Automated Testing | Technology Blog
2021-06-15
Testing plays an irreplaceable role in information system development. Today we will talk with Mária Dujsíková, ANASOFT’s knowledge testing manager, about automated testing which is implemented in big project solutions.
What can we imagine under the term automated testing?
Automated testing can have various levels of meaning. In this case, we’re talking about testing which uses a different application, a robot.
Today’s technology allows applications to simulate the behavior of a user. This is why it’s quite common to have automated testing programmed in specially designated applications for often repeated testing situations. We can imagine it as if the automated testing launches the tested application and opens a form.
It gradually provides the required information in the form, as if it were done by a living user. In the end, the completed form is sent out and the application checks to ensure that everything went well. For example, it checks the database to verify that the information was stored correctly. This kind of testing is appropriate for big and long-term projects, during which some testing situations are repeated many times, and automation can do lots of the manual work.
Where else can automated testing be implemented?
Automated testing is intensively used in stress tests.
The role of these tests is to determine whether the application or system has the required performance parameters.
How will the application behave if it is used by a given number of users? What will its reaction be? Will the application “freeze”? How many seconds will the user wait for the operation to end?
This testing is suited for automation because it can be scaled. If the automated test is designed well, the flexible simulation of changing user behavior is quite simple. Running a similar test with real users would be difficult logistically and organizationally.
What role does security have in testing? Is testing also focused on this area?
Of course, the security of information technology is a very important topic today. The testing must reflect these requirements, and the proper testing of security depends on many criteria.
In terms of security, the application is tested differently for one user with a connection to a local network and for an internet portal for tens of thousands of users. The tester can and should always verify the basic security aspects of the application.
But the security of the application is an individual chapter in the development of the information system, and the project needs to take this into consideration. Proving that something does not work is much more difficult than proving that it works well. And if the character of the system requires, wide-ranging penetration tests must be conducted by specialized firms or ethical hackers during implementation.
As a tester, when are you satisfied with the results?
Well, it must be said, that you can test forever. Testing will never reveal all the errors and it’s important to understand that there is always an imaginary intersection between testing effort and expected quality with each application in relation to its range and use.
Testing is simply about achieving the expected quality with the appropriate effort.
In this sense, I am content when the results of the test fulfill the established criteria, which differ from case to case.
What did testing teach you after the years you have dedicated to it?
Even if it doesn’t look like it at first glance, testing is also about cooperation and communication. It begins with the draft of the application, when the tester needs to ask as many questions as possible to understand the purpose of the application.
It is very important to know how to meaningfully communicate the testing results. Many people work on the development of information systems and the deadlines are often very tight. If the test reveals errors and this is not communicated delicately, it can easily seem as if the programmers or analysists didn’t do their job well.
In projects however, it’s not about passing responsibility from one to another, but about working together to achieve the best results. And this is what a tester should remember as well.
Thank you for the interview.
Interview conducted by Boris Rybár / Software Development Team Manager
