can they test my product when they don’t know nuts or bolts of it? |
| Typically, an independent testing project kicks off with a knowledge sharing session, wherein senior representatives from the testing team understand the product and its functionalities at the client location. The Testing process to be followed is also discussed and finalized during this phase. |
| Soon after, these representatives impart product training to the balance testing team members at the offshore base and share any relevant documentation prepared during the onsite visit. |
| Alternatively, the client can also upload the product on its server and allow restricted access to it. The process of remote product training is not uncommon and can be facilitated by providing product documentation and ready assistance incase of any gaps in understanding the finer aspects of the product. |
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Q3. How do I ensure my IP remains secure? |
| Organizations that have experience in dealing with software product companies understand the criticality of protecting the Intellectual Property (IP) of its clients. |
| Usually clients can opt from a variety of security models, which offer network level, system level and physical level as need may be. |
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Q4. I have a product with multiple features and would prefer automated testing. Is this possible? |
| Certainly. An experienced testing team is adept at following various testing methodologies including automated testing. |
| Generally before embarking on a testing mission, several techniques for testing are evaluated based on the nature of the product and the most suitable is recommended. The most commonly practiced techniques include: |
| Manual Testing: |
| Performed before major releases |
| Involves complete execution of system test cases in a flow, recording and analyzing test results and defect logging. |
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| Automated Testing: |
| Performed incase of frequent releases especially for large sized stable products. |
| Involves generating test scripts for test cases using automated testing tool and executing test scripts to obtain benchmarks. These test scripts can then be used repetitively for all future rounds of testing to compare the result with benchmarked results. |
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| Semi-automated Testing: |
| Performed usually before the first release of the product having a few complex functionalities. |
| Involves generating test scripts using automation tool for the complex modules and executing manual test case for the rest of the product. |
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Q5. Which tool is most suitable for my automated testing requirement? |
| Incase of automated testing, several tools are available in the market for specific testing needs. Some of the popular and commonly ones used include: |
| GUI, functionality and regression testing: Rational Robot, WinRunner, QTP. |
| Load/Stress/Performance testing: Rational Performance studio, Silk Performer. |
| Besides the above, there are several tools, which help streamline the testing process: |
| Test management- Test Director, rational test manager. |
| Defect tracking: Bugzilla, ClearQuest, Defect Tracker |
| Being in the business of testing, the offshore team is usually up to date with the latest testing tools that hit the market. |
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Q6. I have tight release schedule – How do we work? |
| An Organization, which has experience in working with product companies, realizes that release releases schedules cannot be tampered with. The strategic test plan is prepared keeping in mind the product release deadlines and incase of tight schedules several contingency plans are worked out. |
| Several risks associated with staffing, infrastructure, communication are identified and mitigated at an early stage. Good Project monitoring and control practices also ensure that the client is able to get the expected deliverables in time, every time. |
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Q7. Can we have standard processes and reporting mechanisms? |
| An experienced player in offshore testing will have adapted to the industry standard terminology and processes. They will also have the flexibility to customize their processes as per client requirements. |
| Where test reporting is concerned, testing teams have their own formats and templates in place to effectively communicate the metrics collected during the testing period. The test metrics, though, do not vary too much from one test organization to another and typically include: |
| Number of defects by Defect type, Severity, Priority, Module, Platform /environment, Type of testing, Defect age with respect to its origin, Defect detection effectiveness and On time index Resource utilization |
