5 Ways To Speed Up Your Testing Cycle
When it comes to software testing, everyone wants it done faster and more efficiently. Furthermore, every tester knows the demand to get things done in no time at all. However, software testing is not something that can be rushed, as it leaves room for errors and bugs that can cause serious problems down the line.
As a software tester, the chances are you have faced pressures to speed up your testing process. It is vital that quality is maintained during testing, and luckily for testers, there are a few ways that the testing cycle can be improved effectively.
Here at TSG Training, we spend a lot of time working with and teaching professional software testers. Just like the pressure on you to speed up your test processes, we have sped up our training with our accelerated learning courses. Our expertise in the subject has given us invaluable knowledge, and today, we share our expert tips on how to speed up the testing cycle.
1. Use Automation, But Not For Everything
In recent years, automated test platforms have become impressive and are great for helping developers test quickly without compromising on quality. Automation has become an essential part of any testing cycle, particularly when working with Agile.
Many testers think that automating the entire process will reduce the release cycles and speed everything up while reducing the amount of manual work required. While automation can lead to fast delivery, it isn’t always effective. This is because, for every automated test, a large amount of additional software development is required beforehand to ensure the tests are created properly.
Automated testing still requires a team of qualified testers to make sure that the whole process is going smoothly. All these software testers should have relevant training and qualifications in place. There will also be some software that is too complex for automated testing to handle. One of the best ways to speed up the testing cycle is to use a combination of both automated testing and manual testing.
2. Keep Everyone Involved
No software tester can do it all alone, and the most valuable asset for fast software testing is a good development team. The team should be made up of testers which are well aware of the project and their responsibilities within it.
At every stage of the testing cycle, all testers in the team should be encouraged to share their ideas and opinions. Because every tester is going to have a unique understanding of the software, they will each be able to offer a different perspective. This can help solutions be found and implemented faster.
The more eyes on a testing project also creates more opportunities for problems to be spotted, meaning that delays can be avoided. Every software tester and developer will be bringing a different level of experience, training and knowledge to the team. This level of variation creates the opportunity for more problems to be prevented based on experience levels. An experienced tester will be able to spot issues quickly, while those new to the testing industry will have a fresh perspective.
3. Parallel Test When You Can
As discussed above, automation can be useful in speeding up the testing process, but also has its shortfalls. One major downfall of automated testing is that it is sequential and can only allow one automated test at a time. This is where parallel testing can help.
Parallel testing adds a boost to automation by running multiple tests at the same time. For many software testers, this is invaluable when testing across multiple operating systems, devices and browsers. It means that all of this can be tested together as opposed to running scripts over and over again with different configurations.
For parallel testing and automation, you will generally need to rely on tools and testing frameworks. As a software tester, it is vital that you are able to leverage the right tools in order to speed up your testing cycle while still maintaining quality.
4. Categorise Tests
With so many tests to run and features to check, it can easily become overwhelming. It is important that you know which tests are vital and which are less so. One of the easiest ways to get fast feedback from tests is to run different categories according to the nature and functionality of the test.
It is commonplace to categories tests as either smoke tests or regression tests. A smoke test ensures the critical functionalities of the software and checks that all business and tactical behaviours are intact. These are generally executed as part of every round of testing. Regression tests are the tests that cover all the other workflows and are generally less critical. These can be run on every other round or broken down further into subsets and tested in turn. This breakdown can ensure that testing cycles are not delayed, and tests are never compromised.
5. Have A Solid Understanding And Knowledge
Every software tester on the team should have a strong theoretical foundation in order to achieve the best testing results. This should generally be one of the first steps towards improving performance and speeding up testing cycles. When all team members involved have had relevant training and experience in software testing, it will ultimately help to enhance and speed up the process.
Becoming a qualified software tester is often not a requirement, but it does have its advantages, and having a team of qualified professionals is sure to pay off.
Here at TSG Training, we offer a range of accelerated learning courses for software testers. These courses are designed to keep you out of the office for as little time as possible and achieve qualifications quickly. UKTB fully accredits our courses on behalf of ISTQB, and you can choose the most appropriate level for you.
The ISTQB Foundation in Software Testing is one of our popular accelerated learning courses and teaches learners a range of software testing techniques to help speed up the testing cycle. All trainees will learn common language for testing, understand established testing concepts and much, much more. To discuss your training requirements and the skills you are looking to improve, get in touch with the team by calling 08000 199337.
