{3:00 minutes to read} Let’s be honest: Software testing is really boring!
At the risk of falling asleep, you might wonder why you should even read this blog post. And while the very thought of testing might make you drowsy, failure to test before launching your new website or mobile application could result in real NIGHTMARES.
If you’re a business person or marketer, you probably won’t have to do the testing yourself, but when the system is ready for “User Acceptance Testing”, both you and your staff should be prepared.
The User Acceptance Test, or “UAT” in technospeak, is your last opportunity to approve your new software.
Before you make the final payment, you should be certain that everything works, as specified, on all of the correct platforms and browsers. Paying the final development bill indicates that you are “accepting” delivery of the software in its final form.
Most reliable software development vendors warranty their software for 30 days after the launch and cover the cost of repairing any programming flaws. However, you could be contractually obligated to pay for any problems that arise, after making the final payment.
Even if you are not personally responsible for assuring the quality of your application, you want to be sure that your software development vendor is testing it thoroughly, both while it is being built and upon completion.
The testing process is complex, but the diagram below provides a pretty good overview of its scope.
The row of boxes in the middle of the diagram identify key artifacts of the testing process, beginning with the project plan, which should allocate ~20% of total resources to testing, and ending with a database of bugs. There should be no unresolved high priority bugs in the bug database when it comes time to launch.
Make sure that the following key documents are in order so your development team knows what they need to both build AND test your software:
Test Plan;
Test Specification; and
Test Cases.
These are all based on the documentation that defines how your system is intended to function —Requirements, Functional Specification and Detailed Designs.
If you are still awake, and even a tad curious about how software testing works, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’ll be happy to walk you through it — over a strong cup of coffee.
How will you avoid unresolved issues and costly fixes BEFORE you launch your new website?
Michael Bendit
Managing Director
Software Development Resources Inc.
888-447-1591
1825 Madison Avenue, Suite 9E
New York, NY 10035
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