Understanding Software Development

Many of today’s industries depend on software to ensure that their employees accomplish necessary tasks in an efficient and timely manner. Software requirements vary per industry, but the cycle of development is the same across all industries. Here’s a brief look at how software is born:

Identifying the needs

A company has to identify its needs and goals first. This means that a designated leader has to schedule a meeting with all concerned staff members and outline the features they want from the software. For instance, a customer service center would likely expect a program with a search feature, where they can easily look up and update customers’ details.

Three Handy Software Development Tips

Worldwide smartphone shipments reached a milestone when it topped one billion units in 2013. Some of these units likely ended in the hands of your employees and partners. The business world is increasingly going mobile, which means pretty soon, you’re going to need to develop customized smartphone apps for your business as it expands. Here are three practical software development tips that can benefit your efforts.

Learn the language

Software companies try to build market share by using programming languages and tools that developers are currently using. For instance, Windows Mobile allows developers to utilize existing Visual Studio and .NET development skills and server setups to expand their applications to mobile devices.

Test, Rinse, Repeat

With the tens of thousands of lines of code that go into modern software and the inconsistencies that can sometimes occur when programs are compiled to machine language, it can be very hard to guarantee the integrity of almost any software. For organizations that rely on the quality, reliability, and security of their software, no hole can go unpatched. To achieve this, rigorous software testing is an absolute necessity.

One of the most difficult situations any piece of software can undergo is extreme load. With the ubiquity of the Internet and sheer computing capacity computers have today, situations of extreme load are no longer very uncommon. Denial-of-service attacks happen almost on a day-to-day basis, and software bottlenecks can occur when poorly optimized code is fed so much data too quickly.

Passing AST: Multiplatform

Some believe the graphical user interface (GUI) replaced the command line as the premiere computing system. While the GUI is much easier to use, thanks to its WYSIWYG system, the venerable DOS is still in use among programmers today. DOS succeeds where GUI fails, and vice versa.

This puts one of the most important requirements of passing automated software testing (AST) into perspective. Any program that can run smoothly in a GUI environment must also do the same in a non-GUI environment. In other words, the program must be able to operate in virtually any protocol. Software testers call this "backend testing."

Software Testing Pro-Tips

No matter how advanced a device or machine’s components are, it will be little more than a paperweight if the software running it is faulty or bug-filled. Hence, software testing is a must since glitches can cause expensive or potentially life-threatening problems to occur.

To catch all the kinks in a new program, be sure to take heed of these tips:

Involve Testers from the Start

Software creation should not be the sole domain of developers. To create the best programs possible, be sure to involve software testers from the get go. That way, they have a deep understanding of the code, allowing them to perform more thorough tests.

Testing Software Systems Before Market Launch

Automated software testing (AST) defines seven key requirements for military and commercial software to pass with flying colors. It may be all Greek to many, but these requirements allow today's technology to be more versatile and handle more processing power at any given time. These traits become more significant as industries grow more dependent on technology.

The first of the seven requires software to be non-intrusive to the System Under Test (SUT), a separate test that determines whether or not the software is performing its intended tasks. Think of the SUT as a fancy term for "beta-testing." Over the course of the SUT, the developers find bugs in the system to fix before releasing the finished product.

Software Testing Methods

Bugs don’t just exist in the wild—they reside in software programs, too. These glitches causes a plethora of issues, from program crashes, to lost data, or even rocket launch errors, as in the case of the European Ariane 5.

That’s why programmers have to test software before releasing or using it to catch these virtual vermin. In general, they utilize three methods to test a software in development:

Software Issues are Easy to Fix with Testing

In some ways, creating a software program is much like writing a news story. The first draft isn’t always spot-on, and even subsequent drafts still require editing. Defects found in computer programs can only be ironed out through regular bug tracking and troubleshooting, though some defects may still persist if an automated testing procedure is not performed.

Why Software Testing Is Important

Manufacturers typically designate a group to do a product test before the market release of a new product. For instance, a soda company develops a new flavor. Before it is mass-produced and shipped into stores, the company does a focus group discussion first, where a random group of people do a taste test and then give their opinions on the new flavored drink.

Similarly, testing should be a standard operating procedure for software development companies before they turn over the product to their clients. The tests will help the engineers and developers detect flaws or “bugs” in their work and resolve them before deployment. They have two methods to test their software: manual and automated.

Signs You Could Benefit from Automated Testing

Automated testing is a widely accepted practice all over the world. In fact, a wide variety of industries make use of automated testing to boost the overall productivity of their respective companies.

Of course, automated testing requires you to invest time and money in the creation of the testing system, something that you may not be too eager to do. If you experience the following situations, however, investing in automated testing is bound to work wonders for you:

The Inevitable Need for Software Testing

In computer communication, software refers to anything that can be stored electronically. However, this is just one definition that is meant to tell the electronic components of a computer from the physical ones. Another definition of software is computer instructions or data. This software is what makes a computer operational.

Software Problems Solved by Automated Testing

Creating seamless, bug-free computer software in one go is virtually impossible without software testing. In fact, a National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) study said that about 25 to 90 percent of the budget for software development is usually spent on testing alone. That said, even software tests can encounter problems that prevent them from detecting and fixing software bugs, thus affecting the performance of software-reliant systems.

Tools of the Trade: Software Testing Tools

Whether it’s for recording business transactions, managing customer relations, or even dictating cash flow, custom software serve a number of important roles for the companies that use them. Their accuracy and ease of use make them generally more reliable than manual calculation and recording. However, that doesn’t mean that these systems are completely infallible; they still need to undergo quality assurance procedures to ensure that they work as intended and live up to their users’ high expectations.

Although it’s possible to test business software for any faults through manual means, such a process is often too long and tedious to accomplish. The easier alternative is to use another software built specifically to test the program and ensure its functionality. These software tools are automated, and only require minimum input from users in order to start testing selected programs.

There’s more to software testing than just ensuring that the program works. Business programs need to be tested to gauge their level of security, especially if the programs are connected to the Internet. Obviously, companies don’t want to use programs that leave them vulnerable to unauthorized access, so they will want to assess their security by relying on testing software to check their systems for any faults.

Why Your Company Needs Automated Testing Software

Why risk the reputation and success of your company when you can be sure of your product? The rapid changes in today’s technology demand the high quality and versatility of software development systems. Automated testing can ensure that your software product meets or exceeds standards and also provides the following advantages:

Efficiency. Automated tests run faster, so you can save on time and effort. The speed factor is especially beneficial when it comes to more comprehensive tests such as regression testing. There is also no need to worry about human error or redundancy in automated testing.

Decreased Costs. The number of resources needed to conduct testing is greatly diminished when automated testing is utilized, so costs are kept low. Also, automated tests can be reused on other versions of the software—greatly increasing its value.

Increased Product Confidence. The high efficiency of the testing process ensures the quality of the software. Automated testing also guarantees that test scripts are kept up-to-date.

With the completeness, consistency, and repeatability of testing tools, you can have peace of mind that your software product is superior in class and can provide a competitive advantage. There are companies that can provide automated testing tools and methods that improve data analysis and expand test coverage while maintaining information security.  

Why is Software Testing Important?

A vast majority of people are aware of the relevance of computer systems to the modern lifestyle that they are currently living. They are aware of technologies that are meticulously crafted to cater to those in need of such systems.

Automated Testing: Is it Right for You?

In a world where everyone wants fast results, most businesses will benefit from using computers to automate certain processes such as software testing. Not only does automated testing increase a business’ productivity, it also allows employees to better focus on other tasks. When used correctly, the workplace becomes much more efficient.