The testing phase of the software development lifecycle (SDLC) is where you focus on investigation and discovery. Organizations use different software development approaches also known as “Software Development Process Models”(e.g. Waterfall model, V-model, iterative model, RAD model, Agile model, etc.). Each process model follows a particular life cycle in order to produce a robust mobile app.
The traditional approach of testing focuses more on “Fix Defect Then Release”. Here testing is carried out after the development cycle is complete. While in the agile approach, the QA team works in collaboration with the development team instead of being a separate unit. Thus, test planning is no longer a separate phase. They are involved in all aspects of the project, starting with the analysis, requirements, and design of every mobile app functionality.
The entire team determines the efforts required to develop and deliver a working component. Since agile methodology demands quick and frequent testing, automation testing plays a crucial role.
The project managers can detect problems very early. Due to the early feedback cycles, the cost of fixing the defects is much less as compared to fixing the same defects in the traditional approach.
The agile methodology can be extended to include continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD). The CI tools such as Jenkins and TeamCity create a workflow to manage code and its regressions and then enabling efficient testing of those builds. With this sort of Agile approach, continuous testing can also happen every time code changes in the repository.
In the agile method, it is easy to adopt automation testing. Your organization can focus on improving existing applications which include building new features, product enhancements, and bug fixing, while testing happens automatically and entirely in a managed manner. It provides an efficient way to improve the overall app quality, weed out the bugs instantly, and without being dragged in the subsequent builds.
Another important thing is time to market. It can be improved with an integrated development and testing flows. Any app’s time-to-market counts not only against competition but also when the revenue starts rolling in.
Measuring ROI of Software Testing
The cost of test automation is higher than manual testing and should include any costs related to hardware, software and licenses, time for resources to produce scripts, and cost of the resources themselves.
The benefits of test automation must be calculated over a period of time for the software under test and take into account the reduced time to execute tests and the ability to test as frequently as the organization wishes. These figures should be compared to the costs of manually testing the same software.
Think of the cost of test automation vs. the cost of manual testing as follows:
Cost of test automation = price of hardware needed + price of tool required + time to develop test scripts + (time to maintain test scripts x number of times test scripts are executed) + (time to execute test scripts x number of times)
Cost of manual testing = time to develop test scripts/charters + (time to maintain test scripts/charters x number of times tests are executed) + (time to execute test scripts/charters x number of times)
After figuring the costs of test automation and manual testing, calculate ROI as follows:
ROI = (cost of manual testing – the cost of test automation) / cost of test automation
Smaller, less complex applications that won’t take a considerable amount of time to test won’t require test automation because the upfront costs will outweigh the benefits gained. Also, keep in mind the types of testing you are looking to automate. Each of these different types will have a different ROI that needs to be taken into consideration.
Conclusion:
We know that the software development ecosystem is one of the biggest industries now. Due to a highly competitive market, it’s obligatory to have and maintain an excellent quality of any kind of application and software. Just a few clicks and swipes are enough for a user to praise or abandon an app. That’s why early testing is very important in the SDLC process.
