These 5 Must-Know QA Testing Methods Will Give Your App an Edge

We explore five types of quality assurance testing that can give you an edge in producing amazing software for your end users. This guide will kickstart your journey to becoming an expert QA Analyst!

By: Giselle Todd

There are a myriad of quality assurance testing methods you can implement to ensure better quality for your software. A good mix of testing types that require you to tap into different skills and areas of knowledge will make you a well-rounded tester. You can even choose a specialty and start a new career!

This article explores five different types of testing that can give you an edge in producing amazing software for your end users. This is a guide to help kick off your journey to becoming an expert QA Analyst!

Performance Testing

As testers, we know that functionality is important to software; if a user is unable to carry out a transaction or intended action, it could result in a loss of loyal users. Arguably, performance is just as important as functionality in user retention.

Performance testing is non-functional testing that seeks to uncover the readiness of software. It determines how many users can use the application concurrently. It’s a more complex form of testing that cannot be easily done manually since it requires the use of software tools to replicate different user loads.

Performance testing early and often for load, stress, capacity, and scalability can lead to safeguards that prevent widespread outages.

Implementation

Take for example, your team is testing a software application that allows aspiring citizens to submit documentation for their citizenship. There is an upcoming deadline, which means hundreds of thousands of people try to upload and submit their documents at the same time, but your website crashes repeatedly.

At face value, your users are simply not able to apply for citizenship. However, this means aspiring citizens have lost money and time. The outage creates widespread confusion, causing users much stress and angst.

Performance testing early and often for load, stress, capacity, and scalability can lead to safeguards that prevent widespread outages.

Get Started with Performance Testing

• Identify the testing environment that should closely resemble the production environment in order to reflect real-world scenarios and results.
• Design the performance tests and configure the test environment.
• Choose the automation tool that’s right for your project. Some popular tools to consider are Apache Jmeter and Microfocus LoadRunner.

Security Testing

We’re living in a digital age where we are now more connected than ever. With this interconnectedness, there is always a hacker looking to exploit the vulnerabilities in different software systems. Cyber attacks have been on the rise across the world, and there have been several security incidents in 2022 alone. According to Cybersecurity Ventures, we can expect a ransomware attack every 11 seconds in 2022 alone.

Security testing uncovers vulnerabilities, threats, and risks in software applications. It helps safeguard the application against black hat hackers and malicious software, such as ransomware and trojan horses.

For many organizations, security testing is an afterthought, but this can prove detrimental down the line. Follow a secure software development life cycle that implements security protocols each step of the way. The earlier you plan, the better chance you have to catch these vulnerabilities.

Get Started with Security Testing

Start small by testing for:

• URL manipulation that uncovers whether sensitive information is displayed in the URL of your website;
• Access controls that ensure users are only able to access views and admin functionalities necessary to their specific role;
• Security of data passing through your system by writing queries to see whether sensitive information is stored in plain text; and
• Static code analysis, which involves analyzing the code and documentation without running the code.
• Security testing may be executed manually or with the help of automated tools.

QAs advocate for the end users of our software, and are often the first line of defense against threats like hacking and phishing attacks. So, equip yourself with the skills of security testing.

Accessibility Testing

Of the almost 8 billion people in the world, 15% experience some form of disability. This means that more than 1 billion people worldwide navigate the world differently, which includes the software we develop.

Accessibility testing ensures that software can be used by everyone. In an effort to create usable and accessible software, governments and different organizations around the world have established guidelines and standards for web accessibility, including the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

WCAG is formed on the principles of P.O.U.R., which requires software to be perceivable, operable, understandable, and readable. Under these principles, WCAG caters to people with disabilities, including color blindness, hearing and speech impediments, and physical disabilities.

Get Started with Accessibility Testing

Begin implementing accessibility testing by:

• Using high contrast visual settings to ensure words and buttons are visible to users.
• Changing the font size from very small to extra large (or to the largest font available across devices).
• Ensuring alternative text appropriately describes images, and the application is accessible by only using a keyboard.

Special considerations should be made for assistive technology, such as screen readers, braille displays, and screen magnification.

UI Testing

Websites often present themselves as works of art with varying colors and fonts. Each element on a webpage is designed to convey a message to the user and provide brand information. As a result, it is important to test the visual components of your software to ensure users are not only able to complete their desired actions but can also convey a message to the audience.

The graphical user interface (UI) allows users to interact with software. In testing, when developers deploy a new build, QAs interact with the software through graphical elements.

UI testing is a technique that assesses visual components against desired functionality and performance capabilities as outlined in the business requirements. The aim is to ensure: (1) users can interact with the different input devices; and (2) visual components are displayed. Examples of some components include buttons, call-to-actions, dropdown menus, checkboxes, and radio buttons. A faulty UI can block users from completing their desired action, which often leads to customer attrition and dissatisfaction. QAs focus on the users and aim to deliver the best experience possible.

Get Started with UI Testing

Having a plan for UI testing is always a good start. You can begin by identifying scenarios, such as making a transaction in a banking app. By creating the end-to-end flow of a process and assigning test scenarios, you can identify test cases for frequently traversed digital paths.

You can test whether input fields are wide enough, and even check for error messages and other user feedback. This is an important test because it can be very frustrating for a user using an application to get an error and not know how to correct it.

In addition to these manual testing steps, there also are automated tools on the market that may help you quickly create your UI tests for a regression suite.

Automation/AI-Based Testing

In recent years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) have notable strides in the world of QA testing. Automation testing is the use of special technology to automate the execution of test suites.

AI and ML work like this: the software “learns” from a model and then uses what it has “learned” to become a better version of itself. AI-based testing is not its own type of testing. It is instead implemented (some would even say ‘based’) in software testing through automation.

AI-based testing (not to be confused with AI and ML testing) is an automation testing technique that incorporates machine learning to increase test coverage and quickly discover bugs.

There are several benefits of AI-based testing for testing teams, including greater test coverage, enhanced accuracy and improved efficiency.

Get Started with Automation Testing

Automation tools, such as QualityWatcher, leverage AI to create test cases from user stories which can greatly reduce the amount of time spent on manual testing. Some of these tools can detect reusable components from previous automation projects, so it’s easier to spin up a test suite.

The four AI-driven testing approaches can provide a solution to the specific needs of your software. The possibilities seem endless. They can even cater to the idea of continuous testing, which is part of the DevOps CI/CD pipeline. This increases the confidence in the code being deployed. ProdPerfect is a tool that can analyze actual user flows and test these paths to ensure any new code introduced does not break the flow; if it does break the flow, it’s detected early. Early detection is key in software testing: the longer it takes to discover a bug, the more costly it is to fix.

Some Tips for Your Learning Process

It’s important to be patient as you grow into your role as a QA Analyst. Listed below are a few tips and resources to help you along the way.

1. Reading is only the beginning. Make it a point to practice and apply what you’ve learned. Take courses at Udemy and Test Automation University. Use demos such as Blazedemo for Blazemeter to build tests for demo scenarios.
2. If possible, apply what you’ve learned at work. Identify possible use cases from your project and draft up test plans and test scripts in your free time.
3. What better way to become an expert than to “talk the talk”? Share what you’ve learned in virtual spaces, write articles, and even give talks at events such as TestBash and TestFlix.
4. Join a community and exchange best practices! Find spaces that cater to topics you care about and share your knowledge with likeminded people. You might have some luck with The Club by Ministry of Testing or QA Lead — become a member, it’s free!

Key Takeaways

Non-functional testing such as performance testing, security testing, and accessibility testing increases software quality, which in turn increases user retention. The implications of bad software could damage a business’s reputation and ruin the user experience. Become an expert by learning, practicing, and applying what you’ve learned to your projects. Consider following communities to stay informed and share your knowledge!

Do you want to continue learning from other great minds? Check out more blogs from QualityWorks. Join the team! QualityWorks invests and encourages QA development.

About the Author

Giselle Todd is a QA Consultant who is passionate about software and software quality. She works with great minds and mentors at QualityWorks Consulting Group. She enjoys learning about new technologies and their applications; she also enjoys improving the quality of software when and where she can. Giselle wants to learn as much as she can about automation and security testing, and share her knowledge with as many QA professionals as possible.